Norway’s international research collaboration under scrutiny
The Research Council of Norway's comprehensive analysis of cooperation between Norwegian and international researchers is completed. The report offers recommendations about the countries and institutions with which Norway should strengthen cooperation.
The report is based on a bibliometric analysis and addresses all of the co-publications between Norwegian researchers and researchers in 57 other countries for a 10-year period beginning in 2003. The report describes the relative strengths of each country within 15 thematic areas.
"We encourage institutions to use the report in their strategic planning activities so they can get more out of their international collaboration," says Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council.
Key findings and recommendations
The analysis shows that:
- the number of articles with Norwegian authors has risen from 7 000 in 2003 to 14 800 in 2012;
- Norway's average relative citation index has increased from 1.31 in 2003 to 1.38 in 2010;
- the US remains the largest research nation measured in terms of the number of articles, but China is expected to take the lead in 2014;
- scholarly production is also showing a strong rise in Brazil, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan;
- Germany, Sweden, the UK, and the US are Norway's most important cooperating countries;
The report recommends that Norway in general strengthen its cooperation with the US, Australia, Canada, China and Singapore, and identifies specific institutions in these as well as other countries that should be prioritised when expanding international collaboration in various thematic areas.
Institutions offered customised information
Norwegian universities, research institutes and university colleges involved in international research collaboration may access "their" numbers from the Research Council. The Research Council will cover the costs of preparing the customised data for the individual institutions.
"The statistics at the institutional level will provide an overview of the countries that the institution cooperates with as well as the thematic areas for collaboration. The institutions may also request general figures for their own publication activity and comparable figures for many international institutions," explains the project's coordinator, Kristi Agerup. "We hope this information will benefit the institutions in their ongoing strategic planning activities."
Follow up in near future
"The analysis was prepared by the Canadian research evaluation firm Science-Metrix. In two or three years we will run all of the data again to see if we find any changes," says Ms Agerup.
"It is crucial to think long-term in international research collaboration. Now we have acquired a substantial knowledge base for how we should focus our future international efforts. By updating this information, we will be able to follow developments closely and take appropriate action."
Special Adviser Stig Slipersæter has had technical responsibility for the analysis project. He will now head an internal group at the RCN that will work with the application and dissemination of the statistics.
Contact
Bibliometric Study in Support of
Norway's Strategy for
International Research Collaboration
bibliometri(at)rcn.no
