Current Policies and Research Organizations Relating to International Scientific Collaboration

CURRENT POLICIES AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION DAVID C. EVERED* The continent of Europe, to the casual observer, would appear to be characterized by its diversity. It is quite clear that there are major linguistic , ethnic, and ideological differences that separate and even divide its various constituent countries. These differences, however, are in many ways only superficial. Europe in the Middle Ages had a common language (Latin) and a common religion, and these were the bases on which much of European culture was based. They provided a framework for the founding of the university system as we now know it in the Western world, and they also provided opportunities for scholarly communication. Science not only survived the decay of that common language and the fragmentation of the common religion, but it was one of the threads that held the fabric of European society together during the 17th and 18th centuries. The earliest form of international collaboration in science was the traffic in ideas that occurred between people who were interested in the natural sciences. This exchange of ideas was possible in the first place as a result of the scholarly wandering that was a pastime of the wealthy. These personal contacts were subsequently developed and reinforced by exchanges of letters, the development of periodicals, and the establishment of learned societies. It was during this period that scientists in all disciplines began to recognize their interdependence and learn that intellectual interchange was an essential element in the development ofconceptual thought. The habit of travel and the establishment of personal contacts have not only persisted but have expanded enormously in recent years. The growth of the scientific community by many orders of magnitude and increasing ease of travel have made it possible for more scientists to meet more frequently, thus allow- *Director, The Ciba Foundation, 41 Portland Place, London WIN 4BN, England.© 1986 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 003 1-5982/86/2932/$01.00 S34 I David, C. Evered ¦ International Scientific Collaboration ing them to identify common objectives, to develop mutual trust, and, in many instances, to establish collaborative research projects. The growth ofcollaborative projects can be quite easily demonstrated. I have conducted a small survey that I would hesitate to dignify by giving it the name of research. I have noted in the major biomedical journals that the mean number of authors per paper has risen from between one and one-half and two in 1950 to between four and one-half and five in 1980. There has been a similar increase in the proportion of published papers reporting observations that have been made in laboratories in two or more countries. These have grown from 1 percent of the total papers in The Lancet and Nature 30 years ago to 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in thesejournals today. These figures clearly demonstrate the desire and enthusiasm of scientists for collaborative activities both within and between individual countries. The figures themselves do not, of course, demonstrate that there is a need for such collaborative activities, but bearing in mind the difficulties that may arise in successfully conducting projects on an international basis, they do provide strong prima facie evidence of the value of such activities. This evidence must, however, be supported by hard numerical data emphasizing the importance of collaborative research, in order to secure funds for these purposes in the future. Contributors to this symposium raise many important issues, and I should like to highlight some of these. It is inevitable that much of the discussion relates to collaboration between scientists in developed countries . We should not, however, underestimate the importance of cooperation between the more and the less developed countries of the world. Biomedical research is heavily dominated by the contributions that are made by the large, wealthy Western countries. Communication and collaboration with less developed countries are important; developing countries not only share many of the biomedical problems of the developed world, but they also have other problems that are almost uniquely their own. Cooperation between scientists in the developing and the developed world poses particular problems, which deserve our attention . There is also a case for developing the research enterprise...