Type of the article: Research Article
Abstract
The present study undertakes a bibliometric analysis of the scientific discourse pertaining to innovative financing. The objective of the study is the bibliometric mapping and systematization of the structural evolution of this discourse through analysis of publications indexed in the Scopus database for the period 1974–2025. The methodological framework integrates descriptive analysis of publication and citation dynamics, co-authorship network modelling, and keyword co-occurrence analysis provided using VOSviewer. The analysis identifies five key findings. First, a tripartite periodization of research activity is formalized: a formative stage (prior to 2010), a stage of diversification and institutionalization (2010–2020), and a phase of acceleration and thematic convergence (2021 – present). Second, pronounced fragmentation of co-authorship networks is documented: of 2,610 identified authors, 172 have at least 2 publications and only 18 of them form interconnected clusters. Third, keyword co-occurrence analysis delineates three dominant thematic clusters that are related to environment, human development, healthcare. Their inter-cluster connectivity is mediated by the bridging categories of ‘international cooperation’, ‘funding’, ‘cost effectiveness’, ‘economics’, ‘financing’, ‘public-private partnership’, ‘human’. Fourth, the geographical and institutional distribution of analyzed publications establishes the dominance of anglophone research systems and health-oriented institutions, alongside a structurally significant supranational research stratum. Fifth, the pronounced interdisciplinarity of the field is confirmed by the distributional dominance of Social Sciences, Engineering, and Environmental Science.