‘Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions’
A presentation informed by:
“Raising Researchers’ Voices – Opinions on Jobs, Careers & Rights”
& the VoR Forum.
Suzanne Miller-Delaney, Miguel Jorge
GPC, Brussels, 19 May 2014
Raising Researchers’ Voices
Opinions on Jobs, Careers and Rights
AIMS OF THE CONFERENCE:
1. To identify the biggest issues affecting researchers &
their careers in Europe.
2. To facilitate identification of solutions to these issues by
researchers themselves.
240 participants of all ages, nationalities & disciplines,
working within 40 European countries
Raising Researchers’ Voices
Opinions on Jobs, Careers and Rights
20 influential stakeholder representatives also in attendance
including representatives from:
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International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA)
European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE)
Marie Curie Fellow Association (MCFA)
Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE)
Young Academy of Europe (YAE)
Global Young Academy (GYA)
EURODOC
EuroScience
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Funding Excellence
• Open recruitment does not lead to
excellence on its own.
• There is no positive correlation
between excellence in research &
professional success.
• Impact should not be a major
funding criterion.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Funding Excellence
• 85% felt that there is a need for
increased collaboration between the
arts, humanities & social sciences &
the life sciences.
• 81% felt that a clear lack of
mechanisms to allow & reward interdisciplinary & inter-sectorial research
exists in the EU
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Funding Excellence – Recommendations:
1.
Funding mechanisms should focus on individuals & not on research
projects.
2.
Grants should be more flexible, & should be portable across EU
member states.
3.
Researchers should be encouraged to take more accountability for how
they put their funding to use.
4.
Funding programmes should encourage increased
collaboration between the arts, humanities
& social sciences & the life sciences.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Sustainable Research Careers
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Adequate longer-term funding opportunities
required at every career stage
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Geographic mobility comes at a cost with
many researchers stating that mobility
harms their ability to achieve a sustained
career
(30% according to the MORE2 Study)
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Loss of capable individuals from research
careers in Europe
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Forms of mobility other than geographic
mobility are not adequately valued
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Sustainable Research Careers – Recommendations:
1. Longer-term research positions should be funded subject to frequent
evaluations (e.g. co-funded ‘tenure track’ positions).
2. A change of focus is necessary in funding mechanisms, moving away
from an exclusive focus on geographic mobility to career consolidation.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Career Development
• Despite significant progress, 67% of
attendees felt that current PhD
training is not effective in preparing
researchers for multiple research
career choices.
• Sufficient training of postdoctoral
researchers in transferable skills is
lacking.
• Further measures & provisions for
postdoctoral researchers are
required.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Career Development – Recommendation:
• Effective career development & training opportunities for transferable
skills must be promoted throughout Europe at both the doctoral &
postdoctoral researcher level through funding programs.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Supporting the personal life of researchers
• Support mechanisms for the families of
mobile researchers are lacking in many
countries
• HR Excellence in Research logo has
contributed to the recognition of
academic institutions with good worklife balance practices including support
mechanisms for researchers’ families,
but additional measures are necessary.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Supporting the personal life of researchers – Recommendations:
1.
Greater support mechanisms for the families of mobile researchers
are needed & should be promoted through funding mechanisms.
2.
Academic institutions which promote good work-life balance
practices must be recognised in a meaningful way.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Open Recruitment
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78% of attendees believed that current
recruitment procedures are not sufficiently
open, fair & merit-based.
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Researchers are particularly concerned
about the lack of transparent and fair
recruitment in long-term/permanent
academic positions.
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Recognising academic institutions with
good selection & recruitment principles,
requires feedback from researchers
themselves confirming the practical
implementation of the Charter & Code.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Open Recruitment – Recommendations:
1.
All selection criteria should be made public when positions are
advertised with feedback provided to applicants following the selection
process.
2.
Charter & Code core principles should be implemented across
institutions & not just for EU funded positions.
3.
Academic institutions with good selection & recruitment practices must
be recognised in a meaningful way which incorporates feedback from
researchers.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Social Security & Pensions
• 86% of conference participants felt that
researchers would benefit from
European-wide pensions & social
security systems.
• The provision of such facilities would
make transitions between European
member states smoother, thus
promoting mobility & bolstering the
ERA as an attractive destination for
researchers.
Barriers to the Realisation of the ERA
& Possible Solutions
Social Security & Pensions - Recommendation
• Pan-European pension & social security facilities for
researchers need continued development.
Join the VoR forum at http://voice.euraxess.org
Comments from the VoR Forum
Open Calls:
“The details of what is being done are still a bit vague to me. How much of the calls will be
driven by large, predefined topics ?”
“If topics are decided by a science policy committee, it will be based on expert advice given
to them by senior researchers. .. (but) there is a delay….by the time this information has
trickled up through the committees, it is no longer cutting edge, but significantly out of
date”
“Open calls are vital. Super vital. Anything else severely slows down research!”
Sven Sewitz
Information Seeking:
“To apply for European money is either a nightmare to execute or seems like one.”
“…some work on user interface for the researcher mind (rather than a dedicated researcher
contracts and funding manager mind)” is required.
“I think an interface with an ‘A4 page per call’ with links to more advanced details
embedded would enable ‘shopping’ to make the right bids at the right times.”
Helen Lees
Take Home Messages for Funding Programmes:
• Shift from mobility funding to long-term career consolidation funding
• Increased mechanisms for collaboration between the arts, humanities &
social sciences & the life sciences
• Focus on life-long professional development
• Measures to support the personal life of researchers
• Open recruitment is not a reality
• Social security & pension provision need continued development
@ VoiceOfTheResearchers
@ Research_Voice
VoR ‘multipliers’
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Panagiotis Batakidis; Mathematics; Cyprus
New Multipliers (since Apr 2014):
Diana Beech; Political Sciences; UK
• Miguel Carrion Alvarez; Physics; Spain
Martin Dominik; Astronomy; UK
• Paulo Jesus; Philosophy; Portugal
Maria-Christina Georgiadou; Engineering; UK
• Martina Marin Dobrincic; Astronomy; Spain
Maria Gonzalez-Aguado; Sociology; Spain
Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn; Medical Sciences; Spain • Federica Migliardo; Physics; Italy
• Andre Mischke; Physics; Netherlands
Jasmien Herssens; Architecture; Belgium
• Valentina Pomazan; Engineering; Romania
Carmen Hubbard; Agriculture; UK
• Kateryna Shalayeva; Sociology; France
Miguel Jorge; Engineering; Scotland
João Lopes; Chemistry; Portugal
Diana Adela Martin; Philosophy and Visual Arts; Romania
Suzanne Miller-Delaney; Cancer Genetics; Ireland
Audrey Osler; Educational Sciences; UK
Bernhard Paetzold; Biological Sciences; Spain
Triantafillia Papazioga; Educational Sciences; Greece
Marco Pautasso; Environment; France
Esther Rodriguez-Villegas; Engineering; UK
Kritika Samsi; Health and Social Sciences; UK
Thomas Schäfer; Engineering; Spain