Grr Brazil Jun09

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June 2009

Jonathan adamsChristopher King

global researCh report

brazilResearch and collaboration in the new geography o science


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GLOBAL RESEARCH REPORT

The auThors

Jonathan Adams is Director, Research Evaluation.

He was a ounding Director o Evidence Ltd, the UK specialist on research perormance analysis and interpretation.

Christopher King is Editor o Science Watch (ScienceWatch.com), a newsletter and web resource tracking trends and perormance in basic research.

This report has been published by

Evidence Ltd 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9DF, UK

T/ +44 113 384 5680

F/ +44 113 384 5874

E/ [email protected]

Copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters

ISBN: 1-904431-20-8


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This report is the rst in a new series

launched by Thomson Reuters to inorm

policymakers about the changing dynamics

o the global research base.

In 2006, Evidence, Ltd. published a report

with UK think-tank Demos on the uture o

the UKs research collaboration with other

countries. That report ocused on the growth

o the research base in China and the chang-

ing geography o research rom a trans-

Atlantic axis to a wider global network.

China is a key player in a grouping which

policymakers call the BRIC countries: Brazil,

Russia, India and China. This report builds

urther on that analysis by examining the

state o play in another member: Brazil.

Brazil is an increasingly important and

competitive research economy. Its research

workorce capacity and R&D investment areexpanding rapidly, oering many new pos-

sibilities in a diversiying research portolio.

It has received much less policy attention

than China, however, and the research base

in Latin America in general is unamiliar to

many in Europe and Asia.

The report shows that Brazils output has

doubled in ten years to 2007, part o a

long-term trend o growth that ar exceeds

established G7 economies. Relative to the

rest o the world, Brazil has exceptional

capacity in biology-based disciplines and

research related to natural resources.

Brazils main international partners are led

by G7 economies with very large research

bases o their own. It also has excellent

and ast growing links with Portugal, and

appears to be a key player in an emerging

regional network. The organizations which

underpin this collaborative web are interna-

tionally excellent in their own countries.

International collaboration provides access

to new ideas as well as knowledge, and the

expanding BRIC economies will be a key

source o this innovation. The compass o

research and innovation is swinging moreand more strongly to the east and south.

Policymakers in well-established research

economies need to understand what is hap-

pening and be prepared to engage with new

research landscapes.

the new geography o sCienCe:researCh and Collaboration in brazil : June 2009

introduCtion


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Brazil is an exciting and innovative research-based economy, with a much longer history

o cutting-edge technology than most people outside South America recognize. In the

uture, they remain ignorant at their peril. Brazils research economy is expanding rapidly

and strongly and its knowledge strength has led one well-inormed think-tank to name it

the natural knowledge economy.

Peaks in the geography o knowledgeand innovationDemoss detailed and inormation-rich Brazil reportiidraws attention to the 2005 launch o EmpresaBrasiliera de Aeronuticas Ipanema, the worlds rstcommercial aircrat to run solely on biouels. Whatis less amiliar is the story o Alberto Santos Dumontrom Minas Gerais who claimed in 1906 to havebuilt the worlds rst practical airplane ollowing theWright Brothers demonstration o the easibility opowered fight.

Today, Brazil produces more than 40% o theworlds bio-ethanol, a response to the governmentsPrAlcool bio-ethanol policy in 1975. It aims or morethan three-quarters o its cars to run on biouels,backed by its programmes or engine development.It is a major player in other innovation areas, draw-ing on its antastic natural resources and its richagricultural economy.

Annual increases in R&D spendHeadline numbers give pause or thought. Brazilhas 190 million people and predicted 4.6% annualGDP growth prior to recent global crises. In 2007, itsR&D expenditure reached $US13 Billion (adjustedPPP): almost 1% o GDP. That is behind the USA andwestern European leaders and an OECD averageover 2% but well ahead o anywhere else in LatinAmerica and many European nations. It is now ina similar relative position to Portugal and not arbehind Spain.

Increases in the pool o talentBrazil has 0.92 researchers or every 1,000 work-

ers. That is low compared to well-established G7economies, typically around 6-8 researchers perthousand, but is entirely comparable with otherlarge, growing research bases such as China. Brazilalso produces over 500,000 new graduates andabout 10,000 new PhD researchers each year, asimilar number to France and South Korea. This is aten-old increase in twenty years: Brazils research-skilled workorce is growing.

As in China and India, the most striking eature othe new geography o science is the sheer scaleo investment and mobilization o people behind

innovation that is underway, driven by a high-techvision o how to succeed in the global economy.

Emerging indicators o research excellenceDoes this investment yield results and change mapso research strength? It is starting to. Indicators oinnovation can be hard to pin down, but scienticpublications are one o the most useul places tostart.iii Thomson Reuters is the worlds leading sup-plier o inormation about research publications andtheir citations. According to ISI Web of KnowledgeSM,Latin Americas share o the worlds scientic papersrose rom 1.7% in 1990 to 4.8% in 2008. In certainelds critical to technology and innovation, oneo the most marked changes in this trend is theinexorable and steep rise o Brazil.

data on researCh

The data described in this report are drawn romthe databases o Thomson Reuters, which regularlyindexes data on articles in about 10,000 journalspublished world-wide. Numerous studies haveconrmed that Thomson Reuters data manage-ment policy ensures that its databases cover serialsregarded by researchers as the most signicant intheir eld.

The Thomson Reuters data allow us to look bothat Brazils internal research economy and at itsinternational links. International collaboration isan important marker o the signicance o researchactivity to partners and o those other countriesability to engage with the domestic research base.

Indicators o collaborationResearch collaboration is marked by a range o

programs or investment in joint projects, in a multi-tude o ormal and inormal collaborative work, andin the emergence o new ideas ed by intellectualdevelopment on all sides o these partnerships.

Lists o joint projects are not, by themselves, asucient marker o the strength o relationships.Such projects may be substantive and depend onreal and ongoing activity, but others represent anintellectual commitment that has yet to producetangible results.

Money is a potentially strong marker, but theabsence o unds set up specically or interna-

tional liaison means that many joint projects areunded at two home locations by national agenciesand are unctionally indistinguishable rom othernational research.

The new geography o science:

researCh and Collaboration in brazil


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Publications are a pervasive currencyJoint publications are a sound and valid marker.Publication data are readily available, cover awide range o countries, and can be grouped byyear and subject. Every research paper includes

the names and addresses o the authors. Thus,both the country o origin o the authors and theassociation between co-authoring nations canbe checked and indexed.

a standard 100 in 1981, and then work orwards.Comparing Brazil to such well-establishedresearch nations as Japan, the UK, Germany andthe USA we see how dramatically it has grown overmore than 20 years and also how it leads the packo Latin Tigers.

Latin American partners also growingThe graph shows the impressive growth o Mexicoand Argentina. With Brazil, these changes pointtowards a new axis o innovation or the 21stcentury. The UK and Germany have essentially heldtheir share o world outputs, while the USA hasactually grown at a slower pace than the rest o theworld (a world total benchmark is included aboveor reerence). Japan, having been the growth ocus

o the 1980s, has recently begun to slip back.

Where is Brazil ocused?Brazils research base is growing. But where doesits ocus lie and how does this map to the resto the world? This is an important question orobservers, because we need to know where we canbest engage with this vibrant research base andno two growing economies are alike. I we lookat China then we see an initial powering up otraditional core sciences and a recent shit towardslie sciences and health. I we look at Ireland theCeltic tiger then the ocus is on a strong clini-

cal base, biotechnology, and nanoscience. Eachcountry is dierent.

We looked at Brazil rom two dierent levels oocus: rst, a broad overview across the twenty-twomajor areas in Thomson Reuters Essential ScienceIndicators; then, a more detailed exploration othe 250 specic Web of Science elds.

Fields are scaled by journal groupings rather thanby any measure equating to researchactivity so Clinical Medicine (14,408 Braziladdressed papers in 2003-2007) and other core sci-ences eature high on any list ranked by sheer scale.

igure 1

Brazil has increased its research output rom about 8,000 to over 17,500papers in ten years

igure 2

Brazils share o world output is growing increasingly rapidly

brazil and researCh publiCationsIn this report we will concentrate on the ten-yearperiod rom 1998-2007, but we will rst put the riseo Brazil in context or a longer period.

Ten-old growth in papersThe sheer publication volume change o Brazilis phenomenal. In 1981 there were about 2,000papers with an author address or Brazil. In 2008

there will be about 20,000 papers. The rest o theworld changed in that period as well, but that stillrepresents a ten-old increase in papers indexed bythe same standard global database.

We can look at this another way, because the worldliterature is growing, We can index each countrysshare, by setting the volume o publication outputon Web of Science or each o a set o nations at

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

20000

15000

10000

5000

annulpublictionsinWebofScience

Volumeofpublictionscompredto1981=100

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

01981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006

brazil

MeXico

argenTina

Japan

worlD

gerMany

uK

usa


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Physics (10,121 papers), Biology (10,006 papers ororganismal biology and 5,240 in molecular biology)and Chemistry (9,635) all stand out.

Brazil produces 1.83% o world papersBut what i we scale against the balance in the resto the world? With around 85,000 papers over ve

years, Brazil had about 1.83% o the worlds paperspublished in journals indexed by Thomson Reuters

during 2003-2007. How did that share pan outacross dierent subject areas?

Brazils publications are analyzed here by EssentialScience Indicators categories or two successiveve-year periods. The top ten categories ranked byBrazils share o world publications in 2003-2007

are shown.

Table 2

Brazils share o world output in ten elds in Web of Science

d

s

(% d)

Vm

( 2003-07)

Tropical Medicine 18.40 1,433

Parasitology 12.34 1,635

Multidisciplinary Agriculture 8.61 1,627Oral Surgery & Medicine 8.19 2,203

Entomology 7.06 1,629

Dairy & Animal Sciences 6.49 1,617

Biology 6.43 1,999

Soil Sciences 5.84 947

Veterinary Sciences 5.79 3,421

Zoology 5.57 2,264

Table 1

Share o world publications

1998-2002 2008-2007 Rank

Count Share(%) Count Share(%) Share Growth

Plant & Animal Science 5,857 2.62 10,006 3.91 1 1

Agricultural Sciences 2,155 3.07 3,308 3.72 2 9

Microbiology 1,438 2.2 2,192 2.86 3 8

Environment/Ecology 1,353 1.47 3,209 2.63 4 2

Pharmacology & Toxicology 1,156 1.65 2,152 2.55 5 3

Neuroscience & Behavior 2,106 1.68 3,394 2.4 6 6

Physics 8.645 2.28 10,121 2.28 7 22

Immunology 725 1.28 1,225 2.11 8 5

Space Science 1,000 1.95 1,208 2.08 9 20

Biology & Biochemistry 3,189 1.29 5,240 1.97 10 7

Brazil clearly has very real strength in lie sciences,particularly related to natural resources. It really isthe natural knowledge economy. Both organismalbiology and environment/ecology are ranked high onshare relative to the global research base as a wholeand high on growth between successive periods.

Important areas crossing into bio-medicine are alsostrongly represented.

Now, we can dig a little deeper and nd out whichmore specic elds within these broad areas standout as key parts o Brazils research capacity.


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Key partner countriesBrazils top ten research partners appear to havechanged little over the last decade but this impres-sion is supercial. The USA remains by ar the larg-est partner; this is unsurprising, given its capacityto collaborate with an important regional neighbor.But Brazil also has strong links with three lead-ing European research economies, each o which

co-author about 3% o Brazils output. The UK andGermany have both increased their collaboration,with the UK overtaking France to move into secondplace. It is no surprise to nd that many o Brazilspapers linked to one EU nation are also co-authoredwith others, a consequence o the EUs collaborativepolicy drive or research cohesion.

Brazil is, not surprisingly perhaps, a key player glob-ally in two areas o critical importance to the healtho its population: tropical medicine and parasitol-ogy. It authors or co-authors a very high percentage- in both cases more than one paper in ten - o theworlds scientic publications in these areas.

As our broader view indicated, Brazil is also strongin areas related to animal and plant biology,agriculture and veterinary science. Its greater than5% share o world publications has underpinned keyeconomic sectors but also gives it the knowledgebase to develop its natural knowledge.

Table 3

Brazils leading international research partners in the last decade

p tv t b

s (%)

b Tt

1998-2002 2003-2007

USA 8,754 13,349 USA 11.1

France 2,773 4,162 UK 3.5

UK 2,628 4,131 France 3.4

Germany 2,249 3,727 Germany 3.1

Italy 1,403 2,358 Italy 2.0

Canada 1,294 2,382 Canada 2.0

Spain 1,245 2,313 Spain 1.9

Argentina 1,176 2,092 Argentina 1.7

Russia 790 1,381 Portugal 1.1

Japan 779 1,226 Netherlands 1.0

Netherlands 636 1,165 Japan 1.0

Portugal 634 953 Russia 0.8

Mexico 494 913 Mexico 0.8

Chile 457 795 Chile 0.7

brazil Collaboration speCiiC partners


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The list in this Table is not a complete refection othe top ten organizations: that would include somemore universities rom the USA. It has been selec-tively edited to give a more diverse favor to the rich-ness o Brazils links. The spread we report includes

institutions which would, in their own countries, beregarded as key players contributing to internationalresearch excellence. This is a strong signal o theperceived rewards o working with Brazil.

Table 4

International organizations collaborating requently with Brazil

ot ct nm -td

Univ Texas USA 1,021

Harvard Univ USA 813

Univ Paris 06 France 792

Centre National de la RechercheScientique

France 756

McGill Univ Canada 559

Imperial Coll London UK 482

Istituto Nazionale di FisicaNucleare

Italy 472

Univ Oxord UK 442

Univ Toronto Canada 424

Lund Univ Sweden 423

There is change among the diversity o other nationswith links to the Brazilian research base. Russiadrops out o the top ten but remains an importantpartner. The Netherlands moves up. But one o thebiggest movers is Portugal which has more thandoubled its collaboration between the early and lateve-year periods: a clear signal o the benets o a

shared language and cultural heritage

Regional partnersRegionally, Argentina, Mexico and Chile are avoredpartners. They show very high rates o growth incollaboration, well ahead o Europe and the USAbut not higher than Canada which collaborates witha surprisingly high 2% o Brazils papers. Perhapsthese are all signs o an emerging Americanresearch network that extends well beyond theregions biggest player but may make the regiona ar more dynamic and stimulating target as aresearch partner or the rest o the world.

Links among the BRIC countriesWhat is noteworthy, given preoccupations aboutAsian tiger economies is the absence rom theleaders table o China, India, and other nations.China and India are, in act, not ar outside the listand slightly behind Chile. It will be interesting tosee whether a more signicant BRIC partnershipdevelops or whether these three rely primarily onthe older geography as they grow.

Limits to growth?It will also be o policy interest to track the possiblecompetition between BRIC nations or researchpartnerships. Rarely discussed, this may be aconstraint to growth. The most attractive partnerorganizations can only support so many links, andexisting partnerships may exclude the possibility o

taking up new opportunities.

Collaboration across continents is expensive, in timeas well as material resources. That cost is only worthpaying i the benets are signicant. In research thatmeans partnering with high quality organizationsand leading research groups.

Key organizationsWho partners with Brazil? We looked at the tenyears rom 1998-2007 and counted the number oBrazilian authored papers with a co-author addressor an identiable organization elsewhere aroundthe world. Those at the top o the list, the mostrequent co-authoring institutions with Brazilianuniversities and institutes, include names amiliarthroughout the research world.


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Growth through collaboration, not competitionAgainst this backdrop, it is not surprising that thereis a growing interest in the quantity and quality oresearch links with Brazil. Some view the rise othe BRIC nations as a threat, worrying that it willdamage high-technology sectors in the USA and EU.But most policymakers recognize that science is nota zero-sum game: more in Asia and South Americadoesnt necessarily mean less in the old geography.Alongside new sources o competition, the rise oBrazil, China and, in the near uture, India createsnew opportunities or collaboration.

The cost o not making a commitment to partner-ship with Brazil will be signicant in terms o bothintellectual and economic development. Europe has

beneted nancially rom trading goods in the past.The new must have is knowledge, and Europe andthe USA must be ully involved in its uture trade, orbecome marginalized intellectually.

Gain through attitudes as well as knowledgeBrazils prole, its sheer size, its improvingexcellence, and its interace with the rest o theinternational research base make it an essentialpartner in any uture international research portolio.

Its culture will be dierent, however, so a key taskor research base managers in the North will be toensure they have the mechanisms in place or theirresearchers to take advantage o opportunities tocollaborate when they arise. They will learn romBrazils why and how as well as what is done.

Policymakers also recognize that collaboration is thebest way o accessing the knowledge developmentand innovation that comes out o research invest-ments made by other nations. It is part o knowledgenetworking. It is also a source o real gain, becausejoint projects benet rom joint intellectual invest-ment and rich synergies. Collaborative researchproduces more highly cited publications.iv

Despite the signs o increased collaboration, thereis no room or complacency. Given the ambitionand investment that Brazil, China, India, and otheremerging players are pouring into science andinnovation, collaboration should become a higherstrategic priority or well-established researcheconomies. Over time, the depth and quality onetworks in South America and Asia are likely tobecome more crucial to sustaining global long-termscientic and economic success.

international Collaboration:

a sourCe o Comparative advantage


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enDnoTes anD reerences Adams, Jonathan and Wilsdon, James (2006). T : UK researchand international collaboration. Evidence/DEMOS. ISBN 1 904431 07 0.

Bound, Kirsten (2008). b: t t kd m, pp 1-164. Demos.

London UK. ISBN 978-1-90669-300-8 www.demos.co.uk Glanzel, W, Leta, J and Thijs, B (2006). s b part 1: a macro-level comparative study.

Scientometrics 67, no 1, 67-86. Leta, J, Glanzel, W, and Thijs, B (2006), s b part 2:sectoral and institutional research proles. Scientometrics 67, no1, 87-105.

v Roberts, Sir Gareth (2006). itt t x. The report, or the UKsChie Scientic Adviser, explores collaboration between the UK and its major international partners:USA and Germany. It draws attention to the exceptional quality o research that involves internationalpartnerships, providing gains to both parties. It also notes that there are relatively ew sources osupport dedicated to ostering international links, which is a barrier to urther expansion at a time whensuch partnerships provide the scale to tackle major research challenges.It is available at tt://.dm.x..k///2005-06/m/4.tm


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