This report from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)™ draws on Web of Science™ data to shed light on the trajectory of research in the U.S. over the last 15 years.
The findings suggest that while the U.S. remains a leading science and technology power, it faces increasing competition from new science-based economies in Asia and an expanded EU network. The report also raises questions about how past investment has prepared the U.S. scientific enterprise to achieve its goals.
It concludes that in order to maintain its position in global R&D, the U.S. needs to acknowledge its shrinking domestic research capacity, particularly in engineering, and work pragmatically with resourceful competitors such as Mainland China.
Key findings cover global position in terms of:
- Capacity of research investment and output
- Portfolio of research subject diversity
- Impact of research and profile analyses
- Collaboration partners and citation impact
- Balance of research output across subjects
- Geographical diversity of innovation and development resources
