The benefits of engaging

in international
collaboration
Nicholas Harrap
2nd Year
PREST

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 Introduction

• Research questions
• Broad research design
• Very brief summary of some major points from
literature review
• Results/analysis of British Council questionnaires
• Results/analysis of interviews with UK policy
officials
• Future research

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 Research Questions
Part 1- Context and Rationale
1. What are the characteristics of the UK’s international collaboration activities?

2. Why does the UK devise policies and funding mechanisms to encourage

international collaboration?

3. Why would researchers wish to collaborate internationally?

Part 2 – Actual Impacts and Benefits

4. How do researchers benefit from international collaboration?

5. How does international collaboration impact on the UK?

6. What are the socio- economic benefits of international collaboration?

*Is an exploratory ‘what question’ could also be framed as ‘How does
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
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international collaboration produce socio-economic benefits?’
 Broad Research Design

Combining the strengths of UMIST and

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Literature review
PART 1 PART 2
Context and rationale Impacts and benefits

Analysis of British Council programme

evaluation questionnaires
•Build understanding of drivers for international Design and
collaboration carry out case
•Is focussed on what drives researchers to collaborate – studies to test
micro level
the theory that
has been
developed from
Interviews with UK policy officials the research
•Build understanding of rationale for policies results of part 1
•Is focussed on the drivers at a macro level

Build and develop framework of rationales

•Will include a series of hypotheses to test
•Will also be feedback from part 2
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 Literature Review

Combining the strengths of UMIST and

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 Direct Benefits
Micro level
• Access foreign or joint facilities and
equipment
• Share/Access techniques and skills
• Increase knowledge capacity
• Access unique sites and populations
Macro level
• Share costs and risks
• Share/Access techniques and skills
• Strengthen areas of weakness
• Address transnational or global
problems
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Indirect Benefits
• Personal inspiration, ambition and
reputation
• Encourage further or additional links
and enhance future funding
opportunities
• Cultural and personal
experience/enjoyment
• Improve economic performance by
increasing science and technology
capacity (catch-up)
• Engender goodwill and understanding
• As a foreign policy tool
• Promote S&T strengths
• Increase inward investment
• Access foreign markets
 Analysis of British
Council programme
evaluation
questionnaires

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 What was analysed

• Five evaluations of British Council Programmes in Australia, Canada, France,

Germany and New Zealand undertaken in mid 1990’s by PREST

• Although questionnaires not specific for my topic information on the motivations

and outcomes of a collaboration was available in a Motivation section,Outcomes
section and General Comments section.

• Useful information was extracted and then group under several heading based on
the categories from the literature review. The categories were then re-assessed
and modified.

• Was a cut-and-paste process using Word

• This initial qualitative research was focussed on the benefits to researchers – the
micro level.
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 Analysis results

Share / Access Knowledge and Skills

• ‘As direct result of techniques and experience gained I have set up a dedicated lab at
[Institution A] performing ongoing research into vascular physiology. It would not
have been possible without the assistance of the team I visited at [Institution B].’
(Australia Evaluation)
Increase awareness
• ‘Excellent means of bringing together scholars who may be working in parallel fields
but who could by virtue of distance or language of publication remain unaware of
each others work’ (German Evaluation)
Access foreign facilities and equipment
• ‘The lab in [an area of the UK] has had the resources to do experiments that I
cannot do in Australia allowing me to continue actively in an area I could not
otherwise fund’ (Australia Evaluation)
Access to unique sites and populations
• ‘First hand contact with Maori people in NZ’

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 Cultural and personal experience / enjoyment
• ‘Improved appreciation of the different cultures of each side is another
important aspect of the exchange of graduate students’ (German Evaluation)
Personal inspiration, ambition and reputation
• ‘I benefited greatly from the few days contact with colleagues in [Institution
A], but not entirely in the ways I originally expected to benefit. The visit has
helped me to focus my research, and develop a plan for the next few years’
(German Evaluation)
Attract students and scientists
• ‘A number of my postgraduate students have since gone on to take post-doc
positions in the UK as a result of initial links set up during the original visit’
(Australia Evaluation)
Encourage further or additional links and enhance future funding
opportunities
• ‘Allowed easy access to other German research groups’ (German Evaluation)

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 Schematic presentation of results
Attract
students and Encourage further
scientists or additional links
and enhance future
funding
opportunities
Access unique
sites and
populations

Share/access knowledge
and skills

Access foreign or Increase

joint facilities and awareness
equipment
INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATION -
DRIVERS

Personal inspiration,
Cultural and personal ambition and
experience/enjoyment reputation

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 Interviews with UK policy
officials and others
prominent actors

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 Reasons for interviews

– UK Government has explicit policy objective to

encourage international interaction in SET
– Implicit in policy objectives must be a rationale. It is
the policy rationale that will be tested.
– Future case studies will also therefore act as a study
into merits of policy rationale

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Who interviewed:
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council: Tim Willis –Head of International
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council: Jane Sykes – Head of International Affairs
• Royal Society: Bernie Jones – Head of International Policy, Alison Payne – International Grants Section
• HM Treasury: Daniel Storey – Head of Science and Technology Division
• Global Watch Service (DTI): Frank Rott – Head of service
• International Research Excellence Study: Sir Gareth Roberts – study is mainly focussed on the USA
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Fiona Clouder-Richards – Head of Science and Technology Network
• Department for International Development: Dylan Winder – Information Division
• Natural Environment Research Council: Ruth Boumphrey – Head of International
• DTI Innovation Group Economists: Mark Beatson, Ray Lambert, Ian Harrison
• DTI Office for Science and Technology: David Bacon – Head of International Directorate
• British Council: Lloyd Anderson – Director, Science

Criticism – the interviewees at this stage are limited to government officials or establishment
figures. There is no appreciation of the concerns of NGO’s or other civil society groups.
This confines the rationale to that of government. However in part 2 of the research, where
these rationales will be tested, the data collection can draw on these other interested groups.
This initial rationale will be tested within the broader context.

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 Interview Questions
Semi-structured interviews based around the following structure

1. Background
2. Rationale and objective
a. What is the rationale and objective for the promotion of international
collaboration in SET?
3. Evidence for rationale
a. What is the evidence and reasoning that has informed this rationale?
b. How is the investment justified financially?
4. Types of mechanism
a. What types of mechanisms (top-down or bottom-up, bilateral or multilateral)
are favoured to achieve the objectives you outlined earlier and why are they
favoured?
5. Scientific priorities
a. Are areas of scientific research prioritised and if so what are the priority
areas?
6. Priority countries
a. Are countries prioritised and if so what are the priority countries (list or a
group)?
b. How are these countries decided upon: where does the advice come from?

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 Drivers of International Scientific
Collaboration

Diplomacy
Research Business/
(public and
Benefits Trade
traditional)

Push
Factors

Influencing Internation
Indirect Business/
Benefitsto Factorson Marketing Influencing al
Benefitsto Trade
Research Business/ Beneftis Benefits Relations
Research Beneftis
Trade Benefits

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 Improve research
quality/excellence
is property of
is associated with
Greater impact is property of New experiences &
is property of
personal
Enhance national is cause of
is cause of development
capability is cause of

is cause of
Awareness
Reinforce strengths is aided by
Increase
competence variety Scale is aided by

is associated with
is aided by
is aided by
Access facilities is aided by

is aided by
Leverage more
Access is aided by funds
skills/knowledge

Research benefits

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 Global competition is associated with
Attraction

is associated
is associated with is associated with withis associated with

Awareness is associated Promotion

is associated withiswith
associated with

is aided by is aided by Diplomacy

is associated with is associated with

Network influence
is aided by is associated with
Improve perception
is associated with is associated with
Peace
is associated with
Common standards is associated with
is associated with

is associated with Cultural relations

International influence

Diplomacy (public
and traditional)
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 Summary

• There is a wide and varied list of benefits that policy makers

feel they can achieve through international collaboration
• However the central theme is that it can enhance the quality of
research
• I now need devise a research protocol to test hypotheses
developed in this first stage of my research
• The current stage is designing the second stage of the
research………..

Combining the strengths of UMIST and

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