Scientific Output and Collaboration of European Research Public Organisations Research and Innovation
EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Directorate C Research and Innovation Unit C.6 Economic analysis and indicators E-mail: rtd-innovation-papers-studies@ec.europa.eu RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu Contact: Carmen Marcus, Matthieu Delescluse and Pierre Vigier (Head of unit) European Commission B-1049 Brussels
EUROPEAN COMMISSION Scientific Output and Collaboration of European Research Public Organisations Authors of the study Guillaume Roberge, David Campbell, Olivier H. Beauchesne, Andréa Ventimiglia, Michelle Picard-Aitken, Stephanie Haustein and Éric Archambault Science-Metrix Inc., Canada 2013 Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
This report is part of the study Analysis and Regular Update of Bibliometric Indicators carried out by Science Metrix-Canada under the coordination and guidance of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Directorate Research and Innovation, Economic analysis and indicators Unit. EUROPE DIRECT is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed LEGAL NOTICE Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. The views expressed in this publication, as well as the information included in it, do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European Commission and in no way commit the institution. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013 ISBN 978-92-79-33740-6 doi:10.2777/45622 European Union, 2013 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Cover images: earth, #2520287, 2011. Source: Shutterstock.com; bottom globe, PaulPaladin #11389806, 2012. Source: Fotolia.com
Table of Contents Executive Summary... ii Tables... xiv Figures... xvi Acronyms... xvii 1 Introduction... 1 2 RPOs Collaboration Patterns within the ERA... 4 3 Scientific Publication Profiles of RPOs... 11 3.1 Overall in Scopus... 12 3.2 Main S&T Fields... 14 3.2.1 Applied Sciences... 16 3.2.2 Arts & Humanities... 25 3.2.3 Economic & Social Sciences... 28 3.2.4 Health Sciences... 30 3.2.5 Natural Sciences... 37 3.2.6 General Fields... 45 3.3 FP7 Thematic Priorities... 47 4 Conclusion... 73 5 Methods... 78 5.1 Bibliometric Indicators... 78 5.2 Graphic Representation of Data... 81 5.2.1 Dashboards... 81 5.2.2 Collaboration Networks... 81 5.3 Standardisation of Author Addresses from Universities and RPOs... 82 5.3.1 Main Rules for the Standardisation of the Author Addresses... 83 5.3.2 Universities... 83 5.3.3 RPOs... 83 5.3.4 Level 1 RPOs... 83 5.3.5 Level 2 RPOs... 84 5.3.6 Level 3 RPOs... 85 5.4 Methods for Matching Scientific Subfields to FP7 Thematic Priorities... 86 5.5 Limitations of Bibliometrics in the Social Sciences and Humanities... 89 Appendix RPO Legend... 90 i
Executive Summary Background Science-Metrix has been selected as the provider of bibliometric indicators for the European Commission s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG Research), starting in September 2010 and extending to September 2014. This work involves the collection, analysis and updating of bibliometric data that will be integrated into the European Commission s evidencebased monitoring of progress towards the objectives set forth in the Lisbon framework and the post-lisbon Strategy for the European Research Area (ERA). The bibliometric component of this monitoring system is part of a package of six complementary studies reporting on the dynamics of research activities along the whole spectrum of knowledge, from R&D investments to publications, patents and licensing. The analyses provided by Science-Metrix to the European Commission focus on the scientific performance including impact and collaboration patterns of countries, regions and research performers (such as universities, public research institutes and companies). The statistics produced by Science-Metrix are based on a series of indicators designed to take into account national and sector specificities, as well as to allow for a comprehensive analysis of the evolution, interconnectivity, performance and impact of national research and innovation systems in Europe. They also provide an overall view on Europe s strengths and weaknesses in knowledge production across fields and subfields of science. In measuring progress towards past and current objectives, this information aims to support the development of research policies for the ERA. The Present Report This report examines the scientific performance and collaboration profiles of Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) within the ERA (i.e., within 35 countries more specifically EU-27 countries, candidate EU countries, EFTA countries and Israel) across main S&T fields and the thematic priorities funded under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7). RPOs are not-for-profit organisations performing research. They usually do not have direct association with universities. Three categories of RPOs are distinguished based on their size, multidisciplinarity and geographic dispersion: Level 1 RPOs are multidisciplinary in scope and often comprise several small to medium research institutions and centres across a country; Level 2 RPOs perform research in a specific scientific domain. Smaller than level 1 RPOs, they may also have small centres and/or institutions across the country. For example, hospitals and affiliated centres without affiliation to universities are found in this category; and Level 3 RPOs conduct research internationally or across the ERA. The analysis covers 150 RPOs whose productions of peer-reviewed scientific papers from 2007 to 2011 were the largest within the ERA. The production profiles provided in this report are based on bibliometric indicators, which serve to measure and compare the scientific performance across RPOs in diverse areas of scientific enquiry (i.e., main S&T fields and FP7 thematic priorities). These indicators include: Number of publications: publications were counted based on both full (FULL) and fractional counting (FRAC); Specialisation Index (SI): an indicator of research intensity in a given research area; ii
Average of Relative Citations (ARC): a field-normalised measure of scientific impact (also takes into account the publication year and document type of scientific contributions in the normalisation process) based on the citations received by an entity s papers; thus, it is a direct measure of scientific impact. In this report, the ARC is based on data from the 2007 to 2008 period due to incomplete citations windows for documents published later; Average of Relative Impact Factors (ARIF): a field-normalised measure of the scientific impact of publications produced by a given entity based on the impact factors of the journals in which they were published (also takes the publication year of scientific contributions into account in the normalisation process). As such, the ARIF is an indirect impact metric reflecting the average citation rate of the publication venue instead of the actual publications. As a result this indicator may serve as a proxy for the quality of the research performed by a given entity. Indeed, the more cited a journal, the more researchers will seek to publish in it and the more the editors will be in a position to select the best papers; Highly cited publications: the percentage of papers in the 10% most-cited publications in the reference database (making use of the normalised citation score of individual publications); Number of co-publications: the number of publications co-authored by at least two entities (e.g., institutions). The number of co-publications is based on full counting. The report is primarily descriptive, focusing on the salient points relevant to the report s two main sections. Firstly, the report presents the collaboration patterns of ERA RPOs in the sciences in general (aggregated data in Scopus, Section 2). It subsequently describes their production profiles by main field and FP7 thematic priority (Section 3). The report also includes a brief conclusion to provide some insight into the key findings (Section 4) as well as comprehensive methods (Section 5). Key Findings RPO Collaboration Patterns (see Section 2) Section 2 provides an overview of the collaboration patterns of the 150 most-publishing ERA RPOs in Scopus. Within the collaboration network of the most-publishing ERA RPOs, institutions tended to cluster according to their geographic location (i.e., country). This is not so surprising since barriers to partnerships e.g., the physical and/or cultural distance separating individuals are often smaller within than between countries. The UK, France and Italy are dominant within the network of ERA RPOs, each with about 25 institutions within the 150 most-publishing RPOs. The remaining ERA countries all had fewer than 10 institutions in the network. According to four indicators of network importance, France, Italy and the UK are, in absolute terms, the key (i.e., most central) countries within the network. They are followed by Germany, Spain and Finland. This finding aligns fairly well with observations made in other studies performed at the country and university level. Seven level 1 RPOs performed well with respect to all four indicators of network importance. Ranked in descending order of their number of publications (fractional counting), these are the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, the Max Planck Society, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Italian National Research Council (CNR), the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). Additionally, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic also stand out for the diversity of their partners in the network. iii
Among level 2 RPOs, four stand out across the four indicators: one each from France (Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, or AP-HP), Italy (the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, or INFN), the UK (the Science and Technology Facilities Council, or STFC) and Switzerland (the Paul Scherrer Institute, or PSI). Similarly, the European Commission s Joint Research Centre (JRC) stands out among level 3 RPOs. Based on an indirect measure of scientific impact (or quality ) which relies on the impact factors of the journals in which an institution published its papers, the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology ranks first (ARIF 1.86) among level 1 RPOs and is followed by the Medical Research Council (MRC has an ARIF of 1.64), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC has an ARIF of 1.61) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ARIF 1.56). Among level 2 RPOs, the leading institution in this regard is the Helsinki Institute of Physics (ARIF 1.72), and for level 3 RPOs, the World Health Organization stands out with the highest ARIF (1.60). In further examining the collaboration pattern of ERA RPOs using a diverse set of indicators based on co-authorships, only the 25 most-publishing RPOs (based on full counting) among the selected 150 are presented. This subset of 25 RPOs is distributed across the three groups of RPOs in the same proportions as in the original selection of 150 ERA RPOs (i.e., six level 1 RPOs, 17 level 2 RPOs and two level 3 RPOs). In this subgroup, one can see that between 8% and 26% of publications from level 1 RPOs were authored exclusively by their own researchers (conversely, between 74% and 92% of their publications were co-authored with at least one external partner i.e., involved interinstitutional co-authorship). The level 1 RPOs that collaborated the most are INSERM in France (92% of papers involving inter-institutional co-authorship) and CNR in Italy (85%). Moreover, the Max Planck Society has the highest international collaboration rate (66%), followed by the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (56%). Among other level 1 RPOs, these two institutions also have the highest collaboration rates with the private sector (5.6% and 8.3%, respectively). A similar pattern was observed for level 2 RPOs: between 7% and 31% of their publications were authored exclusively by their own researchers (conversely, between 69% and 93% of their publications were co-authored with at least one external partner). The level 2 RPOs collaborating the most are the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in the UK (93% of papers involving inter-institutional co-authorship), the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy (INAF; 92%) and the Paris Observatory (91%). The latter two RPOs also have the highest international collaboration rates (both 78%). As might be expected based on their stated industry focus, two level 2 RPOs have remarkably high collaboration rates with the private sector, namely the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO; 13.5%) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI; 10.3%) in Switzerland. The two most-publishing level 3 RPOs, the World Health Organization and the European Space Agency (ESA), both have exceptionally high international collaboration rates (90% and 86%, respectively), which makes sense given their international structure. In addition, of the 150 selected RPOs, ESA has the highest collaboration rate with the private sector (about 21%). Key Findings Scientific Production Profiles of RPOs (see Section 3) Section 3 focuses on the scientific performance of ERA RPOs. Data on the scientific production profiles of these RPOs is presented overall in Scopus (Section 3.1), by main S&T field as per Science-Metrix ontology (Section 3.2), and by FP7 thematic priority (Section 3.3). In each of these sections, only the 25 most-publishing RPOs (based on full counting) from among the selected 150 RPOs are presented. This subset of 25 RPOs is distributed across the three groups of RPOs in the same proportions as in the original selection (i.e., six level 1 RPOs, 17 level 2 RPOs and two level 3 RPOs). iv
For the profiles across the 22 main S&T fields (Section 3.2), the findings are organised according to the groupings of these fields into six broad scientific domains based on Science-Metrix ontology (i.e., Applied Sciences, Arts & Humanities, Economic & Social Sciences, General Fields, Health Sciences and Natural Sciences). The most striking results are presented here. However, because there is a large amount of data pertaining to each of the three RPO levels examined, the reader is referred to the presentation of individual indicators (Table VI to Table XXVII) for a more thorough understanding of the performances of RPOs. Overall in Scopus The ERA contributed to over 3.3 million publications indexed in the Scopus database (37%). Among the six level 1 RPOs with the largest outputs (based on full counting), two are located in France, two in Germany and one each in Spain and Italy. Of the 17 leading level 2 RPOs (based on full publication counts), the UK is represented by the most (five), followed by France (four) and Italy (three). The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France has the largest output among level 1 RPOs in the ERA, with close to 190,000 publications in 2007 2011 (FULL); in fact, CNRS and two German level 1 RPOs, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (62,000 FULL) and the Max Planck Society (52,000 FULL), each produced more publications than the leading ERA universities. Assistance publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP- HP) has the largest output among level 2 RPOs, with more than 34,000 publications (FULL). The World Health Organization and the European Space Agency (ESA) are the top level 3 RPOs based on scientific output, with about 5,400 and 5,000 publications (FULL), respectively. In terms of scientific impact, the Max Planck Society has both the highest ARC (1.82) and ARIF (1.46) within the selection of level 1 RPOs, as well as the highest percentage of papers within the 10% most-cited publications (22.1%). Of the 17 selected level 2 RPOs, Cancer Research UK ranks first based on the ARC (2.11), ahead of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1.95) and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (1.85). These three RPOs also perform strongly according to the ARIF and the share of their papers among highly cited publications. Among level 3 RPOs, the World Health Organization has some of the highest scores for the ARC (2.08), ARIF (1.60) and percentage of papers within the 10% most-cited publications (23.7%). These scores are all well above the world level. When considering the entire selection of 150 RPOs (data not shown in this report s tables, but available in its companion Excel data book), the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (2,200 FULL) and the Medical Research Council (MRC; 14,600 FULL) rank first and second, respectively, among level 1 RPOs for both the ARC (2.17 and 2.10) and the ARIF (1.86 and 1.64). These institutions also lead in the percentage of their papers within the 10% mostcited publications, with respective scores of 28.3% and 25.5%. Among level 3 RPOs, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL; 3,100 FULL) has the highest ARC (2.16), second highest ARIF (1.51) and highest percentage of papers within the 10% most-cited publications (24.0%). Main S&T Fields Applied Sciences The countries most consistently represented by RPOs across fields in the Applied Sciences were France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. These fields include Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry; Built Environment & Design; Enabling & Strategic Technologies; Engineering; and Information & Communication Technologies. Among level 1 RPOs, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France is the clear leader, having produced the largest output in every topic in this field. The Helmholtz v
Association is also notable as one of the most-publishing RPOs for four of the five fields in the Applied Sciences. Specialisation and scientific impact for the level 1 RPOs varied across S&T fields, but several organisations stood out based on their scores in these indicators in more than one field, such as three German RPOs (the Helmholtz Association, the Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Society), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), CNRS and the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF) in Norway. For level 2 RPOs, the largest producers in terms of output varied widely between fields and were typically those RPOs with an obvious focus on topics of relevance to the corresponding field. For example, the most-publishing level 2 RPO in Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry was the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the most-publishing level 2 RPO in Engineering and Information & Communication Technologies was the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), also from France. In terms of specialisation and impact, the results varied as well; however, the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing & Research (EMPA) is worth mentioning since it stood out in more than one field of the Applied Sciences. For instance, it had the largest ARC (2.20) in Enabling & Strategic Technologies, in Built Environment & Design (3.69), and was also a strong performer in all three impact indicators in Engineering. Among level 3 RPOs, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) deserves special mention as it consistently placed either first or second in terms of scientific output across most fields within the Applied Sciences. The European Space Agency (ESA) also had one of the largest outputs in Engineering as well as in Information & Communication Technologies. In three fields (Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, Enabling & Strategic Technologies and Engineering), the JRC stands out for its specialisation and scientific impact, which are above the world level. Main S&T Fields Arts & Humanities The fields of the Arts & Humanities represent some of the smallest research areas in Scopus (see Section 5.5 on the limitations of bibliometrics in the Social Sciences & Humanities). They include Communication & Textual Studies, Historical Studies, Philosophy & Theology and Visual & Performing Arts. Because of the relatively small output of RPOs in those fields, many of the indicators could not be calculated, particularly the ARC and share of papers within the 10% mostcited publications. Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS produced the largest number of publications in all fields of the Arts & Humanities although it is only specialised in Historical Studies. Alternatively, several level 1 RPOs are specialised, often with SI scores far above the world level. For example, the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) is highly specialised and has the highest scientific impact in Historical Studies (7.04), the Slovak Academy of Sciences is highly specialised in Philosophy & Theology (8.53) and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is highly specialised in Visual & Performing Arts (4.33). Historical Studies is the only field within the Arts & Humanities where at least one level 2 RPO published more than 30 papers. The top two publishers are in fact all natural history museums (from France and the UK), which were also by far the most specialised in this field. No level 3 RPOs published more than 30 publications (full counting) in any Arts & Humanities field. Main S&T Fields Economic & Social Sciences The domain of Economic & Social Sciences comprises the two fields of Economics & Business, and of Social Sciences (see Section 5.5 on the limitations of bibliometrics in the Social Sciences & vi
Humanities). RPOs from Germany, France and the Netherlands are generally leading in these fields. Once again, CNRS is the top-publishing level 1 RPO in both of these fields, although its scientific impact is below the world level. In contrast, the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Association both have relatively high impact scores compared to the world level. For level 2 RPOs, the Netherlands is notable for having two RPOs with high output, specialisation and fairly high impact, namely the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO; in Economics & Business) and the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (in the Social Sciences). Not all indicators could be calculated for level 3 RPOs in these fields because of their relatively small outputs. Most notable is the presence of the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) in both fields, which is joined by UNESCO (in the Social Sciences). This latter RPO also displayed an SI above 3.5, indicating a high level of specialisation in the Social Sciences. Main S&T Fields Health Sciences Health Sciences encompasses the largest field in the Scopus database i.e., Clinical Medicine (1,980,000 publications) along with Biomedical Research, Public Health & Health Services and Psychology & Cognitive Sciences. Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and various Scandinavian countries are the most frequently represented in these fields. Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS and INSERM (both French RPOs) generally share the first and second ranks in terms of output size in these fields. In terms of specialisation, the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK deserves mention as it is consistently highly specialised across all of the Health Sciences fields. With regard to scientific impact in the Health Sciences, MRC is a consistently strong performer with high ARC and ARIF scores, as well as high shares of highly cited publications, often along with the Max Planck Society and INSERM. The level 2 RPOs with the largest output in all fields of the Health Sciences is the Assistance publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). Most often, an RPO from the UK has the second highest output. Similarly to level 1 RPOs, British RPOs such as the Health Protection Agency and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust often have the highest SI scores. In fact, the great majority of the 17 selected level 2 RPOs are specialised in their respective fields, with very few tied with or below the world level. By contrast, the scientific impact of level 2 RPOs in these fields was highly variable, with no single organisation or country consistently standing out. Among level 3 RPOs, only a few organisations published more than 30 papers in all fields of the Health Sciences. Generally the World Health Organization and EMBL were found to lead in scientific output, impact and specialisation, which is not surprising given their mandates. Main S&T Fields Natural Sciences The domain of the Natural Sciences includes another large S&T field, namely Physics & Astronomy (880,000 publications), along with Chemistry, Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Mathematics & Statistics. The countries most often represented by RPOs in these fields are France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and various countries in central Europe (e.g., the Czech Republic, Romania). Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS consistently ranks first in terms of output, often accompanied in the top six by the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Spanish CSIC and the Italian National Research Council (CNR). In almost all fields, the top six level 1 RPOs are specialised in the field in question. Some exceptionally high SI values were also vii
viii observed, such as for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; 15.15 in Earth & Environmental Sciences and 6.45 in Biology), the Romanian Academy (5.98 in Mathematics & Statistics), INRIA (6.03 in Biology) and the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA; 4.45 in Physics & Astronomy). In terms of scientific impact, most of the top six in output size perform better than the world level, particularly in Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Physics & Astronomy. The Max Planck Society stands out for achieving some of the highest impact scores in many of the Natural Sciences fields. For level 2 RPOs, those with the highest output, specialisation and impact vary importantly across fields, such that there is no single leader that stands out clearly in the Natural Sciences in general. Nevertheless, several outstanding performances were observed. In Biology, extremely high specialisation scores are observed (e.g., Royal Botanic Garden Kew; 23.19), especially for museums of natural history across the entire ERA. In Chemistry, RPOs in the UK and Switzerland (e.g., Science and Technology Facilities Council [STFC], Cancer Research UK, Paul Scherrer Institute [PSI] and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research [EMPA]) are notable for achieving both large output and high impact. In Earth & Environmental Sciences, the Instituto Nationale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) stands out for both the size and specialisation (SI 29.37) of its production. It also has remarkably high impact scores, together with several other level 2 RPOs (e.g., 39.2% of PSI papers are within the 10% most-cited publications). Mathematics & Statistics is a smaller field, with only eight organisations producing more than 30 publications (FULL), namely the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Office National d Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA), STFC, Assistance publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the Paris Observatory, the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). INRIA stands out with the largest output by far (1,200 FULL, almost eight times the size of INFN s output in second place), high specialisation (4.95) and high scientific impact. In Physics & Astronomy, INFN has the highest output and second highest specialisation, while the Helsinki Institute of Physics ranks first across the three scientific impact indicators and also for specialisation. Several level 3 RPOs are noted for their high output, specialisation and impact in fields of the Natural Sciences, including the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Main S&T Fields General Fields General Fields include one of the smallest S&T fields indexed in Scopus, namely General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (9,900 publications; see Section 5.5 on the limitations of bibliometrics in the Social Sciences & Humanities); the other main field in this domain is General Science & Technology. As seen in many other S&T fields, Germany and France are often well represented, as are the UK and Italy. Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS has the highest output in both fields in fact, it is the only RPO (all levels) to produce more than 30 publications in General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. In General Science & Technology, the Medical Research Council (MRC in the UK), the Max Planck Society (Germany) and the Helmholtz Association (Germany) are notable for their high output and high specialisation. Only 11 level 2 RPOs have enough publications in General Science & Technology for the computation of the ARC and of the proportion of papers within the 10% most-cited publications. Cancer Research UK leads based on the ARC, while the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) leads based on the share of its papers among highly cited publications as well as based on ARIF. The Curie Institute is the most specialised level 2 RPO.
The European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL) stands out as the level 3 RPO with the most publications, the highest specialisation and high impact, with scores that are distinctly above the world level. FP7 Thematic Priorities Here again, only the 25 most-publishing RPOs (based on full counting) were presented by thematic priority (Section 3.3). The most salient results are highlighted below for FP7 thematic priorities grouped as well as for each individual priority area. However, because there is a large amount of data pertaining to each of the three RPO levels examined, the reader is referred to the presentation of individual indicators (Table XXVIII to Table XLIV) for a more thorough understanding of the performances of RPOs. FP7 Thematic Priorities (grouped): Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS has the largest scientific output in FP7 thematic priorities (grouped). INSERM is also notable as the only organisation among the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs that is specialised in the FP7 thematic priorities (SI 1.27). However, this is not surprising since it is less multidisciplinary than most level 1 RPOs; it has a strong focus on health research, which is highly important among FP7 thematic priorities. All six most-publishing level 1 RPOs across the FP7 thematic priorities perform above the world level in terms of scientific impact, with the Max Planck Society taking the top places for all three impact indicators. Meanwhile, Assistance publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP- HP) is the most-publishing level 2 RPO across the FP7 thematic priorities (grouped) and one of the most specialised (SI 1.36). Interestingly, several UK hospitals have a strong presence (both in terms of the size of publication output and specialisation) among leading level 2 RPOs. Finally, the World Health Organization is the level 3 RPO with the largest scientific output in the FP7 thematic priorities. It is also specialised (SI 1.35) and has high impact scores irrespective of the impact indicator. The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) had the next highest output and its scientific impact is appreciable based on the three indicators, although it is not specialised. The pattern of geographic location of the mostpublishing RPOs is similar across priority areas. Germany, France, Spain, the UK and Italy are generally well represented, as are Switzerland, the Netherlands and Finland in several areas. Health: CNRS is the leading level 1 RPO in terms of scientific output, followed by INSERM. All six most-publishing level 1 RPOs (from France, Germany, Italy and Spain) have a higherthan-world-average scientific impact in this area based on the ARC, ARIF and proportion of highly cited publications, particularly the UK s Medical Research Council (MRC), the Max Planck Society, INSERM and the Helmholtz Association. As noted in the overall analysis of FP7 thematic priorities (grouped) for level 2 RPOs active in Health research, the UK has a strong presence with seven hospitals and organisations under the National Health Service (NHS) included in the selection of the most-publishing RPOs. The AP-HP also stands out for its very large output. Finally, the World Health Organization and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) are the most notable level 3 RPOs, having the largest outputs as well as specialisation index and impact scores well above the world level. Food, Agriculture and Fisheries: Top level 1 RPOs based on scientific output include CNRS, the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA; also the level 1 RPO with the highest SI) and CSIC; these three also perform better than the world level in terms of scientific impact. Notably, another level 1 RPO, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), combines a high degree of specialisation with the strongest ARC, ARIF and percentage of papers in the 10% most-cited publications in this field. For level 2 RPOs, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) has the largest output while the Agricultural and Food Development Authority in Ireland ranks second in output, but with the highest specialisation index (SI 21.97). Meanwhile, the highest ARC, ARIF and percentage of highly cited publications are obtained by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and the UK s James Hutton Institute. The ix
European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a highly performing level 3 RPO across all indicators. Biotechnology: CNRS is the most-publishing level 1 RPO, although it is not specialised. In contrast, the majority of the most-publishing level 1 RPOs are highly specialised in this priority area, particularly INRA. In addition to INSERM, which leads based on its ARC score, two German RPOs the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association have impact scores (i.e., ARC) appreciably above the world level. The Max Planck Society also leads based on its proportion of highly cited publications, while the Helmholtz Association leads based on its ARIF. For level 2 RPOs, Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) are the two most-publishing organisations in Biotechnology. Cancer Research UK leads for all three impact indicators and is highly specialised. Meanwhile, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is by far the leading level 3 RPO in terms of output; it is also highly specialised (SI 13.72), and has scores well above the world level for all three scientific impact indicators. Information and Communication Technologies: CNRS leads among level 1 RPOs based on the size of its scientific production, far ahead of the other organisations in this group. The Fraunhofer Society is the only RPO among the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs specialising in this area. On the other hand, all six RPOs have ARC scores and percentages of their papers in highly cited publications above the world level. INRIA a level 2 RPO is worthy of mention for ranking higher than all but one level 1 RPO (i.e., CNRS) based on the size of its scientific output. Within the subset of 17 level 2 RPOs, six have SI scores above 5, including the five most-publishing ones (i.e., INRIA, the Instituto De Telecomunicações [IT], the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse [IRIT], the Research Institute in Computer Science and Random Systems [IRISA] and the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores do Porto [INESC PORTO]). The Centre National d Études Spatiales (CNES), INRIA, the Office National d Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) are the only level 2 RPOs performing above the world level for all three impact indicators. For level 3 RPOs, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) have the largest output; the former is specialised while the latter is not. Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS ranks first for the size of its output, and, along with the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association and CSIC, it is notable for being specialised and having high scores across all three scientific impact indicators. Note that, among the above four organisations, the Max Planck Society ranks second for the size of its output and obtains the highest scores in SI and all three impact indicators. The largest output by a level 2 RPO the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) remains modest at 110 papers (FULL), although it is highly specialised (SI 5.69). The Romanian National Institute of Materials Physics (NIMP) also has a remarkable SI (9.26). Because of low publication counts, few impact indicators could be calculated for this priority area, but the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) score the highest in terms of ARIF. For level 3 RPOs, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility produced the largest number of papers (80 based on FULL). It is specialised in this priority area, with scores above the world level for all three impact indicators. Materials (excluding Nanotechnologies): Similarly to the previous priority area, CNRS has the largest scientific output among level 1 RPOs, while the Max Planck Society has the highest scientific impact across all three indicators. The Helmholtz Association, CSIC and CNR also perform well in terms of scientific impact and are specialised in the Materials area. For level 2 RPOs, both the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) and the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) are worthy of mention for their large outputs, high specialisation and high scientific impact. With regard to level 3 RPOs, x
the same can be said for the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Institut Laue- Langevin. New Production Technologies: Among the top six level 1 RPOs with the highest scientific production (led by CNRS), the Fraunhofer Society and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are the only ones specialising in New Production Technologies. Meanwhile, CSIC ranks first according to all scientific impact indicators even though it is not specialised. For level 2 RPOs, the top two most-publishing entities are the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) and the Research Institute in Computer Science and Random Systems (IRISA) in France. They are specialised and have impact scores well above the world level in New Production Technologies. The European Space Agency (ESA) is the top level 3 RPO in terms of output size, with only about 60 publications; it is not specialised but performs better than the world level in terms of its ARIF. Construction and Construction Technologies: Of all level 1 RPOs, CNRS and the Helmholtz Association have the largest outputs. The Helmholtz Association also has the highest percentage of highly cited publications among level 1 RPOs. Of the six mostpublishing level 1 RPOs, the Fraunhofer Society is the only one specialising in this area (SI 1.48). The size of the scientific output is rather small for level 2 RPOs in this area. As such, the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has the largest production with only 150 publications (FULL); still, it is highly specialised in this area, having the highest SI among level 2 RPOs (SI 8.57). The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) is almost as specialised as the VTT, and ranks first across all impact indicators. Note, however, that due to the small output size in this area, the ARC and proportion of papers in the 10% most-cited publications could only be computed for VTT and EMPA. No level 3 RPO produced more than 30 publications in this area. Energy: Among the six level 1 RPOs with the largest production in energy research, the Helmholtz Association and the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) both have large outputs and high SI values, although CNRS retains the first place based on output size. Meanwhile, CSIC is not specialised but has the highest ARC, ARIF and share of papers in highly cited publications. The Max Planck Society and CNR also score above the world level in terms of the three scientific impact indicators. The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) is the level 2 RPO with the largest output in Energy. It is highly specialised and performs well above the world level for all three impact indicators. Meanwhile, the UK Atomic Energy Authority has the highest SI value (12.28) within the selected subset while the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) presents some of the highest scores for all three impact indicators. For level 3 RPOs, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) has the largest output, but it is not specialised and presents impact scores on par with or slightly above the world level. Environment (including Climate Change & Earth Sciences): The top three level 1 RPOs for the size of their production in Environment are CNRS, the Helmholtz Association and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The latter also has a very high SI (12.70). All six level 1 RPOs with the largest output perform similarly well in terms of scientific impact, none of them standing out in this respect. Among level 2 RPOs, the largest output belongs to Italy s Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), which is also the most specialised (SI 20.14). In fact, the majority of the level 2 RPOs have high SI and scientific impact scores, such as the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Met Office UK, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG-ETH) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). For level 3 RPOs, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and UNESCO perform similarly, both achieving high SI and impact scores. Aeronautics and Space (the same finding applies to both thematic priorities, as they were matched to the same subfields; see Section 5.4): Among the six level 1 RPOs with the largest scientific production in this area, the Helmholtz Association clearly dominates (ahead xi
of CNRS) in terms of scientific output, while the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey has the highest SI (6.06). The ARC and the percentage of papers in the 10% mostcited papers could not be computed for all organisations, but all computed scores for the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs are well above world level. Regarding level 2 RPOs, the Office National d Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) and the Centre National d Études Spatiales (CNES) in France emerge as leaders considering their output size as well as the very strong focus they put on space research (SI greater than 27). ONERA also has high scores across all three impact indicators. The European Space Agency (ESA) is the only level 3 RPO to have produced 30 or more publications (720 FULL) and it is very highly specialised (44.26) in this area. However, its scientific impact scores are on par with or below the world level. Automobiles: This is a small field, with only 10,300 publications in Scopus. Overall, only five RPOs published at least 30 papers in this field: two from Germany and one each from France, Portugal and Italy. Notable among them is the Fraunhofer Society (level 1) for its specialisation, although Portugal s Instituto De Telecomunicações (IT; level 2) is even more specialised, with an SI of 24.82. The ARC and the share of papers in the 10% most-cited publications could not be computed for most RPOs, and only CNR had an ARIF above the world level. Other Transport Technologies: Among level 1 RPOs, CNRS has the largest output by a wide margin. While none of the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs are specialised in this area, most of them have a high scientific impact, especially CNR, CNRS and the Fraunhofer Society. The majority of level 2 RPOs are specialised, and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) and the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) are both notable for having large outputs and high SIs. The ARIF was the only impact indicator that could be calculated for most level 2 RPOs, with the highest values being those of the Institut National de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l Environnement et l Agriculture (IRSTEA), the Office National d Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA). The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the only level 3 RPO with at least 30 publications; it is not specialised in Other Transport Technologies but has greater impact than the world average based on the ARIF. Socio-Economic Sciences: Besides CNRS, which has the largest production among level 1 RPOs, the Leibniz Association has a large output and is the only level 1 RPO among the six most-publishing ones specialising in this priority area. The Max Planck Society also has an appreciable output and ranks first for all three indicators of scientific impact among the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs. Regarding level 2 RPOs, the Netherlands performs well as the two RPOs publishing the most are the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). The former is in fact the only level 2 RPO that is specialised in this area and it ranks first for the ARC and share of papers in highly cited publications (these two impact indicators could only be computed for three level 2 RPOs given the small output size for most level 2 RPOs). Both organisations, along with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) and the James Hutton Institute, also have appreciable scientific impact as measured by their ARIFs, which range from 1.30 to 1.51. Although its impact is below the world average, UNESCO is noted for its output size and specialisation among level 3 RPOs. The reader is referred to Section 5.5 for information on the limitations of bibliometrics in the Social Sciences & Humanities. Humanities: CNRS ranks first among level 1 RPOs, with a scientific output in the Humanities nearly five times as large as the publication outputs of CSIC and the Leibniz Association, ranked second and third, respectively. Within the selection of the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) achieves the highest SI (3.29), although the other ones are also specialised. The Max Planck Society, which is not specialised, leads in scientific impact irrespective of the indicator used. In the level 2 category, the two xii
largest producers are both museums of natural history (in France and the UK). The National Museum of Natural History (France) also has the highest SI value, but its ARC and ARIF are only on par with the world level and its proportion of highly cited publications is below the world level. The Natural History Museum (London) achieves the second highest SI and presents impact indicators strongly above the world level. The lower performance of the National Museum of Natural History (France) in terms of scientific impact could be due to some of the limitations of bibliometrics in the context of measuring the humanities (see Section 5.5. No level 3 RPO produced more than 30 publications in the Humanities. Security: Three of the six most-publishing level 1 RPOs in this area are from France: CNRS, the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). Within this top six, CNR and CSIC are the most specialised. CSIC has high scientific impact, with an ARC, ARIF and share of highly cited papers well above the world level. Only three level 2 RPOs, namely Italy s Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), have at least 30 Security-related publications. INGV is highly specialised in this field (11.99), while TNO is also specialised, but to a lesser extent (3.08). The only indicator of scientific impact that could be computed is the ARIF for INGV (0.89), with a performance slightly below the world level. Finally, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the leading level 3 RPO based on output size. It is specialised (8.17) and its scientific impact is on par with the world level according to its ARIF. It scores above the world level based on the ARC and the proportion of papers in the 10% most-cited publications. xiii