Who collaborates internationally on R&D in Colombia

This paper delves on the determinants of international research collaboration involving developing countries, and provides evidence on the effects of both structural and functional factors on the design of collaborative strategies at the research team level. In particular, it studies the characteristics and collaborative patterns of 1889 Colombian research teams working in all scientific areas. It explores the effects of team size, team age, the number of team members with doctoral degrees, the characteristics of the team leader, the performance of the team, the sector of operation, the characteristics of the institution of affiliation, and the characteristics of the region they are located. A logistic regression model is used to account for the factors affecting the collaboration modality (hosting foreign researchers, working in projects with foreign funding, and co-authoring with colleagues working overseas) as well as the type of partner involved (partners from Northern and Southern countries). It finds that the number of members holding doctoral degrees and the characteristics of the team leader have the strongest explanatory power of the collaborative behaviour of teams in Colombia. It concludes outlining policy implications and recommendations.