Australia Increases Research Collaboration with China

A study from Thomson Reuters shows broadening international collaboration in the research of Australia and, to a lesser degree, New Zealand, over the past 10 years. The US continues to be the biggest contributor to Australian and New Zealand publications, but of special interest is a sizable increase in Australia’s collaboration with China.

The study, Global Research Report: Australia and New Zealand, found that collaboration within the Asia Pacific region is changing. Although collaboration with Australia among some Asia Pacific nations (such as New Zealand, India, and Singapore) increased, and collaboration with China doubled (rising from 2.3 percent to 4.4 percent of all Australian outputs), collaboration with Japan remained unchanged.

Likewise, Japan’s rank as a contributor of co-authored papers with New Zealand fell from sixth to eighth. “Researchers in Australia and New Zealand have been increasing their share of publications co-authored with international colleagues,” said Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation. “We’ve seen a shift in geographic focus of these collaborations. While countries such as Russia and South Africa decrease in importance, there are increases in collaboration with Spain and Switzerland, and more importantly, with China and India.”

Other key findings include:

· Australia’s share of world research publication output has grown steadily from 2.85 percent in 1999 to 3.18 percent in 2008;

· In the same period, the volume of Australian publications has risen annually by an average of five percent – a growth rate that is higher than that of world publication averages;

· Computer science, materials science, environment/ecology, and clinical medicine are subject areas where Australia has increased its outputs, consistent with its national research priorities;

· Subject areas that have grown in the volume of outputs in New Zealand are computer sciences, biology and biochemistry, immunology, and neurosciences and behavior, consistent with the country’s government research, science and technology agenda.