Quote Originally Posted by Haudegen View Post
I think it´s global. For testing purposes I have just removed all four Observatories in my empire and as a result the the research times increased a little bit. And my only two research facilities were both in my starting province.
It's worth re-testing: try removing all the Observatories except the one in your home Capital. It would be good to know if it is the only one that provides the global bonus.