Long-distance collaboration makes scientific breakthroughs more likely

Since 2010 scientific papers written by remote collaborators are more likely to contain breakthroughs than single-location papers. This follows vast improvements in tools like Zoom (2012), Google Drive (2011) and Slack (2013). In an analysis of data for over ten million research teams, across eleven academic fields from 1961 to 2020, a new working paper from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work has determined that over the past decade remote collaboration between academic teams has led to more scientific breakthroughs. This is a reversal of what was observed from the 1960s to the 2000s, when remote collaboration led to fewer scientific breakthroughs and more incremental innovation. At first this might seem to contradict the established understanding that face-to-face and serendipitous interactions spark creativity and new discoveries. However, researchers think that remote collaborations are complementary and additive to working in-person. Dr Carl Benedikt Frey , Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work said: 'What we think we are seeing here is the impact of cross-pollinating ideas across different institutions and cities. When remote collaborations happen, individual academics still discuss their ideas within their knowledge networks at their institution.