INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION AND AWARENESS WITHIN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY - PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

International scientific co-operation (ISC) and awareness are topics of increasing interest for both scientists and science policy makers. In this paper, we adopt primarily the science policy point of view. After a concise overview of the literature we summarize the main results of the research we conducted. The main outcome with respect to ISC is that it increases. However, large differences exist between countries and between scientific disciplines. ISC and awareness constitute a complex phenonenon, affected by several factors, science-internal, as well as external. In the paper several techniques are described, amongst which those that can visualize ISC relations through analytical maps. An important aspect of our research methodology is the combination of various quantitative, bibliometric analyses and qualitative research on the structure of science and the relations between science and society. Finally, we sketch perspectives for future research.