Collaboration between universities and hospitals intensifies in times of crisis.

Economic and public health conditions influence universities' research priorities. A study led by INGENIO, a joint research centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), reveals how, in times of economic growth, cooperation between universities and businesses increases, while in times of crisis and high disease burdens, collaboration with hospitals is strengthened.

The conclusions of the study, which has been published in the Research Evaluation journal, were drawn after analysing 1.4 million scientific publications on cancer, mainly breast and skin cancer, authored by academics between 2004 and 2023, of which half a million are co-publications with hospitals or companies.

Joaquín M.ª Azagra Caro, a researcher at INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) involved in the study, explains that "in times of crisis, science becomes more social. However, when the economy grows, commercial logic prevails. With this study, we wanted to demonstrate this trend and recommend that, in periods of economic expansion, scientific policies should also reinforce research linked to hospitals to ensure that commercial interests do not relegate health challenges," adds the author.

The analysis shows that, in periods of economic crisis, research prioritises work with hospitals to accelerate the development of public health solutions in response to demands from public authorities for universities to become more involved in the healthcare system. The study identifies two phases of economic recession during the analysed period: the recession of the early 2000s and the Great Recession that began in 2008. "Shortly after each of these, there was an increase in collaboration with hospitals. In contrast, after the subsequent boom periods, collaborations between universities and companies began to recover, 'explains Azagra.

The INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) researcher concludes that, with this work, the team 'hopes to enrich the ongoing debates on how the co-creation of scientific knowledge relates to commercial and social imperatives in an ever-changing global research landscape."

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