Building resilience in international research collaboration: academic awareness and behaviour change

This project investigates how UK academics perceive and respond to research security risks within the context of international collaboration.

Funded by UKRI under the Building a Secure and Resilient World (SALIENT) programme, the study addresses a timely and increasingly important issue for the UK research landscape.

Amid growing geopolitical tensions and heightened concerns about knowledge leakage, intellectual property theft, and foreign interference, new research security measures are reshaping how international research is conducted.

These developments have significant implications for both the UK science base and the day-to-day practices of individual researchers.

Despite the policy focus on research security, there is limited understanding of how academics themselves interpret and react to these risks. This project aims to fill that gap.

Over the course of seven months, and with support from Universities UK International, the research team will:

  • Use bibliometric analysis to identify UK academics engaged in international research collaboration.
  • Conduct a large-scale survey to assess levels of awareness and concern around research security.
  • Carry out in-depth interviews to explore how these issues are influencing academic behaviour and collaboration patterns.

Together, these methods will provide a comprehensive picture of academic awareness and behavioural change in response to evolving research security challenges.

Project Team

Contributing Members