Sharing space: Proximity breeds collaboration
October 25, 2012
ANN ARBOR—A new University of Michigan study shows that when researchers share a building, and especially a floor, the likelihood of forming new collaborations and obtaining funding increases dramatically.
The findings have wide relevance to corporations, as well.
“Our analyses clearly show that there are benefits to co-location,” said Jason Owen-Smith, an associate professor of sociology and organizational studies.
Researchers who occupy the same building are 33 percent more likely to form new collaborations than researchers who occupy different buildings, and scientists who occupy the same floor are 57 percent more likely to form new collaborations than investigators who occupy different buildings, he said. (more…)