Why does ERA Need to
Flourish
Completing ERA
Octavi Quintana
European Research Area
DG Research & Innovation
EARTO Annual Conference 2013
New Horizons for 2020 and Beyond: Croatia and South East Europe in the European Union
Research and
23 May 2013, Dubrovnik
Innovation
European Research Area (ERA)
• A Unified Research Area open to the world
• Based on the Internal Market
• Free Circulation of Researchers, Knowledge & Technology
27 national research systems
are the foundation of ERA
Not to be integrated or merged into a
single system, but to be more open,
inter-operable and inter-connected
The European Research Area
• Objective: Research without borders
• It is a Process, not just an event
• Starting in 2000
• Mandates from the European Council (2007, 2011)
• ERA Communication (2012)  acceleration
• Must be "Completed" by 2014!
• To improve European research:
• Will contribute to the solution to the present crisis
• Clear measures, with long term impact
• Cost-neutral
ERA : A reinforced partnership
Responsibility-based:
• European Commission
• Member States
• Research Stakeholder Organisations
• Most representative ones:
• EARTO
• EUA
• LERU
• Nordforsk
• Science Europe
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Research Organisations
ERA : a non-legislative approach
ERA Communication (17 July 2012)
• Specific actions for each actor
• Commission: ERA & Scientific Information
Communications (July 2012), ERA Monitoring Mechanism,
Gender Recommendations, etc.
• Member States: National Reform Programmes
• Stakeholder Organisations: implementation of the
commitments agreed in the Joint Statement and MoUs
• Explicit targets to be reached, tailored commitments (MoUs)
• Clear indicators: measurement of progress
• Clear deadlines
The Five Key ERA Priorities
1. More effective national research
systems
2. Optimal transnational cooperation and competition
3. An open labour market for
researchers
4. Gender equality and gender
mainstreaming in research
5. Optimal Circulation and Transfer of
Knowledge including via Digital ERA
Policy
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1. More effective national
research systems
Objective: increased competition
within national borders, sustained and
greater investment
It is proposed that Member States
increase funding in a competitive
way
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2. Increased transnational cooperation and competition (I)
Objective – defining and implementing common research
agendas on grand challenges, constructing and effectively
running of pan-European research infrastructures
Member States are committed to Joint Programming –
but efforts need to be stepped up.
It is proposed that Member States:
•
•
•
Prepare joint research agendas
Meet international peer-reviewed standards
Improve interoperability of national systems
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2. Increased transnational
co-operation and competition (II)
Member States committed to pan-European Research
Infrastructures (RIs) -ESFRI Roadmap-, but efforts needs to
be stepped up:
• financial commitments for construction and operation
of RIs
• links between national roadmaps and ESFRI
roadmap, smart specialisation and Structural Funds
• common evaluation and impact assessment criteria
and financial monitoring tools for RIs
It is proposed to:
• strengthen the ESFRI roadmap
• Improve cross-border access
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3. An open labour market for
researchers (I) : open recruitment
Objective: to ensure removal of barriers to researcher
mobility, training and attractive careers
•Researchers mobility contributes to excellence, but still
several obstacles for mobility and attractive researcher
careers
•One of the most important is the lack of transparent,
open and merit-based recruitment
• EARTO MoU:
- Open transparent, and merit-based recruitment
- Advertise vacancies on EURAXESS jobs portal
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EURAXESS - Researchers in Motion
Information and support services for
researchers wishing to pursue research
careers in Europe
Supported by the EU + 38 countries across Europe
• EURAXESS Jobs
•
•
•
Constantly updated
2 000 job vacancies/day, > 18,000 CVs
Job exchange with Naturejobs, Galaxie, INRA , and more
• EURAXESS Services
•
•
Free, personalised assistance for researchers and their
families in planning their move to a foreign country
More than 500 staff in around 200 Services Centres
• EURAXESS Rights
•
•
Information on rights and obligations in the research
profession
EURAXESS Links Networking European researchers in
China, Japan, USA, Singapore and India
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3. An open labour market for
researchers (II): training and mobility
• Other issues: Cross-border portability and accessibility
•
of grants, innovative doctoral training and HR strategy for
researchers
Less than half of total researchers work in the private
sector (while in the US they are 80%)
EARTO MoU :
-
Adopt HR strategies in line with the EU Charter & Code
Obtain and use the HR excellence in research logo
Joining an EU-wide Supplementary Pension Fund
Provide structured programmes for doctoral training
Support firms’ innovation and competitiveness strategies
Implement research-business mobility programmes
Develop twinning and teaming cooperation programmes
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4. Promoting gender equality and
gender mainstreaming
Objective: diversify views and approaches in research and foster
excellence
• Issues to address: legal and other barriers, institutional change in
research organisations; representation of the under-represented
sex in committees for recruitment and career progression; gender
aspects of research programmes
• Commission will adopt Commission Recommendation to Member
States to provide common guidelines on institutional change in
research organisations (2013)
EARTO MoU:
-
Adopt and implement a gender strategy
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5. Optimal circulation and
transfer of knowledge
Objective: to guarantee access to and uptake of knowledge by all.
•Open Access to publications and data are central to ERA
•Digital ERA needed to maintain Europe as hub of excellence
•Free access to knowledge and services saves public (and
private!) money and facilitates innovation
•So far, libraries and SMEs have difficulties subscribing to
journals due to high costs and budgetary constraints
EARTO MoU:
- Implement policies for OA to
publications
- Implement principles and procedures for
OA to data
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“Scientific Information in
the Digital Age” (2012)
COMM + Recommendation
Completing ERA: Trust and
Transparency
• The Commitments in your MoU will help completing ERA
• It is not (yet) a legal approach.
• Not mandatory  based on
• trust,
• transparency
• mutual interest
• Good for Europe
• Good for you
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H2020 + ERA = the formula
Horizon 2020, the new Framework
Programme for Research and
Innovation (2014-2020) promotes
excellence through ERA:
Leading by example:
• Only the best projects will be selected, through competitive calls.
• Promoting researchers' mobility.
• Granting portable fellowships and grants.
• Fostering pan-European competition.
• Open Access (pilot in FP7): will apply to all H2020 programmes
Giving incentives:
• To Joint Programming (JPIs)
• To joint calls / joint evaluations
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Next steps following adoption
• Political endorsement
• Implementation by Member States
• Follow-up by stakeholder organisations
• Development of the ERA Monitoring Mechanism
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Follow-up with stakeholder
organisations
Objective:
• implementation of the commitments agreed in the Joint
Statement by the SHOs and the Commission
Meetings with first five signing SHOs:
•
•
•
•
exchange views on modalities for future collaboration
get their views on implementation of JS & MoUs
inform them about political decision making process
additional policy and support actions by Commission
Doers' Networks
ERA Progress: (EARTO Progress Report Dec. 2013)
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Looking ahead
• Following adoption of ERA Communication:
•
•
•
•
political discussion/steering by other institutions
first implementations by MS, SHOs, Commission
continuation of dialogue with SHOs
development of monitoring by Commission
• 2013:
• Dialogue Commission – Member States: state of play of ERA
monitoring, baseline and input to first annual ERA progress report
(comparing with the baseline, input by ERAC and ERA groups)
2013: European Semester: Member States to present ERA-reform measures with NRPs
• September 2013: First Annual ERA Progress Report
• From 2014 on:
• full assessment of progress by Commission, political
guidance by Council
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Thank you for your attention
all relevant documents on:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/era
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