The Royal Society: Knowledge, Networks and Nations

The Royal Society released an interesting report at the end of March, entitled Knowledge, networks and nations: Global scientific collaboration in the 21st century. Global scientific collaboration is excatly what the Science and Innovation Network is all about, and this report makes for encouraging reading. Here’s a quick summary:

The scientific world is becoming increasingly global and interconnected, with over one-third of published papers having authors from more than one country. Collaboration increases research effectiveness and quality, and scientists are seeking to work with their world-leading peers no matter where they are located.

While the traditional science superpowers such as the USA and Europe still lead the field in terms of research investment and performance, nations such as Brazil, China and India are catching up rapidly. Science is driving economic development, allowing poorer countries to develop in more sustainable ways.

Global issues, such as climate change and energy security, require a global response. Single-country science cannot tackle these in isolation, and so international collaboration is crucial to studying and addressing the major challenges of the 21^st century.

Science and Innovation officers from nineteen Consulates, Embassies and High Commissions around the world gave evidence for this report, which underscores the importance of our work in promoting scientific collaboration. Keep us in mind when you’re planning your next research proposal – we may be able to help.