The impact of collaboration networks constructed through common project experience on research output

Science funding is vital for driving national innovation and technology development. China’s science funding supports a growing number of researchers, and they form collaboration networks through common project experience. However, existing studies lack focus on the impact of collaboration networks based on common project experience on research output due to data limitations. To address this gap, we analyzed a sample of 43,271 science funding projects approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2009 to 2014. Collaboration networks were constructed based on principal investigators’ common project experience, and the centrality indicator was used to assess their ability to utilize these networks. Our findings revealed that centrality had a significant positive impact on project papers, citations, and efficiency, thus highlighting the role of such collaboration networks in promoting research output. However, the promotional effect varied; centrality had a stronger impact when investigators had project experience or worked on natural science research but weaker when projects were affiliated with top research institutions or involved foreign team members. These collaboration networks enhanced research output through improved relationships and larger teams. Moreover, they had a more significant impact on promoting English output than Chinese. This paper offers essential insights for optimizing science funding management from the perspectives of project experience, scientific field, institutional level, and international composition.