The questions universities ask us

Reputation rankings measure opinion: what a sample of academics or employers say. Citation rankings measure impact: how often work is cited. Neither measures collaboration: who a university actually builds knowledge with, and how central it sits in the global research network. The Research Collaboration Index measures exactly that, from the record of co-authored research itself. It is not a competitor to those measures; it captures a dimension they were never designed to see, and it correlates only loosely with them, which is the point.

No. The index is computed from the open scholarly record on a fixed, published method, and is identical for every university, partner or not. Nothing a university pays for touches its score or position. A partnership licenses the intelligence report, the Connected Research Institution mark, editorial features and academic memberships, never the result. This is set out in full in our independence charter, and it is the foundation of the index's credibility.

The collaboration measures are built from the open global scholarly record (published under a CC0 public-domain dedication): 26.8 million co-authored research records across 1,195 universities and 81 countries, 2021 to 2025. Funding is drawn from the European Commission's CORDIS database and, for national research grants, from the funders' own open award records (for example the tri-agency in Canada and the Australian Research Council). Every figure on a university's fact file links back to its source so it can be independently checked. The full method is published on our methodology page and is reproducible.

The index is built entirely on open, licence-clean public data (the open scholarly record CC0, CORDIS and national funders' open datasets); it uses no proprietary or purchased third-party ranking data. A partnership is a straightforward annual licence with a single contract, and we can accommodate a university system or consortium under one agreement. Personal data is handled under UK GDPR; outreach is on a legitimate-interest basis to institutional contacts, and any individual can opt out at any time. We are happy to complete a supplier or data-processing questionnaire.

There are three packages. Every one includes your enhanced fact file (your funding won and its named funders, six data visualisations of your collaboration network, where you lead the world by field, and the partners to win next with the funding route to each) and access to your rivals' enhanced fact files (two, five or up to ten). Higher tiers add the licensed Connected Research Institution mark for longer, more editorial features in the Research Network Report (172,000 verified academics), more academic memberships, a branded public profile, subject-award eligibility and bespoke region-and-subject campaigns. The partnership page sets out all three.

Two ways, both free and with no obligation. You can submit your institution's data for review: we verify it, fold it into your fact file, and come back to you with your enriched standing and the next step. Or simply start a conversation with our team, no committee and no contract required. Either lets you see the value before deciding, and you can view an example enhanced fact file in the meantime.

The complete ranking, with every university's exact position, is released on 1 September 2026 with a coordinated global launch. Until then, each university can see its own collaboration profile and qualitative standing, and founding partners are named at launch. Partners receive an embargoed preview ahead of the public release.

Yes. The scholarly record occasionally mis-attributes affiliations, and we run a verification window before launch. If something looks off on your fact file, tell us and we will check it against the source and correct any genuine error. Accuracy is in everyone's interest, and a correction never depends on a partnership.