How networked are Medical Schools? Evidence from Portugal

Institutional collaboration between universities and other actors is crucial to generate new knowledge and for advancing innovation. But, how important is this for the healthcare sector? This work analyses 441 institutional collaborations between Portuguese Medical Schools and other entities (pharmaceutical industry, funding organisations, hospitals, other universities, non-profit organisations, other private for-profit organisations, public bodies and public research organisations). We identify, validate, disambiguate, classify and analyse evidence available from a variety of sources. Our original database reveals that most of the partnerships of Portuguese Medical Schools are with academic institutions. A sectoral failure regarding partnerships with other type of actors (e.g. industry, other research organisations) is suggested. As for future policy objectives, we argue that a systems building view could be considered.