Inter-institutional scientific collaboration networks

1. Inter-institutional scientific
collaboration network
Zaida Chinchilla- Rodríguez
Unidad Asociada Grupo SCImago – Universidad de Granada (UGR)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
PRIME Europe-Latin America Conference on Science and Innovation Policy,
International Conference 2008, 24 -26 September, Mexico City

2. Outline
• Research Context
• Research Objectives
• Methodology and Data
• Results
• Conclusions
• Future Research Lines

3. Research Contex (1)
• Systemic Approach to Innovation:
– Innovation as a collective process of interaction and
mutual learning between the actors integrating the
science and technology system
• National and European R+D Strategies include multiple
instruments to promote scientific collaboration at all
levels and productive sectors:
– Integration on the front research lines
– Reducing research efforts
– Sharing research costs
– Forming versatile research teams
– Improving international scientific excellence and
visibility of the countries
– Enhancing diffusion and interchange of knowledge and
innovation

4. Research Context (2)
• Strategic Evaluation: basic tool in decision-making
processes in S&T
– It must be located in systemic and multi-level
contexts
– It must deal with the multidimensional and
heterogeneous nature of research activities
– Linear model is a rare case and additionality is
complex to assess
– It must deal with the ‘systemic failures’ of the
research and innovation systems and the structural
effects of R&T Policies.
– Performance indicators must be complemented with
learning approaches
What tools are available to evaluate in order to make
decision in the context of R+D collaboration and
innovation?

5. Research Objetive
• To present a tool
to characterize,
analyse and
interpret the
patterns of
collaboration
among institutions
by means of the
visual display of
scientific
information.

6. What does it consist?
• Bibliometric map of science developed inside
Atlas of Science project:
system of scientific information developed
through database of Thomson Scientific, that
consists in a collection of maps that actuates as
an interface for domain analysis and information
retrieval.
htpp://www.atlasofscience.net

7. What does it consist?
• The tool is a scientific collaboration network constructed by
normalized bibliographical data from institutional affiliation
• It combines social network analysis and bibliometric
indicators trough interactive visual representations
• Why an visual representations?:
– As an added value to tabular data, It allows to position the
institutions in their context of relations and to relate that
positions with the output results
– It reveals underlying information that we can not observe
through tabular data

8. Specific Research Objectives
• Characterize the production of knowledge of the different
productive sectors in the field of Agricultural studies;
• Project inter-institutional networks of collaboration
trough visualization techniques;
• Analyse collaboration networks in R+D in any field or
level of aggregation;
• Create an interface for domain analysis and information
retrieval.

9. Material and Methodology
– Data from Thompson formerly ISI
– Web of Science 95-96
– Thematic classification from ANEP (Agriculture)
– Normalization and sectorización of institutional data
– Institutional adscription to sector and regions
• This tool connect an analysis of:
– Network Analysis for the relations of the institutions
– Battery of scientometric indicators (Scimago group) for
Individual Attributes of the institutions

10. Results (1): General analysis of the network
Indicators battery and nodal degree for a network institution (University of Granada)

11. Results (2): Network Analysis by regions
Inter-institutional collaboration network of Spanish Agriculture (1995-1996)

12. Results (3): Network Analysis by institutional sector
Inter-institutional network of collaboration – Analysis by institutional sector

13. Results (4): Network analysis by continental division
Inter-institutional network of collaboration – Analysis by geographic regions

14. Conclusions
– Combined analysis of scientific excellence (research
performance and visibility) with analysis of collaboration
networks (relational and positional approaches)
– To relate network structure (density, cohesion or
centrality) with the construction of social capital
(innovation processes)
– Social and political relevance:
• Analytical tool for the strategic evaluation of S&T
systems
– Scientific relevance:
• Comparative studies of collaboration patterns along
scientific fields

15. Implications for Policies
• National and European R+D Strategies include
multiple instruments to promote scientific
collaboration at all levels and productive sectors
• Analytical tool for the strategic evaluation in
order to support the decision making processes in
the context of scientific collaboration.

16. Future Research Lines
• To analyse the dynamic nature of collaboration networks
in order to monitor the evolution of national and regional
R&D Policies (i.e. academic model / entrepreneurial
model)
• To complement collaboration analysis with information
related to research activity:
– Project and institutional funding
– Evaluation of research results
– Human resources
• To analyse the scientific panorama while maintaining a
fixed position of the actors.

17. Thank you for your attention!
zaida.chinchilla@csic.es
zchinchi@ugr.es