Global in Name Only? Mapping the Uneven Architecture of Implementation Science

Global in Name Only? Mapping the Uneven Architecture of Implementation Science | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Global in Name Only? Mapping the Uneven Architecture of Implementation Science Jonathan Scaccia This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Implementation science is often described as a global field, but it is unclear whether its structure genuinely reflects shared participation and leadership across regions. This study examines the global architecture of implementation science along four dimensions: geographic inclusion, structural position in collaboration networks, epistemic equity, and agenda-setting power. A bibliometric and network analysis was conducted on 5,461 PubMed-indexed implementation science articles published between 2006 and February 2024. Country affiliations were cleaned and linked to World Bank income classifications, and a country-level co-authorship network was created to calculate centrality metrics, identify collaboration clusters, and test network resilience through simulated removal of major hubs. Results show rapid growth in publication volume and contributions from 139 countries, but with significant concentration in high-income countries (HICs), which account for the vast majority of country–article pairings and dominate all centrality measures. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) contribute a small share of publications, rarely form independent collaboration clusters, and are largely absent from South–South networks. Removing the top five HIC hubs reduces network density by 25%, indicating structural vulnerability and limited multicentricity. These patterns suggest that implementation science is global in reach but not yet global in influence or agenda-setting. The discussion outlines specific implications for funders, journals, professional societies, and research teams seeking to build a more distributed, resilient, and equitable global implementation science ecosystem. implementation science global collaboration bibliometrics network analysis epistemic equity low- and middle-income countries Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8139048","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":550171459,"identity":"af6a409e-b5eb-4bed-80af-dc8d74a46849","order_by":0,"name":"Jonathan Scaccia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGxgc8IJYECVqYDUjTAgRsEqRpYW7vPVbxpuZwHv/s5mOfef7U5vNL5B5g+FGxDbfDes6l3Zxz7HCxxJ1jybN5245bzpyRl8DYc+Y2bi0zcsxu87DdTtwgkWPMzNtwzMDgRo4BM2Mbfi3FPP+gWnj+EKmFmbcNpoWthggtPWeMJef2/U+ccSMtmXFu2wEDyZ53CQfx+cWwvcfww5tvaYn9M5IPM7z5U2fAz5578MGPCjxaGlD5h4GYh+EATvVAII/GrwNrGQWjYBSMglGADAAmyFg9+4sL/AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jonathan","middleName":"","lastName":"Scaccia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-17 21:23:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108922977,"identity":"0777fa32-f75f-4b35-8788-794871b6af74","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-10 19:39:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":535988,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"globalrevision1125.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8139048/v1_covered_a3e7983b-e5a5-4734-8eba-c311b4216ab6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Global in Name Only? Mapping the Uneven Architecture of Implementation Science","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"implementation science, global collaboration, bibliometrics, network analysis, epistemic equity, low- and middle-income countries","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eImplementation science is often described as a global field, but it is unclear whether its structure genuinely reflects shared participation and leadership across regions. This study examines the global architecture of implementation science along four dimensions: geographic inclusion, structural position in collaboration networks, epistemic equity, and agenda-setting power. A bibliometric and network analysis was conducted on 5,461 PubMed-indexed implementation science articles published between 2006 and February 2024. Country affiliations were cleaned and linked to World Bank income classifications, and a country-level co-authorship network was created to calculate centrality metrics, identify collaboration clusters, and test network resilience through simulated removal of major hubs. Results show rapid growth in publication volume and contributions from 139 countries, but with significant concentration in high-income countries (HICs), which account for the vast majority of country\u0026ndash;article pairings and dominate all centrality measures. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) contribute a small share of publications, rarely form independent collaboration clusters, and are largely absent from South\u0026ndash;South networks. Removing the top five HIC hubs reduces network density by 25%, indicating structural vulnerability and limited multicentricity. These patterns suggest that implementation science is global in reach but not yet global in influence or agenda-setting. The discussion outlines specific implications for funders, journals, professional societies, and research teams seeking to build a more distributed, resilient, and equitable global implementation science ecosystem.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Global in Name Only? Mapping the Uneven Architecture of Implementation Science","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-04 21:09:27","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8139048/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"44b9ada5-0487-41da-b540-b086aa74cc1b","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-10T19:39:43+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-04 21:09:27","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8139048","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8139048","identity":"rs-8139048","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}