2.5 Scientific collaboration

Nowadays, collaboration of the scientific community at national and international level, is an important factor towards an enhanced knowledge production and scientific excellence. Indeed, interactions and scientific relationships across networks, teams, institutions and countries increase the visibility, the number of citations and the impact of publications. The level of international collaboration can be measured by analyzing author institutional affiliations provided on publications. 

The collaboration degree in Greek publications* and its evolution over the period 1996-2010, as displayed in Figure 2.5.1, showed a clear increasing trend, both at national and international level. In 2010, co-publications by Greek researchers accounted for 62.3% of the total publications output, compared to only 51.5% in 1996. This figure was close to the average EU and OECD. However, the years following 2008, the degree of national collaborations marked a slight decrease, while the degree of international collaboration continued to increase.

Figure 2.5.1

During the most recent 5-year period 2006-2010, Greek researchers cooperated with scientists from 166 countries. Figure 2.5.2 highlights these links and regions. Greece’s main publishing partners were the United States, the UK, Germany, France and Italy.

Figure 2.5.2

Figure 2.5.3 illustrates the annual growth in the number of Greek publications with national*, international* and no* collaboration for the period 1996-2010.

Figure 2.5.3

 

[n1] Knowledge, networks and nations, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2011

 

[n2]OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2011

 

Collaboration degree was calculated on the basis of the whole counting approach. Consequently, in the case of a publication produced by authors who came from different countries, each country received a whole count of the publication.

 

Number of publications with at least one national collaboration

 

Number of publications with at least one international collaboration

 

Number of publications with one single Greek institution