Research questions:

1
International Research Collaboration and
Governance of Public Research Organizations in
Nano ST
Inga Ulnicane-Ozolina, MA, MPhil STePS University
of Twente The Netherlands 31 53 489
4235 i.ulnicane-ozolina_at_utwente.nl
Research questions What are main motivations
for international research collaboration in nano
ST? Which organizational factors facilitate or
hamper international research collaboration in
nano ST? Methodology In-depth interviews with
researchers Analysis of CVs data on
international projects, co-publications (Web of
Science) and public research organizations Cases
German non-university institutes (Max Planck,
Fraunhofer, Helmholtz, Leibniz) and their
collaboration partners abroad (in particular NL,
FR, UK)
Diagram 1 Analytical framework of study
International research collaboration
National varieties of governance of public
research organizations
Emerging field of nano ST (multidisciplinary
research, complementarities)
Collaboration plays a very important role in our
science. We dont do everything, we have to go
and seek our partners. It is important and I
would be very much poorer or my science would be
very much poorer if I did not have these
collaboration possibilities (from an interview)
Diagram 2 Collaboration journey development,
forms and results

• Preliminary results
• Main motivations
• to do more science and
• better science
• solving scientific problem,
• looking for complementary
• skills and knowledge, for
• scientific inspiration
• search for resources human
• resources, infrastructure,
• funding
• Influencing factors
• Collaborative environment
• in house
• Resources available in house
• Personnel with track record of
• international mobility
• Organizational culture

Start Conferences, colloquia, predecessors
Informal Joint experiments Learning new
methods Sharing equipment Preparing grant
applications Exchange of PhD students

• Formal
• Research projects (FPs,
• ESF, bilateral)
• Supporting activities
• Training (Marie Curie)
• Communication

Semi-formal Sabbaticals, short stays
Results Co-publications, joint patents Training
of students New skills, knowledge,
ideas Visibility of topic organization
..nanoscience is very much about finding
complementary partners, people that bring you
further by doing something new Collaboration
is never really easy. You always have to do a
special effort to get going and to go into the
right direction. It is communication between
labs and making agreements and sticking to
agreements and getting to agreements (quotes
from interviews)
PhD project is supervised by prof.dr.S.Kuhlmann Pr
oject is part of German-Dutch-Swiss research
group Governance Of Research funded by
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
University of Twente.