Knowledge without borders? The prospects for the UK’s international research collaboration

News and Views

Sarah Chaytor, Director of Research Strategy & Policy in the Office of the Vice-Provost, University College London, UK

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https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.112.16

‘Every great British scientist could only reach new frontiers of invention because they built on the work of others, exchanged ideas with their contemporaries and participated in an international community of discovery.’

The ‘international community of discovery’, as articulated by Theresa May (GOV.UK, 2018) earlier this year, is one of the most essential elements of science and research. Implicit in this statement are the benefits of being able to exchange ideas with a global community of scholars – intensified through increased physical and virtual connectivity – and the self-evident truth that knowledge and discovery is not limited by geographical boundaries.

However, in a world shaped by Brexit and Trump – not to mention the ongoing European migration crisis – geographical borders are in the spotlight. Many countries, including within the EU, are adopting rhetoric and policy measures that seem designed to close countries off, not open them up. This has potentially profound consequences for that ‘international community of discovery’, so it is worth considering what the implications of the current climate may be for the future of international research collaboration in the UK.

Many of my colleagues at UCL are acutely worried about the potential impact of Brexit on research mobility and their ability to collaborate with researchers in other European countries and beyond. Clearly, there are concerns about the short- and medium-term disruption and impact – both in terms of residency and future mobility and in terms of prospective future research projects and funding proposals. There is a very human element to all this, with people’s families, friendships and future career prospects potentially being affected. Furthermore, there are frustrations at seeing successful partnerships disrupted, invitations to join collaborations declining, and anticipated difficulty in participating in international conferences, visits and training for EU researchers post-Brexit.

International research collaboration, however, relies not only on the availability of funding, but on networks and relationships built over many years, and on the ability to regularly interact with academic and researcher peers to identify shared interests and complementary expertise. I wonder if the as-yet-unknown longer-term impact on this activity – an effect that is compounded by the prolonged uncertainty, a greater voice for those opposed to immigration, and a gradual shift in attitudes and perceptions to the UK so that it is seen as a ‘closed’ country – is what will be most damaging.

Why does this matter? In the first instance, because international collaboration contributes to the productivity and quality of the UK research base. The increase in research output and quality over the past three decades has been driven almost entirely by international collaboration (Papers with international co-authors on average have higher citations; Adams & Gurney, 2016). The UK’s internationally co-authored papers increased from less than 40% to nearly 60% of all papers between 2003 and 2016 (Marginson, 2018). In the context of Brexit, it is notable that since 2011 60% of UK universities’ international co-authors have been from the EU, and growth in international collaboration has largely been driven by the European Framework Programmes (Adams & Gurney, 2016). The UK’s research performance leads the world in terms of quality, but research quality (Elsevier/BEIS, 2016) and international collaboration are to some degree mutually reinforcing.

Secondly, international research collaboration matters for the UK’s place in the world. The strength of the UK research base is a significant factor in attracting international investment (Hughes et al., 2014), and the quality of our research and our universities (and their global links) are a key factor in the decisions of many global businesses to locate in the UK. As the Government’s Science and Innovation Network website states: ‘Maintaining our science excellence (and our reputation) and supporting innovation ensures the UK is a partner of choice, and helps UK companies with ambitions for rapid global growth.’ (GOV.UK, 2016)

The UK currently performs well in the global competition to attract a share of international research and development (R&D) investment (GOV.UK, 2014) and has the largest proportion of such R&D in the G7 Group of countries (Reid, 2014). This will be even more significant as the UK Government begins to consider how to meet its manifesto commitment of spending 2.4% of GDP on R&D; now is not the time to risk this international investment or to undermine our global partnerships.

Equally important is the role that our research strength plays in our ability to be a global leader and in our ‘soft diplomacy’. Our current success in international research collaboration plays an important role in the UK’s strategic global position and alliances, with research relationships offering a relatively harmonious means of forming partnerships. The Chief Scientific Adviser to the Foreign Office, in his categorisation of the different forms of
‘science diplomacy’ (Grimes & Hennessey, 2015), has emphasised the way in which research cooperation can enhance international relations – something which is particularly important as we see cooling and unpredictability in previously well-established diplomatic relations.

Finally, there is the increasing complexity and scale of the societal challenges we face. No single research discipline, institution or even country is able to address global challenges to deliver the solutions needed for humanity to thrive. Meeting these challenges will require the application of collective expertise; as UCL’s Vice-Provost (International), Dame Nicola Brewer, has written: ‘bringing together experts, irrespective of where they are in the world, means that the very best minds can be focussed on finding the solutions we all need’ (Brewer, 2018).

So, given its value across multiple spheres, what can be done to enable and strengthen international research collaboration?

There have been some positive policy announcements from the UK Government – the announcement soon after the 2016 Brexit referendum that they would underwrite participation in Horizon 2020 projects (GOV.UK, 2016), and more recently the Prime Minister’s statement favouring a ‘deep partnership’ on research and indicating that the UK wishes to continue to participate in Horizon Europe (GOV.UK, 2013) (with terms and details still to be determined). This is important because it signals a continued commitment to research collaboration, and a recognition that collaborative funding strengthens collaborative research. On a global level, the establishment of the £110 million Rutherford Fund to attract international researchers and the £900 million UKRI Future Leaders fund, accompanied by a new scheme to enable overseas researchers to come to the UK (UKRI.org, 2018), show recognition of the importance of attracting global talent (and enabling researcher mobility).

However, in the absence of a structure that brokers multi-partner collaborations, the UK may find itself confined to bilateral arrangements where national agreements can be formed. The current climate requires an ambitious response from universities and a clear statement that the UK must continue to foster partnership with EU member states and with the rest of the world. In particular, we can and should be more ambitious in responding to emerging opportunities for collaboration with rising research powers – not least to advance the global sharing of knowledge.

Universities can play a key role in strengthening international research collaboration. As an important counterweight to some of the more hostile rhetoric heard elsewhere, we must provide strong statements of our continued commitment to recruiting global talent, participating in international research endeavours and, above all, remaining open institutions committed to sharing knowledge and building common cause.

This positive rhetoric must be supported by concrete actions. University strategies – such as UCL’s global engagement strategy – provide the overall framework, enabling environment, and specific levers (including internal funding support and management of partnerships) to support international research collaboration. UCL’s own approach is characterised by a focus on building partnerships at all levels to deliver a number of academically driven strategic alliances, supported at the institutional level, under which a plethora of individual collaborations and relationships sit.

In the end, partnerships are forged by individuals. It is generally individual academics who are best placed to identify the experts in their fields (and beyond) with whom they want to collaborate and with whom strong partnerships can be established. So universities need to ensure that we put in place the right mechanisms and create the environment to support and strengthen this within our institutions, and to push for similar appropriate mechanisms to do so at a national level, including collaborative funding schemes and a sensible immigration system.

Yet this is about more than individual academics and individual institutions; international research collaboration ultimately should be about the global creation, sharing and application of knowledge to solve common challenges, not individual or institutional ambitions. To finish where I started, this global endeavour must be one in which the UK plays a full part. In the words of the Prime Minister: ‘…the Britain we build together in the decades ahead must be one in which scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and extended…with partners around the world.’
(GOV.UK, 2018)

References

May T (2018). PM speech on science and modern Industrial Strategy. Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-on-science-and-modern-industrial-strategy-21-may-2018

Adams J, Gurney KA (2016). The implications of international research collaboration for UK universities. Digital Science. Available at: www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/International/implications-research-digital-collaboration-uk-universities.pdf

Marginson S (2018). The new geo-politics of higher education. Centre for Global Higher Education Working Paper series 34.

Amongst its major comparator countries, the UK ranks first in field-weighted citation impact (a measure of the quality of research). Elsevier (2016). International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base – 2016. UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/660855/uk-research-base-international-comparison-2016.pdf

Hughes A, Bascavusoglu-Moreau E, Haskel J (2014). The Economic Significance of the UK Science Base –
A report for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. UK Innovation Research Centre. Available at:
http://sciencecampaign.org.uk/UKScienceBase.pdf

UK Science and Innovation Network Available at: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/uk-science-and-innovation-network

UK Trade and Investment have reported increasing numbers of inward investment projects ‘reported as involving R&D’. UKTI Inward Investment Report 2013-2014. UK Trade & Investment. Available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukti-inward-investment-report-2013-2014/ukti-inward-investment-report-2013-2014–2

Reid G (2014). Why Should the Taxpayer Fund Science and Research? National Centre for Universities & Business.

Grimes R, Hennessey E (2015). Why science is in the diplomatic toolkit. Science in Parliament 72(2), 10-11.

Brewer N (2018). By 2030, will universities ‘walk fast and alone – or walk far and together’?. Wonkhe. Available at: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/by-2030-will-universities-walk-fast-and-alone-or-walk-far-and-together/

Chancellor Philip Hammond guarantees EU funding beyond date UK leaves the EU. UK Government. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-philip-hammond-guarantees-eu-funding-beyond-date-uk-leaves-the-eu

New scheme for overseas researchers to come to the UK. UK Research and Innovation. Available at:
https://www.ukri.org/news/new-scheme-for-overseas-researchers-to-come-to-the-uk/