Excellence and growth dynamics: A comparative study of the Matthew effect
(2015) In Science and Public Policy 42(5). p.661-675- Abstract
- In the past two decades, centres of excellence (CoE) and other ‘research excellence initiatives’ likely to increase the cumulative advantages and stratification of science, have been implemented in many countries. Based on empirical studies of CoE in four Nordic countries, this paper examines how the resources provided by CoE schemes (generous long-term funding, prestige and visibility) add to the success and growth dynamics of the CoE. The data indicate a modified Matthew effect with ceilings and limits avoiding excessive accumulation of resources. Important impacts of the CoE are found, in particular in terms of enabling more interdisciplinary collaboration and risk-taking and enhancing international recruitment to the research areas... (More)
- In the past two decades, centres of excellence (CoE) and other ‘research excellence initiatives’ likely to increase the cumulative advantages and stratification of science, have been implemented in many countries. Based on empirical studies of CoE in four Nordic countries, this paper examines how the resources provided by CoE schemes (generous long-term funding, prestige and visibility) add to the success and growth dynamics of the CoE. The data indicate a modified Matthew effect with ceilings and limits avoiding excessive accumulation of resources. Important impacts of the CoE are found, in particular in terms of enabling more interdisciplinary collaboration and risk-taking and enhancing international recruitment to the research areas involved. But, in contrast to what might be expected, the CoE grant seem to add less to the relative citation rate of those already performing at the highest level, than for those performing at a somewhat lower level prior to the CoE grant. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8309855
- author
- Langfeldt, Liv ; Benner, Mats LU ; Sivertsen, Gunnar ; Kristiansen, Ernst H. ; Aksnes, Dag W. ; Brorstad Borlaug, Siri ; Foss Hansen, Hanne ; Kallerud, Egil and Pelkonen, Antti
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- centres of excellence, impact of funding instruments, cumulative advantages, Nordic countries
- in
- Science and Public Policy
- volume
- 42
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 661 - 675
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000363980600005
- scopus:84943775637
- ISSN
- 1471-5430
- DOI
- 10.1093/scipol/scu083
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b2b65b6d-9860-4ffb-bb56-4a3ece8cb526 (old id 8309855)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:03:22
- date last changed
- 2022-04-12 01:20:38
@article{b2b65b6d-9860-4ffb-bb56-4a3ece8cb526, abstract = {{In the past two decades, centres of excellence (CoE) and other ‘research excellence initiatives’ likely to increase the cumulative advantages and stratification of science, have been implemented in many countries. Based on empirical studies of CoE in four Nordic countries, this paper examines how the resources provided by CoE schemes (generous long-term funding, prestige and visibility) add to the success and growth dynamics of the CoE. The data indicate a modified Matthew effect with ceilings and limits avoiding excessive accumulation of resources. Important impacts of the CoE are found, in particular in terms of enabling more interdisciplinary collaboration and risk-taking and enhancing international recruitment to the research areas involved. But, in contrast to what might be expected, the CoE grant seem to add less to the relative citation rate of those already performing at the highest level, than for those performing at a somewhat lower level prior to the CoE grant.}}, author = {{Langfeldt, Liv and Benner, Mats and Sivertsen, Gunnar and Kristiansen, Ernst H. and Aksnes, Dag W. and Brorstad Borlaug, Siri and Foss Hansen, Hanne and Kallerud, Egil and Pelkonen, Antti}}, issn = {{1471-5430}}, keywords = {{centres of excellence; impact of funding instruments; cumulative advantages; Nordic countries}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{5}}, pages = {{661--675}}, publisher = {{Oxford University Press}}, series = {{Science and Public Policy}}, title = {{Excellence and growth dynamics: A comparative study of the Matthew effect}}, url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/1520514/8310382.pdf}}, doi = {{10.1093/scipol/scu083}}, volume = {{42}}, year = {{2015}}, }