Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Better careers and more mobility: a european partnership for researchers {SEC(2008)1911} {SEC(2008)1912}
Date: 2008-05-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, dissemination of EU information, job mobility, research staff, vocational training

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.5.2008 
COM(2008)317 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

BETTER CAREERS AND MORE MOBILITY: A EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP FOR 
RESEARCHERS 

{SEC(2008)1911} 
{SEC(2008)1912} 

 (presented by the Commission) 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

BETTER CAREERS AND MORE MOBILITY: A EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP FOR 
RESEARCHERS 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

The  2008  Spring  European  Council  confirmed  investing  in  people  and  modernising  labour 
markets, and investing in knowledge and innovation1 as priority areas for the renewed Lisbon 
Strategy for Growth and Jobs. 

Significant  efforts  are  already  planned  or  underway  to  transform  the  EU  economy  towards 
more  knowledge  intensive  activities,  including  measures  to  strengthen  the  single  market2, 
increase  job  mobility3,  reinforce  education  and  training4  and  incentivise  more  private 
investment in research and innovation5. 

The  2007  Green  Paper  “The  European  Research  Area:  New  Perspectives”6  launched  a 
wide  public  debate  on  how  to  achieve  a  more  open,  competitive  and  attractive  ERA.  A 
number of key areas have subsequently been identified where effective actions, undertaken in 
partnership  between  the  Member  States'  and  the  Community  around  common  objectives 
would  deliver  significant  gains  for  Europe's  research  system  and  help  to  create  a  "fifth 
freedom" in Europe – the freedom of knowledge.  

As  one  of  five  initiatives7  planned  in  2008  to  follow  up  the  ERA  Green  Paper,  this 
Communication  proposes  to  develop  a  partnership  with  Member  States  to  ensure  the 
availability of the necessary researchers. As the core producers of new knowledge and the 
main  agents  in  its  transfer  and  exploitation,  researchers  are  indispensable  for  a  competitive, 
knowledge-based  EU  economy.  In  order  to  retain  and  attract  the  best  research  talents  a 
balanced approach is required to ensure that researchers across the EU benefit from the right 
training, attractive careers and the removal of barriers to their mobility. 

It  is  foreseen  that  the  overall  governance  of  the  ERA  initiatives  will  be  overseen  by  the 
Competitiveness Council. 

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Presidency Conclusions European Council 13-14 March 2008 
"A Single Market for the 21st Century Europe" COM(2007) 724 
The European Job Mobility Action Plan 2007-2010, COM(2007)773, 6.12.2007 
Including EU support to increase academic mobility and the planned EU initiative on new skills for new 
jobs 
"Putting  knowledge  into  practice:  A  broad-based  innovation  strategy  for  the  EU"  COM(2006)  502, 
13.9.2006 and "A lead market initiative for Europe" COM(2007) 860, 21.12.2007 
COM(2007) 161, 4.4.2007 
Others related to: IP management by public research organisations; Joint programming; pan-European 
research infrastructures; international S&T cooperation 

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2. 

PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS 

The term "researcher" covers many different roles and activities. From university academics 
and  scientists  engaged  in  long-term  basic  research  at  large  research  infrastructures  to  more 
mission-orientated  researchers  at  government  labs,  from  corporate  employees  carrying  out 
market-orientated  development  work  to  the  staff  of  high-tech  SMEs  pursuing  technology 
transfer or product and process innovation. 

The need for adequate human resources for R&D has been identified as a key challenge since 
the launch of the Lisbon Strategy in 20008. The Commission proposed measures to increase 
the mobility of researchers across the ERA in 20019 and for their career development in 
200310.  

In  2005  the  Commission  adopted  the  European  Charter  for  Researchers  and  a  Code  of 
Conduct  for  the  Recruitment  of  Researchers  setting  out  the  roles  and  responsibilities  of 
researchers and their employers and funders, and ways to make recruitment fairer and more 
transparent.  The  "scientific  visa"  package  adopted  in  200511  aimed  to  allow  fast-track 
admission and residence of third country researchers. Researchers' mobility and careers were 
supported by funding from the Sixth Research Framework Programme. 

Most Member States are undertaking researchers' related actions, in particular reforms to their 
university  and  higher  education  sectors12.  Increasing  the  autonomy  and  improving  the 
governance of institutions is directly relevant to improving the situation for researchers. 

These  initiatives  have  yielded  results.  There  is  much  improved  information  for  mobile 
researchers  through  a  network  of  local  centres  and  on-line13.  Funding  for  researchers  has 
increased  in  the  Seventh  Research  Framework  Programme,  including  through  the  new 
European Research Council.  

But progress remains slow. Take-up of the voluntary Charter and Code has been limited so 
far and several Member States have still not implemented the Directive of the "scientific visa" 
package.  Existing  policies  tend  to  address  issues  in  relative  isolation,  or  take  a  narrow 
national perspective. 

While situations vary considerably across institutions and countries, in many Member States 
outdated  national  legislation  and  practices  still  hinder  or  prevent  competition-based 
recruitment in the public sector. The prevalence of short-term contracts for young researchers 
and  advancement  based  on  seniority  rather  than  performance  means  it  can  take  many  years 
before talented researchers are able to become independent scientists in their own right. Many 
researchers are trained in a traditional academic way which does not equip them for the needs 

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Presidency Conclusions Lisbon European Council 23-24 March 2000 
"A mobility strategy for the European Research Area" COM (2001) 331, 20.06.2001 
"Researchers  in  the  European  Research  Area:  one  profession,  multiple  careers"  COM  (2003)  436, 
18.07.2003 
Including the Council Directive 2005/71/EC of 12 October 2005 on a specific procedure for admitting 
Third-country  nationals  for  the  purposes  of  scientific  research  ('Scientific  visa')  O.J.  L  289/15  of 
3.11.2005 
"Delivering  on  the  modernisation  agenda  for  universities:  education,  research  and  innovation." 
COM(2006) 208, 10.5.2006 
ERA-MORE  and  Researchers'  Mobility  Portal  to  be  re-launched  in  June  2008  as  the  EURAXESS 
Researchers in Motion Network, for information on mobility, jobs and rights 

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of the modern knowledge economy where connections between industry and public research 
institutions are increasingly important. There are strong disincentives for researchers wishing 
to move jobs between institutions, between academia and industry or between countries. 

While  EU  countries  still  produce  more  science  and  engineering  graduates  and  PhDs 
than the US and Japan, researchers make up a much lower share of the workforce in the 
EU14.  Many  European  graduates  and  doctorate  holders  either  move  away  from  research 
careers  or  pursue  research  in  countries  where  they  find  better  opportunities  –  mainly  in  the 
US. 

In 2004, of the nearly 400,000 foreign researchers in the US an estimated 100,000 were born 
in  the  EU15.  This  is  a  significant  proportion  of  the  total  EU  researchers'  population  of  1.3 
million16 and these are also likely to be top performers in their fields. For example, in 2007, 
75%  of  the  assistant  professors  in  the  ten  highest  ranked  US  university  economics 
departments  had  received  their  Bachelors  degrees  outside  the  US17.  The  ability  of  the  US 
system  to  draw  upon  a  global  talent  pool  is  reflected  in  the  clear  lead  which  the  US  enjoys 
over the EU in terms of the best research18. The influx of third country researchers to the EU 
is  much  lower19,  while  the  global  competition  for  the  most  talented  researchers  is 
increasing with new players now able to offer attractive conditions.  

At the same time, concerns are growing in several Member States over the ageing of the 
research labour force and shortages of researchers are already becoming a problem in 
some regions and industries20. The situation will get worse if young people are not attracted 
into  the  profession  and  if  the  present  under-representation  of  women  in  science  and 
engineering  is  not  addressed.  Furthermore,  over  and  above  those  researchers  required  to 
replace the current workforce, it is estimated21 that between 600,000 and 700,000 additional 
researchers would be needed in Europe in order to reach the objective of investing an average 
of 3% of GDP in research set by the Barcelona European Council22. 

Decisive  measures  are  therefore  needed  for  Europe's  researchers  now  more  than  ever. 
What is at stake is whether Europe can remain and develop as a world-class location for R&D 
in the long term. 

3. 

A PARTNERSHIP FOR ACTION 

The  Lisbon  strategy  recognises  the  need  to  make  progress  in  a  comprehensive  and 
coordinated  way.  There  would  be  considerable  EU  added  value  in  a  new  initiative  for 

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0.56%  in  the  EU  as  against  0.93%  and  1.06%in  the  US  and  Japan;  IISER  II,  European  Commission 
2007 
Europe in the global research landscape, European Commission 2007 
Full-time equivalent; IISER II, European Commission 2007 
Oswald and Ralsmark, 2008 
EU share of top 10 % most cited scientific publications is 37.5 % against a US share of 48.9 %. Only 8 
of the 76 universities in the world with the highest citation impact are located in the EU; 67 are located 
in the US; Key Figures, European Commission 2007 
In 2000, 2% of persons employed in S&T occupations in the EU were of non-EU origin, while the share 
of foreign-born in US S&E jobs was 22%; "Key Figures" European Commission 2007 
In a number of countries over 40% of the highly qualified workforce is aged 45-64, while those aged 
25-34 represent only about 25%; Key Figures, European Commission 2007 
COM (2003) 226 final of 30.04.2003 
Presidency Conclusions of 15-16 March 2002 

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researchers  which  could  build  upon  reforms  and  actions  which  are  now  underway.  At 
the  same  time  the  availability  of  sufficient  human  resources  is  a  necessary  condition  for 
achieving the broader ambitions of the Lisbon Strategy.  

The  Commission  therefore  proposes  to  develop  a  partnership  between  the  Commission 
and the Member States designed to ensure real ownership of objectives and actions. This 
is  essential  to  jointly  drive  forward  a  number  of  targeted  priority  actions  in  key  areas 
selected for their potential impact at the Community, national and institutional levels. 

Many  lessons  can  be  learned  from  previous  and  existing  initiatives  at  both  the  Community 
and national levels and there are many examples of good practice in the EU. Raising the level 
of all national systems and institutions towards that of the best would go a long way to 
creating  a  world  class  European  research  system.  The  impact  of  individual  initiatives 
would be greatly increased by ensuring that they are planned and implemented in a coherent, 
consistent  and  mutually  reinforcing  way,  based  on  commonly  developed  objectives  and 
focussed on key areas. 

The  partnership  should  make  a  commitment  to  achieving  by  the  end  of  2010  rapid, 
measurable progress to:  

•  systematically open recruitment;  

•  meet the social security and supplementary pensions needs of mobile researchers;  

•  provide attractive employment and working conditions; and 

•  enhance the training, skills and experience of researchers. 

Coordinated action in these areas, alongside renewed efforts on existing initiatives such as 
increasing the take-up of the principles of the Charter and Code, would provide better job 
opportunities  and  more  rewarding  careers  for  researchers  and  allow  greater  movement 
between institutions, between the public and private sectors and across borders.  

At the European level a genuine labour market for researchers would balance the supply and 
demand  for  researchers,  boost  productivity  growth  through  better  job  matching,  increase 
knowledge transfer and facilitate the development of centres of excellence throughout the EU, 
create  better  international  connections  for  collaborative  research  and  the  economic 
exploitation  of  research  results,  and  help  to  create  more  attractive  conditions  for  industrial 
investment in research. 

4. 

ACTIONS IN THE FOUR KEY AREAS 

4.1. 

Open recruitment and portability of grants 

A lack of open job opportunities is frequently cited by researchers as a disincentive to starting 
or  remaining  in  a  research  career  in  Europe.  In  many  Member  States  public  research 
institutions,  and  in  particular  universities,  often  have  little  autonomy  over  hiring  due  to 
outdated  national  legislation  and  practices  which  still  hinder  or  prevent  competition-
based  recruitment.  So  whereas  private  sector  recruitment  in  Europe  is  mostly  open  and 
competitive, internal recruitment is still widespread at institutional level in the public sector.  

Researchers  are  a  relatively  small  and  highly  specialised  workforce  so  it  will  not  always  be 
possible  to  find  the  best  qualified  individual  for  a  given  research  position  within  any 

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single  national  system,  let  alone  within  a  single  institution.  The  widespread  adoption  of 
open  recruitment  in  the  public  sector  is  therefore  likely  to  improve  Europe's  research 
performance as well as providing more opportunities for researchers. 

While  most  private  and  some  public  sector  research  employers  already  advertise  vacancies 
openly the majority of vacancies are only advertised internally or at best at national level. 
Researchers  also  need  up  to  date,  readily  available  practical  information  on  moving 
between institutions, sectors and countries. 

And  despite  significant  efforts,  including  through  the  Bologna  Process  and  the  recently 
adopted  European  Qualifications  Framework,  institutions  still  lack  understanding  of  the 
procedures and standards for recognising academic and professional qualifications from 
other countries or sectors including non-formal qualifications. 

To  date,  almost  all  project  funding  is  tied  to  an  institution  within  the  country  of  the 
funding organisation even if relocation would be beneficial for the results of the project. The 
portability  of  grants  provided  by  the  European  Research  Council  and  the  "money  follows 
researcher"  scheme  piloted  by  national  research  funding  agencies  through  EUROHORCs23 
could serve as models for other initiatives. 

Proposed priority actions: 

•  Member States to ensure open, transparent, competition-based recruitment of researchers, 
in  particular  by  giving  institutions  greater  autonomy  over  hiring  and  by  adopting  best 
practice on the recognition of qualifications from other countries 

•  Member  States  and  Commission  to  ensure  that  all  publicly  funded  researchers'  positions 

are openly advertised online, in particular through EURAXESS 

•  Member States and Commission to ensure adequate information and assistance services for 
researchers  moving  between  institutions,  sectors  and  countries  including  through 
EURAXESS and the EURES platform24 

•  Member  States  and  Commission  to  allow  portability  of  individual  grants  awarded  by 
national  funding  agencies  and  relevant  Community  research  programmes  where  this 
enables funders to better meet their research needs and researchers to better manage their 
careers 

4.2.  Meeting  the  social  security  and  supplementary  pensions  needs  of  mobile 

researchers  

The European dimension of social security25 is subject to coordination regulations across the 
EU that aims to prevent that application of the different national legislations adversely affects 
mobile  workers.26  Council  Regulation  (EC)  1408/71  provides  as  a  general  rule  that  migrant 

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Heads of EU's national research funding and performing organisations  
European Employment Services network and website www.eures.europa.eu  
including statutory pension rights, healthcare, unemployment benefits 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1408/71  on  the  application  of  social  security  schemes  to  employed 
persons,  self-employed  persons  and  their  family  members  moving  within  the  EU,  and  Implementing 
Regulation (EEC) 574/72 

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workers  are  subject  to  legislation  of  the  country  in  which  they  work.  Over  the  years 
Community legislation on social security coordination has particularly facilitated longer-term 
mobility of workers. But as highlighted in the recent EU Job Mobility Action Plan, the rules 
adopted  several  decades  ago  may  not  cover  as  efficiently  newer  forms  of  mobility  of 
workers who frequently work on short-term contracts in different Member States. Since 
researchers are among the most mobile categories of workers and can often hold a series of 
short  contracts  during  their  careers  they  are  particularly  likely  to  be  confronted  with 
difficulties. 

Basic  problems  often  derive  from  a  lack  of  awareness  of  researchers  and  employers  on 
their  social  security  rights.  This  should  be  remedied  by  improving  access  to  existing 
information. The EU Job Mobility Action Plan foresees improvement of existing legislation 
and implementation practices concerning social security, taking into account newer forms 
of mobility. As this will also apply to researchers it is important that their experiences are fed 
into the assessment of the needs for improvement. For example, encouraging the extension of 
the period for exportation of unemployment benefits could ease mobility.  

Current  EU  legislation  also  provides  some  flexibility  for  Member  States  to  derogate  by 
agreement from the general rules on applicable legislation and chose to apply different social 
security  legislation  to  the  workers  concerned  or  extend  the  period  during  which  the  home 
legislation applies, provided it is in the workers interest. Coordinated efforts could be made to 
make more appropriate use of these derogations for the benefit of researchers.  

In addition, the circulation of researchers in relation to third countries could be facilitated by 
specific  clauses  in  bilateral  and  multilateral  agreements  on  social  security  between 
Member States and third countries, allowing for aggregation of periods, the possibility to 
remain subject to the home country social security regime for a certain period while working 
abroad and the exportation of benefits when they return to their home country.  

Other  issues  arise  because  workers  are  increasingly  relying  on  supplementary  pension 
schemes  in  order  to  provide  for  their  retirement.  However,  the  conditions  for  acquisition, 
preservation and transfer of supplementary pension rights are often not well suited for mobile 
workers  such  as  researchers.  Extra  efforts  could  be  made  for  the  provision  of  information 
specifically addressing researchers on the issue of supplementary pension rights. 

A proposal for a directive covering the supplementary pension rights' portability is currently 
under negotiation. However this is unlikely to address the "transferability" of such rights. It is 
therefore  desirable  in  the  medium  term  to  explore  the  feasibility  of  measures  to  ease 
transfer of supplementary pension rights for highly-mobile workers, including researchers.  

Pension providers should be encouraged to open up pan-EU pension schemes targeted to 
researchers  and  companies  should  be  encouraged  to  use  pension  providers  in  other  EU 
Member States. This would allow mobile researchers to contribute to the same supplementary 
pension  fund  while  working  in  different  EU  countries  and  still  comply  with  the  different 
social, labour and pension legislation in the participating Member States. This will require the 
possibility  of  opting  out  where  researchers  are  obliged  to  participate  in  a  domestic  pension 
fund by law. 

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Proposed priority actions: 

•  Commission and Member States to ensure that researchers and their employers have access 
to readily available and targeted information on the application of EU social security rules 
and  on  the  implications  for  supplementary  pensions  of  transnational  mobility,  including 
through improving existing sources at EU and national level such as the EUlisses website27 

•  Member States to better utilise the existing legal framework and agree appropriate bilateral 
and multilateral agreements on derogations foreseen in Regulation 1408/71for the benefit 
of researchers 

•  Member  States  to  include  rules  easing  international  mobility  of  researchers  when 

concluding bilateral and multilateral social security agreements with third countries 

•  Commission  and  Member  States  to  assess  the  need  for  a  Commission  or  Council 
Recommendation  on  easing  transfer  of  supplementary  pension  rights  for  highly-mobile 
workers, including researchers 

•  Commission  and  Member  States  to  encourage  pan-EU  pension  schemes  targeted  at 

researchers 

4.3. 

Attractive employment and working conditions 

Employment  and  working  conditions  are  essential  in  determining  the  attractiveness  of 
any career. As with other professions salary levels play a part in this, as does being able to 
balance  professional  and  family  life,  but  for  researchers  how  academic  performance  is 
rewarded  and  having  a  supportive,  professional  environment  where  they  can  pursue  their 
research interests from an early stage are at least as important.  

Despite  important  ongoing  reforms,  compensation  and  promotion  structures  in  many  public 
research institutions remain rigid and often make it difficult, for universities in particular, to 
compete in the international market. In many Member States there is a two-tier workforce 
with  short-term  contracts  for  young  researchers  contrasting  with  little  job  to  job 
mobility  by  senior  researchers  on  permanent  contracts.  The  common  principles  on 
"flexicurity"28  recently  adopted  by  the  European  Council  following  agreement  by  the  social 
partners are therefore highly relevant to researchers. 

Young researchers are often employed on temporary short-term contracts to help carry out 
specific  research  projects.  This  restricts  the  chances  of  talented  researchers  making  the 
transition  to  becoming  independent  researchers.  This  can  encourage  some  to  seek 
advancement elsewhere and delays the emergence of the next-generation of research leaders. 
In  particular  young  researchers  are  also  frequently  supplied  with  atypical  forms  of 
remuneration  (e.g.  stipends,  fellowships)  which  give  limited  access  to  social  security  and 
supplementary pension benefits under the applicable national social security scheme. 

In  contrast  senior  researchers  are  often  on  permanent  contracts  with  progression  based  on 
seniority  rather  than  performance.  This  limits  incentives  to  change  career  path,  e.g.  by 

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http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_security_schemes/eulisses/jetspeed/ 
"Towards  common  principles  of  flexicurity  –  more  and  better  jobs  through  flexibility  and  security", 
COM(2007)359 

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working in another country or sector either full or part-time or carrying out consultancy work. 
These  disincentives,  and  others  such  as  loss  of  pension  entitlements,  also  minimise  the 
potential role of retired and end-of-career researchers. Many would otherwise be willing to 
contribute  by  e.g.,  mentoring  younger  scientists,  providing  expertise  for  policy  making  or 
promoting research careers. 

Reconciling  professional  and  private  life  is  not  always  given  enough  priority  by  the 
majority of research institutions in the EU and women's careers in particular can suffer as a 
result.  There  is  still  a  substantial  imbalance  in  the  proportion  of  women  in  the  highest 
positions  of  research  careers  even  though  female  doctoral  candidates  frequently  outnumber 
male.  

Significant  variations  exist  between  researchers'  salary  levels  within  the  European 
Research  Area  and  compared  to  other  world  regions  even  after  costs  of  living  are 
accounted  for,  and  significant  differences  between  the  average  salaries  of  male  and  female 
researchers.  These  differences  distort  the  single  labour  market,  and  can  contribute  to 
researchers taking up better opportunities in other economic sectors or outside Europe. 

Proposed priority actions: 

•  Member  States,  funders  and  employers  to  improve  the  career  development  opportunities 
for early-stage researchers by moving towards "flexicurity principles", regular evaluation, 
wider autonomy and better training; Research funders should take career development into 
account when evaluating research proposals 

•  Member  States,  funders  and  employers  to  progressively  introduce  more  flexibility  in 
contractual and administrative arrangements and relevant national legislation for senior and 
end-of career researchers to reward good performance and allow non-standard career paths; 

•  Employers  and  funders  should  ensure  that  all  publicly  funded  researchers  receiving 

stipends and fellowships can receive adequate social security coverage 

•  Member States and public research institutions to achieve adequate gender representation 
in selection and funding bodies, and to systematically adopt policies that enable both men 
and  women  to  pursue  a  scientific  career  with  an  adequate  work-life  balance  such  as 
developing dual career policies 

4.4. 

Enhancing the training, skills and experience of European researchers 

Researchers  need  to  be  fully  equipped  with  the  skills  necessary  to  participate  in  a  range  of 
roles  in  the  modern  knowledge  economy.  In  particular,  businesses  increasingly  thrive  in  an 
environment  of  'open  innovation'  –  where  connections  with  each  other  and  with  public 
research institutions are used to explore ideas and develop products more effectively. Links 
between an excellent public research base and business are therefore vital. Science itself 
is also evolving, with more emphasis on multi and interdisciplinary research, competitive 
funding,  international  collaboration  and  converting  research  results  into  successful 
innovation. 

But most researchers in Europe are still trained in a traditional academic setting. They 
often lack the skills and competences necessary to, for example, manage intellectual property, 
bid for project funding or set-up their own start up company. Researchers working for SMEs 
may find that they need to manage projects, handle the company's communications or manage 

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intellectual  property.  Established  researchers  can  also  lose  touch  with  the  latest  techniques 
and  methods  and  may  receive  little  support  to  expand  their  competences  or  skills  as  their 
career develops, e.g. into management positions within their institution. 

The  ongoing  inter-governmental  Bologna  process  is  set  to  address  some  issues  such  as 
curricula  development  in  doctoral  programmes  and  quality  assurance.  Community 
measures  such  as  the  "initial  training  networks"  under  the  Seventh  Research  Framework 
Programme, the proposed Joint Doctorates action in the Erasmus Mundus programme and 
the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) will also contribute.  

But greater efforts on skills and life-long learning are needed at national level. Researchers 
need  to  be  exposed  to  relevant  experiences  throughout  their  qualifying  period  and 
beyond.  This  will  in  turn  help  their  career  opportunities  and  ability  to  transfer  between 
institutions, sectors and countries. This is only partly a matter of formal training. Creating the 
right environment will require changes in many institutions, e.g. building up their links with 
the private sector.  

Proposed priority actions: 

•  Member  States to develop and  support consistent "national skills agendas" to ensure that 
researchers are equipped with the necessary skills to contribute fully to a knowledge-based 
economy and society throughout their careers 

•  Member  States  to  ensure  better  links  between  academia  and  industry  by  supporting  the 
placement of researchers in industry during their training and promoting industry financing 
of PhDs and involvement in curriculum development  

5. 

IMPLEMENTING THE PARTNERSHIP 

In  order  for  the  partnership  to  successfully  contribute  to  the  creation  of  a  world  class 
European research system each partner will need to fully contribute. It is therefore important 
that: 

•  Member  States,  Council  and  Commission  commit  themselves  to  the  common  objectives 

and endorse the proposed actions; 

•  Member  States  adopt  a  national  action  plan  by  early  2009  setting  out  specific 
objectives and actions to achieve the aims of the partnership. Given the different starting 
positions of each Member State each plan is expected to focus on different aspects of 
the overall objectives of the partnership;  

•  the priority actions identified are implemented by the end of 2010; 

•  the  Commission  seeks  to  optimise  existing  Community  instruments,  including  those 

available through the FP7 People programme, to reinforce the partnership; 

•  as an integral part of the partnership, Member States and the Commission: 

–  identify good practice and where appropriate develop common guidelines; 

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–  monitor progress at national and EU levels and report annually based on agreed 

indicators29; 

–  make  maximum  use  of  the  existing  Community  legal  framework  for  the 

benefit of researchers; 

•  in  line  with  its  central  role  in  the  governance  of  ERA  initiatives,  the  Competitiveness 
Council monitors and assesses progress in the implementation of the partnership actions;  

•  at  the  end  of  the  first  stage  of  the  partnership  in  2010  an  overall  evaluation  of  the 
situation and results from actions by the partnership is made and the need for further 
EU action to address specific outstanding issues is considered. The evaluation should fully 
incorporate  the  views  of  researchers  themselves.  A  single  contact  point  for 
researchers to notify the partnership of examples of good practice and ongoing difficulties 
should  be  considered  as  well  as  the  organisation  of  a  major  conference  in  2009  to 
provide a platform for researchers' views. 

29 

Possible  indicators  are  suggested  in  chapter  7  of  the  accompanying  Commission  Staff  Working 
Document (SEC(2008)XXX)  

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