Abstract:
Concerns have been raised that the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Quality Evaluation has had a negative impact on research collaboration between researchers in New Zealand universities. This report examines a number of analyses of research collaboration as well as presenting a new analysis of inter-institutional collaboration during the period the PBRF has been in operation. The analysis shows that: • the rate of inter-institutional collaboration in indexed journal publications by New Zealand university authors has increased since the PBRF was introduced • the rate of increase has broadly matched that of other sectors in New Zealand (such as Crown Research Institutes), or rates of increase in universities in other countries • although we cannot tell what would have happened to inter-institutional collaboration if the PBRF had not been introduced, the PBRF does not appear to have hindered growth in inter-institutional collaboration • a feature of inter-institutional collaboration in New Zealand universities is a low rate of overall collaboration, but high relative rates of international collaboration.