Chapter 11 – Research collaborations
11.3 Interstate and International collaborators
state or territory or country to the host or administering institution of a cancer research project or research program (2006 to 2011). In total there were 290 cancer research projects and research programs with locations provided for interstate and/or international collaborators. For each state or territory location of the host or administering institution, the number of cancer research projects and research programs which had one or more collaborators in each state or territory or international location is provided in Figure 11.4.
In summary, for each State and Territory, the most common collaboration locationsu were as
follows: `
` For the 80 cancer research projects or research programs where New South Wales was the host state:
`
– 41 had collaborators in Victoria; `
– 29 had international collaborators; `
– 27 had collaborators in Queensland; `
– 16 had collaborators in Western Australia; and `
– 14 had collaborators in South Australia. `
` For the 48 cancer research projects or research programs where Queensland was the host state:
`
– 22 had collaborators in Victoria; `
– 20 had collaborators in New South Wales; and `
– 17 had international collaborators. `
` For the 26 cancer research projects or research programs where South Australia was the host state:
`
– 9 had collaborators in Victoria; `
– 9 had collaborators in Queensland; and `
– 5 had international collaborators. `
` For the 5 cancer research projects or research programs where Tasmania was the host state: `
– 3 had international collaborators. `
` For the 94 cancer research projects or research programs where Victoria was the host state: `
– 28 had international collaborators; `
`
` For the 36 cancer research projects or research programs where Western Australia was the host state:
`
– 14 had collaborators in Victoria; `
– 12 had collaborators in New South Wales; and `
– 9 had international collaborators. `
` The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory together had 3 cancer research projects and research programs with collaborator location information provided. Given the small numbers an analysis of location of collaborators may not be meaningful. However, Figure 11.4 shows the collaborator location breakdown for these research projects and research programs
For the 91 cancer research projects and research programs which had one or more international collaborators, 42 (46%) had one or more collaborators in the US, 17 (19%) had one or more in the UK, 16 (18%) had one or more in European Union nations, 9 (10%) had one or more in New Zealand, 9 (10%) had one or more in Canada and 6 (8%) had one or more in other nations. v
Figure 11.4 Interstate and international collaborations: number of cancer research
projects and research programs and location of collaborator(s) in the period 2006 to 2011 0 Location of C ollaborator(s) No . prospec ts/programs
State/Territory location of Host Institute
NSW QLD SA TAS VIC WA ACT NT NSW QLD SA TAS VIC WA ACT NT International 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
11.4 Discussion
The analysis in this Chapter is limited by the fact that not all funders were able to provide data on the level of collaboration and/or location of collaborators for cancer research projects and research programs. While the proportion of cancer research projects and research programs with named collaborators increased from 58% to 65%, due to differences in the way that collaborations were reported by some funding organisations, we were unable to make a comparison with the audit of 2003 to 2005 for the location of named collaborators. For those research projects and research programs which did provide details of the location of collaborators in the period 2006 to 2011, 75% of cancer research projects and research programs had collaborators in the same institution. A smaller proportion of cancer research projects and research programs involved collaborations outside the host institution, be it in the same State or Territory, interstate or internationally, highlighting the opportunities available to researchers to collaborate outside their host institution. Most of the interstate collaborations were with researchers in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. International collaborators were most commonly from the US, which is a major funder of cancer research (see Chapter 12).
From 2003–2005 to 2009–2011, the number and proportion of funded cancer research projects or research programs with multiple named collaborators increased, whilst the proportion with no named collaborators decreased. In addition, the average funding to cancer research projects or research programs decreased for those research projects and research programs with no named collaborators and increased markedly for those with a single or multiple named collaborators. These findings demonstrate a trend toward more collaborations in funded cancer research. The proportional split of the level of funding in each collaboration category in the period 2006 to 2011 demonstrated that for research projects and research programs with no named collaborators, most research projects and programs received funding of $150,000 or less, whereas for those with one or more named collaborators, most research projects and programs received more than $150,000. In addition, the proportion of cancer research projects and research programs with multiple named collaborators that received more than $600,000 was two-fold higher than for those with a single or no named collaborators.
Collaboration in research supports the sharing of knowledge and skills, as well as enhancing the efficient use of available infrastructure and resources. Research collaborations can build research capacity and critical mass and bring together the best minds to expedite research and accelerate the achievement of improved cancer outcomes. National and international collaborations can limit the duplication of research effort, and funders of cancer research could foster collaboration by developing and implementing funding models which value and reward research collaborations. However, establishing collaborations is, in part, dependent on identifying researchers who work in similar research areas. International databases such as the International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP) database provide information on cancer research projects funded by over 80 international organisations. The addition of information on Australian cancer research funding to this database and promulgation of awareness and use of this database