What do European research collaboration networks in life sciences look like?

For scientists and policy-makers it is important to understand the value of networks and collaborations for scientific quality and commercialisation of research results. The interplay between funding mechanisms and research collaborations is of particular importance in this context. We explore this interplay with an empirical analysis of international research collaborations involving EU countries as manifested by co-publication patterns and participation in life science projects funded by EU Framework Programmes. Our data confirms the importance of geographical proximity, however, it also indicates that ‘top-down’ funding disbursed through FPs is related to collaborations that are more European despite encouragement of collaborations with non-European partners. In contrast, copublication patterns suggest that European researchers tend to co-author more with global, rather than exclusively European partners and that this tendency is on the rise. These findings shed light on the influence of different funding policies that seek to nurture more diverse and integrated research partnerships. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.