Evaluating Performance of Collaborative Research Networks: a Socio-economic Framework for Assessing Fundedresearch Projects

Managing knowledge and advancing innovation inscience involves the partnering ofgeographically dispersed and institutionally distinctactors. However, the capacity to evaluate performanceof these research networks is lagging the adoption ofthe collaborative model. This book presents a novelframework that combines social network analysis witha series of descriptive and relational indicators tolongitudinally assess three phases of thecollaborative process. The study, in particular, explores the impact of network structure onproductivity. Two federally funded research projects, each distinct in terms of structure, are assessed. One network is self-organized, funded outright withno government intervention. The other, however, isdeemed imposed with a strong government hand in thenetwork structure. Results suggest that a history ofcollaborative activity amongst network actors ispositively correlated with future performance andnetwork structure does, in fact, impact network-basedproductivity. This book is a useful resource for project managers, managing scientists as well as program developers ingovernment agencies that advocate and support research.