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Research Collaboration Index
A worked example using real, public data for Virginia Commonwealth University (United States), a Silver-band university.  See a world-leading example (Oxford) →

The enhanced fact file

Your entire collaboration network, read like a strategist would.

Not a scorecard. A dossier that tells a university leader exactly where the strengths, the risks and the fundable opportunities are, every figure sourced from the open research record.

โ—‹ Silver standing · Research Collaboration Index
๐ŸŒ North America · 251 universities benchmarked
23,703
co-authored works, 5 years
1,027
partner universities
76
partner countries
725
sustained deep ties
2.91
collaboration impact (FWCI)
88%
of partners non-redundant

The one-screen strategic read

Where you stand, at a glance.

The first thing a leader needs is not more data, it is a verdict. Three strengths to lead with, three challenges to manage, three opportunities to act on, each drawn straight from the network below.

Strengths
  • Dentistry is the standout field. Ranked #176 in the world for connected research, with Medicine #184, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Pharmaceutics #271 close behind: the anchors to build consortia around.
  • Strong on influence and impact. Virginia Commonwealth University sits in the 72nd percentile for influence and the 71st for impact: genuine, defensible strengths.
  • A genuine bridge, not just a hub. 142 of 162 partners (88%) are non-redundant, so it connects communities that would not otherwise meet.
Challenges
  • International is the softest pillar. At the 36th percentile it sits clearly below the others: the single clearest place to build.
  • Physical Sciences & Engineering is the at-risk domain. World #924 for connected research, far behind the rest of the portfolio: a real gap, not a crown jewel.
  • Network concentration. The top two partner countries (United States and China) carry about 85% of collaboration volume: depth, but a thin long tail.
Opportunities
  • Win HKU. World top-1. University of Hong Kong is top-146 globally in Health Sciences. Route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant.
  • Win CUHK. World top-3. Chinese University of Hong Kong is top-132 globally in Health Sciences. Route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant.
  • Convert your highest-yield tie. Harvard University returns the highest impact of your partners (FWCI 7.3). Formalise it into a funded consortium to compound impact, not just volume.

Scholarly weight

The impact behind the network

Collaboration only counts if the work lands. This is the citation weight of everything produced with partners, the substance under the network.

741
h-index of the joint research base
7.1M
citations to co-authored work
2.91
field-weighted citation impact (FWCI)
23,703
co-authored works, 2021-2025
50
collaboration efficiency, impact per tie

Visualisation 1

Your collaboration profile

Seven pillars, each shown as a global percentile. The dashed ring marks the top-decile benchmark; anything inside it is a genuine, defensible strength.

Influence72nd pctReach67th pctDiversity57th pctSustained69th pctImpact71st pctInternational36th pctBrokerage26th pct

Virginia Commonwealth University is strongest on influence (72nd percentile), impact (71st) and sustained (69th). Its brokerage diagnostic shows 142 of 162 partners (88%) are non-redundant, a genuine bridge between communities rather than a wide publisher.

The pillar to watch is International (36th percentile), the softest of the six and the clearest place to build.

Source: the open global research record, co-authored works 2021–2025, fractional counting

The anatomy of your standing

Exactly what your position is built from

Six pillars, each weighted, combine into one standing index. Nothing is hidden: this is the entire calculation, in a single bar.

InflImpaSustReacDiveEach block is a pillarโ€™s weighted contribution; together they place the university in the Silver band worldwide.
Influence22% weight72nd pct+15.8
Impact18% weight71st pct+12.8
Sustained18% weight69th pct+12.4
Reach16% weight67th pct+10.7
Diversity16% weight57th pct+9.1
International10% weight36th pct+3.6

Brokerage is reported alongside as a diagnostic, not folded into the score, so a university cannot inflate its standing simply by publishing widely. It measures whether you connect communities that would otherwise stay apart.

Visualisation 2

Where you lead the world, by field

Each subject placed on a log scale of world rank (1 to 1,195). The further left, the more globally central. Gold marks a top-50 standout, blue a solid position.

#1#10#100#1000Dentistry176Medicine184Pharmacology, Toxicoloโ€ฆ271Health Professions274Decision Sciences281Biochem. & Mol. Biology283
Standout (top 50)Solid (top 150)Ranked

Virginia Commonwealth University's strongest connected fields are Dentistry #176, Medicine #184, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Pharmaceutics #271. The portfolio leans on health & medicine; Physical Sciences & Engineering, at world #924 in the deep-dive below, is the clear at-risk area, exactly the gap this chart surfaces.

Source: subject-level indices, 26 fields, minimum 50-university gate

Discipline deep-dive

How you collaborate, faculty by faculty

The same network split into its four broad domains, each with its world rank for connected research and the five partners it leans on most. This is the view a dean or pro-vice-chancellor acts on.

Health & Medicine
World #229 for connected research
81/100
Top collaboration partners
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Johns Hopkins Universโ€ฆ586
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Virginia561
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University560
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Pennsylโ€ฆ438
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Washingโ€ฆ424
Life Sciences
World #487 for connected research
59/100
Top collaboration partners
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University183
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Califorโ€ฆ115
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Stanford University110
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of North Cโ€ฆ109
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Washington Universityโ€ฆ108
Physical Sciences & Engineering
World #924 for connected research
23/100
Top collaboration partners
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Virginia91
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Virginia Tech57
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Michigan54
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Chicago51
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University49
Social Sciences
World #491 for connected research
59/100
Top collaboration partners
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Virginia136
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University133
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of North Cโ€ฆ110
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Wisconsโ€ฆ97
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Florida85
Source: domain-level co-authorship, partner institutions 2021–2025

Visualisation 3

Which partnerships actually pay off

Every anchor partner plotted by collaboration volume against the citation impact of the joint work. The prize quadrant is top-right: high volume and high impact. The bottom-right is the trap: a lot of output, little impact.

Joint works (collaboration volume) →Impact (FWCI) →high yieldUniversity of VirgHarvard UniversityUniversity of CaliUniversity of Utah
High yieldStandardLow yield

Harvard University returns the highest impact of the set (FWCI 7.3): a consortium waiting to happen. University of Utah, by contrast, is a sizeable partner returning FWCI 4.1: worth asking what that volume is buying.

PartnerJoint worksFWCIYield
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Virginia821 4.3Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University769 7.3High yield
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Johns Hopkins University717 5.5Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill590 5.2Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Michigan573 5.3Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Washington521 6.4Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of California San Diego519 11.7High yield
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Pennsylvania513 5.0Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Stanford University490 6.6Standard
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Utah480 4.1Standard
Source: institution-to-institution co-authorship ledger + field-weighted citation impact

Visualisation 4

Your global reach, and where it thins out

Top partner countries

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States 27,268
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China 1,405
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada 1,275
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom 1,229
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy 845
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany 683
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia 643
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France 567

Anchor partner institutions

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Virginia 821
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Harvard University 769
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Johns Hopkins University 717
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 590
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Michigan 573
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Washington 521
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of California San Diego 519
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ University of Pennsylvania 513

The network spans 76 countries and 1,027 universities, but the top two carry about 85% of the volume. That concentration is where the resilience question lives, and the Europe white-space (11 of the region's 100 leading collaborators) is the clearest gap to close.

Source: co-authorship by partner-institution country, 2021–2025

Visualisation 6

The partners to win next

Not a generic wish-list. Globally central universities you are not yet deeply partnered with, each with the reason it matters and the specific programme that would fund the collaboration.

๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR · world top-1

University of Hong Kong is top-146 globally in Health Sciences. You have no joint publications yet, and it is a natural, fundable bridge in your strongest field.

Funding route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant

๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR · world top-3

Chinese University of Hong Kong is top-132 globally in Health Sciences. You have no joint publications yet, and it is a natural, fundable bridge in your strongest field.

Funding route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง University of Cambridge United Kingdom · world top-6

University of Cambridge is top-110 globally in Health Sciences. You have no joint publications yet, and it is a natural, fundable bridge in your strongest field.

Funding route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Monash University Australia · world top-7

Monash University is top-43 globally in Health Sciences. You have no joint publications yet, and it is a natural, fundable bridge in your strongest field.

Funding route: NSF / NIH international collaboration supplements, or a Human Frontier Science Program grant

Source: network white-space analysis + funder-programme mapping

The research base

The ecosystem behind the collaboration

A partnership does not plug into a name, it plugs into a base: the affiliated hospitals, presses, institutes and archives, and the research themes where the joint work concentrates.

Inova Fairfax HospitalHunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical CenterVCUQatarVirginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological ResearchMaterials Science in Extreme Environments University Research AllianceVCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer CenterVCU Rice Rivers CenterVirginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
MedicinePsychologyNeuroscience

Context

Your competitive set, and your signature research

Benchmarked against

The named peer group your fact file compares you to, pillar by pillar and subject by subject.

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ร‰cole PolytechniqueFrance
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Ben-Gurion University of the NegevIsrael
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Tulane UniversityUnited States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Washington State UniversityUnited States
University of IcelandIS
Liver Disease Diagnosis and TreatmentChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesLiver Disease and TransplantationTraumatic Brain Injury Research

From insight to action

A 90-day plan, written from the data.

The dossier ends where a strategy meeting begins: three moves, sequenced, each pointing back to a specific finding above.

0-30 days
Name the target

Adopt HKU and a Europe hub as formal partnership targets; brief the relevant deans with the joint white-space evidence.

30-60 days
Open the funding route

Scope the specific programme for each target, and turn the Harvard University tie into a consortium concept in Health & Medicine.

60-90 days
Interrogate the soft spots

Address the international gap and the physical sciences & engineering weakness; set a diversification target for the long tail; and secure an editorial feature in the reputation-survey window.

Your fact file

Claim the full fact file for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Everything above is the open view. The full partner fact file goes further: every ranked subject and subfield, the complete partner ledger with yield, your named academics and their signature work, the funder-by-funder route map for each target, and this same dossier on up to ten named peers.

Partner fact file · locked

Unlocked for partners. Confirm before 12:00, Tuesday 25 August 2026 to be included at the 15 September launch.

See the full enhanced fact file → Claim & verify yours

Free to claim and verify your data. No obligation. Your ranking is unaffected by partnership, and always will be.

Exclusive to partners

Plus this same dossier on up to 10 of your peers.

Every partnership includes the full intelligence on your named competitive set, their strengths, their funders, their white-space, so you can see exactly where you lead and where to close the gap. Two peers with Recognition, five with Partnership, up to ten with Flagship.

Your research, in front of 170,000 academics, with full reporting.

Partnership also places your research as editorial features in the Research Network Report, our newsletter to a verified global academic audience, timed to the reputation-survey season. Every send comes with a full performance report: opens, clicks and geography, benchmarked against the edition.

The Research Network Report

170,000
verified academic subscribers worldwide
Nov–Jan
timed to the reputation-survey season
Full report
opens, clicks and geography on every feature

See your own dossier, built for your university.

Submit your data and we will build and review your enhanced fact file with you, then show exactly how a partnership turns it into advantage, before the index goes public on 15 September 2026.

Request a partnership conversation →
Global Research Partnerships · globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci · Built on the open global research record and the award data of the world's major funders. Methodology.