This paper aims to analyse international collaborations in science and inventive activity and investigate how the landscape of knowledge production in Europe has changed in the past 25 years. We further aim to analyse to what extent collaborations in science and collaborations in patents are related at the regional level. These collaborations can be set up by researchers, universities and firms, and governments fund such collaborative initiatives (e.g., EU’s Framework Programmes). Thus, both academics and policy makers will benefit from knowing the impact of collaborations in research and patents. The paper has four research questions: 1) Do patent and research networks in Europe have similar dynamics? 2) Do patents have any impact on the formation and evolution of research networks? 3) Do the innovation performances of regions affect the formation and evolution of research networks? 4) Do the innovation performances of regions affect the formation and evolution of patent networks? By answering these questions our ultimate aim is to coin a new concept we refer as “knowledge cohesion” and provide a critical look at the smart specialization policies in Europe.