Knowledge networks: Diagnosis of research networks in Peru for innovation generation in derivatives of originating products, 2017

In the 21^st century, biological diversity is one of the comparative advantages of Peru in world trade and foreign policy because it is an opportunity to boost economic and social development. The National Council of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) identified that two of the three main causes of the incipient value enhancement of the biodiversity components of the country are the lack of scientific knowledge and the limited capacity and institutional articulation (CONCYTEC, 2014). The valorization of such biodiversity requires the generation of new knowledge about its resources. The construction of this knowledge becomes systematic and sustainable when it is made as a collaborative process between different stakeholders of the National Agrarian Research System (SNIA). This work specifically studies the scientific collaboration networks. In this framework, collaborations and social networks are considered as a type of social, interpersonal or relational capital, as long as they provide a competitive advantage to the individual and the group. This can be essential for the access to resources and information as well as for the generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The main objective of this research is to diagnose in 2017 the connectivity level of the scientific collaboration networks between scientific Peruvian professionals whose research deals with four priorized chains of Peruvian Andean agrobiodiversity and amazonic biodiversity (maca - Lepidium meyenii, yacón-Smallanthus sonchifolius, camu camu - Myrciaria dubia and sacha inchi-Plukenetia volubilis L.). To accomplish this, a representative sample of 64 people was interviewed. This sample consisted of researchers, masters or PhD's, with experience in the mentioned products and that presently work in 8 research institutions: 5 universities and 3 research institutes of 4 Peruvian departments. With the information obtained, a profile of those researchers was elaborated in relation to their main motivations for scientific collaboration and their expectations in regard to it. In addition, the quantitative methodology of Social Network Analysis (ARS) with the use of Gephi software was applied to measure the main characteristics of the mentioned collaboration network. The results of ARS not only confirmed the initial hypothesis about the low level density of the network, which means that currently the researchers are not integrated, but highlighted the critical condition of the problem because, although the degree of density or connectivity was expected to be below 10%, it was not expected to be so low (2,1%). Therefore, this study confirms the incipient level of the biodiversity research network, not only as to the number of links but also their strength. This is the first study that quantitatively measures the Peruvian scientific collaboration networks and as such, aims to provide a baseline which through a systemized process can be used to measure its evolution on time.