REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT The European Research Area: time for implementation and monitoring progress
Date: 2017-01-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU research policy, action programme, gender equality, innovation, international cooperation, job access, research and development, research staff, scientific cooperation

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 26.1.2017  COM(2017) 35 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT The European Research Area: time for implementation and monitoring progress {SWD(2017) 21 final}  
 
 
The European Research Area: time for implementation and monitoring progress. 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

In  2014,  two  years  after  the  adoption  of  its  Communication  on  ‘A  reinforced  European 
Research Area (ERA) partnership for Excellence and Growth’1, the Commission reported that 
Member  States  and  research  stakeholders  had  made  good  progress  in  delivering  the  ERA. 
However, more efforts were needed to make ERA work, notably through the implementation 
of necessary ERA reforms in Member States and Associated Countries2. 

The ERA evolves around six priorities: 

  More effective national research systems; 
  Optimal transnational co-operation and competition, including ‘optimal transnational 

cooperation and competition’ and ‘Research Infrastructures’; 

  An open labour market for researchers; 
  Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research; 
  Optimal circulation, access to and transfer of scientific knowledge, including ‘Knowledge 

circulation’ and ‘Open Access’; 
International cooperation. 

 

In  May  2015,  the  European  Council  reaffirmed  its  commitment  to  a  fully  operational  ERA 
and  endorsed  the  ERA  Roadmap  2015-2020,  a  living  document  to  guide  Member  States  in 
structuring their implementation of the ERA priorities at national level. It called on Member 
States to implement the ERA Roadmap through appropriate measures in ERA national action 
plans  (NAPs)  and  strategies.  Monitoring  of  ERA  Roadmap  implementation  would  be 
integrated into the ERA Progress Report 2016, on the basis of headline indicators proposed by 
the European Research and Innovation Advisory Committee3. 

To  date,  24  Member  States  and  five  Associated  Countries  have  adopted  an  ERA  national 
action plan 2015-2020, and it is expected that all Member States will have their action plans 
approved in the near future. As the drivers of national ERA policy reforms, these NAPs give a 
rich  insight  into  all  forthcoming  ERA  strategies  and  corresponding  policy  measures  in  the 
Member States and Associated Countries.  

The present ERA Progress Report 2016 summarises the state of play of ERA and the progress 
on ERA implementation over the period 2014-20164. For the first time progress on ERA has 
been  measured  for  each  country  on  each  priority,  on  the  basis  of  the  ERA  Monitoring 

1 COM(2012)392 final 
2 COM(2014)575 final 
3 Doc. 9351/15. A description of these indicators is included in the statistical ERA Monitoring handbook which is 
part of the accompanying Science Metrix study. The compound average annual growth rates of these indicators 
are presented in table 1. 
4 Policy developments have been described over the period mid 2014 (cut-off date for the 2014 ERA Progress 
Report) till mid-2016 (cut-off date for the 2016 ERA Progress Report. However, indicators are only available 
after some delay. Therefore most of the indicators in this report refer to previous years. 

2 

 
 
                                                            
Mechanism,  a  set  of  24  core  indicators  jointly  defined  by  Member  States,  research 
stakeholders and the Commission.  

The report also provides a first insight into the development of the ERA priorities, their link to 
the ERA Roadmap 2015-2020 and the main areas targeted in the ERA NAPs. The table at the 
end of the  document provides the growth rates on the headline indicators. 

An accompanying Staff Working Document and the report  "Data gathering and information 
for  the  2016  ERA  monitoring"  by  Science-Metrix5  provides  quantitative  data  on  a  set  of 
indicators with additional policy relevant qualitative information.  

5 (Web reference to be included at the moment of publication).   

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2.  KEY FINDINGS  

2.1.  More effective national research systems 

Objective:  
Effectively  designed  and  efficiently  functioning  national  research  and  innovation  (R&I) 
systems deriving maximal value from public money.  

Deliverables:  
Better  alignment  of  national  policies  with  shared  European  priorities,  applying  the  core 
principles  of  international  peer  review  for  funding  organisations,  finding  a  satisfactory 
balance  between  competitive  and  institutional  funding  and  invest  in  wider  education  and 
innovation systems. 

Research excellence has increased with an annual growth rate of 6.4 % over the period 2010-
2013  for  the  EU-28  average6.  Almost  all  countries  have  national  strategies  for  R&I,  single 
overarching strategies as well as multiple strategies by different government bodies.  

However,  R&I  funding  remains  an  issue  as  outlined  in  the  previous  progress  report  (2014). 
Further  streamlining  of  funding  procedures  would  help  reduce  fragmentation,  increase  the 
return  on  research  funding  while  facilitating  collaboration  across  borders  and  sectors.  The 
criteria  and  processes  for  funding  mechanisms  would  benefit  from  further  fine  tuning. 
National R&I funding commitments need to be clear and explicit, and be laid out long term. 
This will provide a predictable environment sought by both the public and the private sectors.  

ERA NAPs are predominantly focusing on how to improve the legal frameworks for national 
R&I  systems;  developing  long  term  national  strategies  for  R&I;  creating  new  funding 
mechanisms  with  competitive  elements  (such  as  the  example  of  Finland  and  Netherlands  to 
strengthen university research profiles); and find complementarities between national and EU 
funding  including  public-private  partnerships.  While  ERA  NAPs  put  more  emphasis  on 
developing overall strategies, frameworks and evaluation mechanisms, less attention is being 
paid to the exact level and mechanisms for funding. 

Overall Conclusion 

The analysis shows that most countries have made progress in the field of research excellence 
and almost all of them have adopted national strategies for R&I. Several Member States are 
redefining  their  National  R&I  strategies  based  on  a  broad  concept  of  innovation, 
encompassing  education,  R&I  to  achieve  greater  efficiencies.  A  first  inventory  of  the  ERA 
NAPs shows a more holistic strategic approach to R&I will be strengthened in the future. A 
necessary  condition,  however,  is  to  ensure  more  stable  funding  mechanisms  of  government 
investment. 

2.2.  Optimal transnational cooperation and competition 

Jointly addressing grand challenges  

6 Staff Working Document, table 1  

4 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Objective:  
Working together in a better way to address the grand challenges that face us all is central to 
Europe's ability to respond to a dynamic and changing world.  

Deliverables:  
Ensuring  that  ministries  and  research  funding  organisations  work  more  closely  together  to 
achieve  better  alignment  with  the  themes  and  priorities  of  the  Joint  Programme  Initiatives, 
mutual  recognition  of  evaluation  procedures,  common  terminologies  and  procedures  for 
implementing R&I programmes, better integration of calls and promoting a more international 
perspective. 

The findings7 show one of the highest growth rates among all  ERA headline indicators, with 
an annual growth rate of 7.8 % over the period 2010-2014 for national GBARD allocated to 
EU-wide  transnational  public  R&D8.  While  this  result  is  an  indication  of  the  increasing 
internationalization  of  science  in  general,  the  even  much  higher  growth  rate  of  the 
complementary indicator on national contributions to Joint Programming (Art 185 initiatives, 
JPIs  and  ERA-NETs)  (42%  between  2012-2014)  underlines  the  increasing  importance 
governments attribute to the more policy driven joint programming process.  

The main challenges identified are that national and international funding arrangements would 
benefit from further harmonization, which can also facilitate international researcher mobility. 
In  addition,  Joint  Programming  Initiatives  (JPIs)  addressing  grand  challenges  could  benefit 
from  being  more  explicitly  linked  to  the  smart  specialization  strategies  of  the  partners 
involved, and vice versa. The assessment of the societal benefits of research needs to be more 
robust to facilitate improved research management, as well as to better communicate the value 
of research to the public, demonstrating return on investment9. 

Most  ERA  NAPs  focus  on  a  broad  range  of  measures  and  activities  of  Member  States  and 
Associated Countries to strengthen their participation in Joint Programming. The NAPs aim to 
better  align  national  and  Europe-wide  R&D  programming  that  are  responding  to  the  main 
challenges identified. 

Overall Conclusion 

The analysis shows substantial progress in most Member States concerning their participation 
in  the  JPI’s  over  the  last  years.  Referring  to  past  trends  and  measures  implemented  and/or 
planned  in  the  NAPs,  it  can  be  assumed  that  the  volume,  quality  and  impact  of  Joint 
Programming will continue to grow substantially. This will especially be the case when an EU 
policy  framework  and  additional  financial  means  from  EU  budgets  continue  to  act  as  a 
catalyst for Member State action. 

7 Findings throughout this report refer to the Science-Metrix Report "Data gathering and information for the 
2016 ERA Monitoring. 
8 Staff Working Document, table 2a 
9 Science Metrix report, section 3.2.2 

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Research Infrastructures 

Objective: 

High-quality,  accessible  Research  Infrastructures  are  at  the  heart  of  the  knowledge  triangle 
and  key  to  Europe's  ambition  to  lead  the  global  movement  towards  Open  Science.  Member 
States  have  developed  a  collective  approach  through  the  European  Strategy  Forum  on 
Research  Infrastructures  (ESFRI),  Horizon  2020  and  the  European  Research  Infrastructure 
Consortium (ERIC) legal framework. 

Deliverables: 

Ensuring that the ESFRI roadmap and the national R&I roadmaps are compatible with each 
other,  facilitating  access  to  research  infrastructures  to  Member  States  which  are  unable  to 
invest in large infrastructures and careful examination of the planned financial contributions. 

The  findings  show  that  many  Member  States  have  developed  and  implemented  national 
roadmaps  for  research  infrastructures,  using  the  overall  European  Strategy  Forum  on 
Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap as a reference to define their priorities. However, 
these  national  roadmaps  would  benefit  from  a  clear  and  consistent  approach  to  outline  the 
costs  associated  with  research  infrastructures.  Furthermore,  the  long-term  sustainability  of 
research infrastructures, including the funding of operational costs, should be considered from 
the  inception  phase  of  the  project.  National  funding  mechanisms  and  decision-making 
processes  should  also  be  further  coordinated  to  speed  up  infrastructure  development. 
Moreover,  regional  research  capacity  disparities  should,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  addressed 
through  the  selection  of  locations  for  research  infrastructures.  Private  sector  inclusion  in 
research  infrastructure  projects,  from  the  very  start,  could  help  to  catalyse  private  sector 
involvement in R&I more broadly. 

Many  national  roadmaps  highlight  the  importance  of  a  coordinated  approach  to  research 
infrastructures  at  European  level.  Concrete  measures  are  being  taken  to  strengthen  national 
involvement  in  pan-European  facilities,  to  establish  stable  funding  mechanisms  and  to 
monitor the implementation of prioritized projects. The roadmaps also emphasize the need to 
evaluate the current situation to ensure optimal implementation. Some roadmaps also include 
planning at national level on e-infrastructures, the horizontal elements that enable networking, 
processing, data management and open access. 

The conclusion is that significant progress has been made to link the national decision-making 
processes  on  Research  Infrastructures  to  priorities  defined  at  European  level.  However,  the 
coordinated funding for implementation and operation could be given more attention10. 

10 Science Metrix report, section 3.2.4. 

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Overall Conclusion 

The  analysis  of  national  roadmaps  for  research  infrastructures  demonstrates  that  significant 
progress  has  been  made  in  linking  the  priorities  at  national  level  to  those  defined  in  the 
framework  of  ESFRI.  This  growing  alignment  increases  the  coherence  of  the  European 
research infrastructure ecosystem and fosters the competitiveness of ERA. However, in order 
to  further  strengthen  the  effectiveness  of  public  investments  in  research  infrastructures,  a 
strategy to ensure long-term sustainability should be agreed between Member States. 

2.3.  An open labour market for researchers 

Objective:  

A  truly  open  and  excellence-driven  ERA  in  which  highly  skilled  and  qualified  people  can 
move seamlessly across borders to where their talents can be best employed. 

Deliverables:  

Governments  and  stakeholders  should  consider  how  the  rules  for  national  funding  schemes 
could better support the principles of openness, transparency and merit-based recruitment and 
remove legal barriers to open recruitment of researchers in research performing organisations 
and define new ways to researcher career development. 

The findings show the number of research vacancies advertised through the EURAXESS job 
portal has increased with an annual growth rate of 7.8 %  over the period 2012-2014 for the 
EU-28 average11.  

The  report  shows  that  EURAXESS  usage  varies  widely  across  countries.  The  benefits  of 
open, transparent and merit-based recruitment policies are also more important for early stage 
researchers  compared  to  established  researchers,  where  other  criteria  seem  to  have  more 
influence  in  hiring  and  promotion  decisions12.  Results  show  that  policy  efforts  aimed  at 
increasing  the  portability  of  grants  ('Money  Follows  Researcher'  model)  can  contribute  to  a 
further improvement of international researcher mobility.  

Heterogeneity  in  social  security  coverage  remains  and  discourages  mobility  from  countries 
with more protective systems. In order to improve recruitment as well as working conditions 
it  is  important  to  further  develop  human  resources  procedures.  Pension  right  transferability 
and  language  competency  for  teaching  requirements  are  flagged  as  two  salient  topics.  To 
address the first issue the Commission has launched a pan-European supplementary pension 
fund for researchers called the Retirement Savings Vehicle for European Research Institutions 
(RESAVER) in 2016.  

Regarding the second issue legal barriers for recruitment seem to have been removed in most 
countries. The  major  remaining  issue for  recruiting established  foreign researchers seems to 
be the national language requirement for teaching.  

11 Staff Working Document, table 3 
12 Science Metrix report, section 3.3 

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Many ERA NAPs focus on promoting EURAXESS in order to increase researcher mobility, 
both  across  borders  and  sectors.  The  promotion  of  the  Human  Resources  Strategy  for 
Researchers  and  more  focus  on  tenure  tracks  also  serves  this  purpose.  Furthermore,  ERA 
NAPs highlight the importance of open, transparent and merit-based recruitment procedures 
and the challenges related to social security for mobile researchers. 

Overall Conclusion 

The  results  show  that  more  attention  is  being  paid  to  open,  transparent  and  merit-based 
recruitment procedures at national level. The further promotion of the EURAXESS portal as a 
repository of researchers' rights is key in this regard.  
Potential measures to further facilitate the international mobility of researchers include equal 
access  to  national  research  funding  programs  for  foreign  researchers,  and  increasing  the 
portability of research grants. Additional measures include the further development of human 
resources  procedures  in  research  performing  institutions.  Pension  right  transferability  and 
language competency for teaching requirements are evolving topics. 

2.4.  Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research 
Objective:  

To foster scientific excellence by fully utilising gender diversity and equality and avoiding an 
indefensible waste of talent.  

Deliverables:  

Developing policies on gender equality, paying  special attention to  area's where  women are 
underrepresented, promoting approaches to gender mainstreaming  and incorporating gender 
perspectives in research. 

The  report  shows  that  the  share  of  women  in  Grade  A  positions  in  the  Higher  Education 
Sector has increased by 3.4 % compound annual growth rate in the period 2007-2014 in the 
EU-2813 This reached 23.5 % for the EU-28 in 2014. Progress has been observed in almost all 
Member States.  

The analysis also shows that one of the main challenges the countries are facing remains the 
glass ceiling impeding women to reach higher positions. This is reflected in the fact that one 
third  of  researchers  are  women,  while  at  higher  level  positions  the  share  of  women  drops 
below one quarter. Although data shows the situation is improving, the pace remains slow. 

The  ERA  NAPs  show  a  significant  improvement  in  fostering  gender  equality  in  R&I14 
compared to the state of play reported in the 2014 ERA Progress Report. The monitoring of 
gender equality implementation is ongoing or planned. This indicates a growing interest and 
commitment  at  national  level  to  the  attainment  of  gender  equality  in  national  research  and 
higher education systems. The extent and quality of actions for gender equality vary between 
Member  States.  The  integration  of  the  gender  dimension  in  research  programs  remains  a 
challenge in many Member States. 

13 Staff Working Document, table 4 
14 Three objectives have been defined : 1. Remove barriers to the recruitment and career progression of female 
researchers, 2. Address gender imbalances in decision making processes and 3.Strengthen the gender 
dimension in research programmes. 

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Overall Conclusion 

The analysis shows that the majority of Member States have made progress in setting up or 
planning more systemic strategies for gender equality in R&I. The measures described in the 
ERA NAPs will continue to support institutional change through gender equality plans to act 
as  a  catalyst  for  Member  State  action.  The  high  number  of  planned  measures  creates 
expectations of significant progress in the coming years. The actual improvement will depend 
on the capacity of Member States to maintain and reinforce the institutional change strategies 
adopted so far in the long term.  

2.5.  Optimal circulation, access to and transfer to scientific knowledge, including via 

digital ERA 

Knowledge transfer and open innovation 

Objective:  
Removing barriers to the wider use of knowledge to increase growth and competitiveness for 
Europe by fully implementing knowledge transfer policies. 

Deliverables:  

Promoting effective knowledge transfer mechanisms, establishing policies and procedures for  
intellectual property management. 

The  analysis  confirms  that  substantial  economic  benefits  can  be  derived  from  the  transfer, 
uptake and actual use of the results of research. It can even be seen as a fundamental step to 
address grand challenges (priority 2a) and enhancing social prosperity. Despite these  benefits 
of knowledge circulation, Europe is not yet ready to tap into the region's potential to capitalise 
on the investments in research and the potential these have for growth15.  

The  report  shows  an  average  annual  growth  rate  of  3.5  %  over  the  period  2008-2012  for 
innovative  firms  cooperating  with  public  or  private  research  institutions,  and  1.3  %  for 
innovative firms cooperating with higher education institutions16. 

The general obstacle to knowledge transfer is the lack of attention and support to the market 
uptake of research results. This issue remains underdeveloped both at EU and national level. 
One main obstacle is low private sector employment of researchers and the limited experience 
researchers have outside of academia. This is particularly true for young researchers.  

Technology  and  innovation  centres  are  very  important  tools  to  ensure  that  knowledge 
circulates  optimally.  The  core  businesses  of  these  centres  are  to  match  industry  needs  with 
research activities and support the commercialisation of research. 

15 "Boosting Open Innovation and Knowledge Transfer in the European Union" by the Independent Expert 
Group report on Open Innovation and Knowledge Transfer:  Debackere et al., 2014 
16 Staff Working Document, table 5a1 and 5a2 

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Most  ERA  NAPs  are  looking  at  the  main  challenges  like  IP  management  and  possible 
legislation in this respect. The development of tools for public-private cooperation in this area 
is also targeted, as well as training programmes for entrepreneurship.  

Overall Conclusion 

The analysis shows that knowledge transfer is extremely diverse in Europe. There is a need to 
consider how to integrate the funding into each interlink of the knowledge chain and ensure 
that research is brought to the market more often. Representatives from research organisations 
came  up  with  several  proposals  like  joint  industry-academic  events;  joint  industry-Research 
Performing  Organisation  (RPO)  calls  for  application  and  training;  and  career  development 
initiatives  integrating  doctoral  students  with  private  industry.  This  will  build  trust  and 
intensify public-private collaboration and promote intersectoral mobility. 

Open Access to publications and data 

Objective: 

Open  Access  to  scientific  publications  and  data  promotes  wider  and  faster  circulation  of 
scientific ideas, increasing the benefits to both science itself and to society as a whole. It is a 
key part of the wider move to Open Science. 

Deliverables: 

Promoting  Gold  and/or  Green  Open  Access  in 
the  Commissions  2012 
Recommendation  on  access  to  and  preservation  of  scientific  information,  consider  aligning  
and  coordinating  negotiations  with  scientific  publishers  to  support  a  transition  to  new  and 
more balanced business models. 

line  with 

The analysis shows that 24 Member States have adopted policies in support of Open Access 
in 201617. The majority of these measures have been adopted since 2012, and some countries 
that  were  among  the  early  adopters  have  since  complemented  their  policy  with  further 
measures.    The  Open  Access  movement  has  evolved  very  rapidly,  passing  the  50%  'tipping 
point'  in  recent  years.  For  the  publication  year  2014  approximately  52%  of  EU-28 
publications were available in Open Access18.  

However,  Open  Access  policies  and  practices  are  very  diverse  and  can  vary  both  between 
countries and Research Funding Organisations. To reach full Open Access there is a need to 
further develop publishing models and reward systems, as well as federate infrastructures to 
share and reuse research data. 

Perceived obstacles to further progress include the cost of switching to open access, diversity 
of  copyright  laws  across  national  contexts,  opacity  of  the  legal  aspects  of  rights  ownership, 
private sector concerns about obligations to share data, Researchers are also concerned about 

17 Science-Metrix report: Data gathering and information for the 2016 ERA monitoring, table 25 
18 Staff Working Document, table 5b 

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the consequences of open access publishing on the assessment of the impact of their work and 
therefore  on career progression. 

Open  Access  to  research  data  has  also  been  developing  in  the  last  years  but  is  at  a  less 
advanced  stage.  Important  technical  and  financial  barriers  impede  a  transition  to  effective 
storage and reuse of data, while the lack of data specialists and the insufficient level of data 
skills among the population of researchers is a bottleneck for effective implementation. 

Member  States  adopted  on  27  May  2016  Council  Conclusions  on  the  transition  towards  an 
Open  Science  System.  In  particular  they  called  for  making  open  access  to  scientific 
publications the option by default for publishing the results of publicly funded research and 
supported a transition to immediate open access as the default by 2020. 

The  ERA  NAPs  are  mainly  focusing  on  development  and  support  to  Open  Access  to 
publications,  in  particular  creating  e-infrastructures,  strategies  and  action  plans  to  support  
Open  Access  to  publications.The    main  emphasis  is  still  on  soft  measures  supporting  open 
access to data and publications while there is less attention on regulatory aspects. 

Overall Conclusion 

Open  Access  to  research  results  (publications  and  data)  is  being  supported  by  a  growing 
number of universities, research centers and funding agencies across Europe in recent years. 
However, as the number of policies and initiatives has increased, this has resulted in a very 
diverse  ecosystem  in  Europe.  As  a  next  step,  more  coordination  and  policy  convergence 
across national borders could be useful, based on best practices. In the case of open research 
data  policies,  much  still  needs  to  be  done  and  Horizon  2020  provides  a  useful  reference 
model. 

2.6. 

International cooperation 

Objective:  

To  ensure  that  Europe  as  a  whole  is  able  to  take  maximum  advantage  of  the  best  R&I 
opportunities in a global setting. 

Deliverables:  

Defining  national  strategies  for  internationalisation  to  foster  stronger  cooperation  with  key 
third countries, better coordination of objectives and activities of the EU, Member States and 
Associated countries towards non-EU countries and international organisations, better uptake 
of  the  results  of  multilateral  EU  and  intergovernmental  projects  and  better  use  of  bi-  and 
multilateral agreements between EU Member States and international partner countries. 

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The analysis shows a substantive annual growth rate of 4.1 % for co-publications with non-
ERA partners in the years 2005-201419. This was slightly higher than the growth rate in the 
same period for co-publications with ERA partners where the growth rate was 3.6 %. 

Main  findings  show  that  international  collaborations  with  third  countries  are  developing, 
although Western European nations are leading the way and a gap is opening with the other 
ERA  countries.  In  addition,  international  recruitment  is  advancing  as  well,  although  once 
again  Western  Europe  is  leading  the  charge  on  this  front,  and  pulling  away  from  the  other 
countries. A broader focus geographically of human resourcing will be important to address 
the disparities in the research environment. 

Most  ERA  NAPs  are  focusing  on  the  development  of  strategies  to  facilitate  intra-EU 
cooperation, information measures and measures to increase outreach and networking. There 
is a growing recognition among Member States of the relevance of international cooperation 
and for joint action in particular vis-a-vis the emerging science nations. 

Overall Conclusion 

Analysis  shows  that  many  Member  States  experience  substantial  progress  concerning  their 
international  cooperation  capacities  over  the  last  years.  It  seems  that  the  added  value  from 
joint approaches in international cooperation between the Member States and the EU as one 
strategy element beside the existing bilateral cooperation is no longer questioned. Especially 
smaller  Member  States  underline  the  need  for  and  the  added  value  of  joint  approaches  in 
particular vis-a-vis the large existing and emerging science nations. 

3.  CONCLUSIONS 

The  report  confirms  that  ERA  has  made  strong  progress  over  the  last  years.  All  headline 
indicators  show  progress  over  time  according  to  the  EU-28  averages,  although  large 
disparities,  both  in  performance  levels  as  in  growth  rates  between  countries,  exist.  (See 
overview table of the growth rates). 

That institutional contexts vary between countries indicates that there is still much room for 
further  progress  on  all  priorities.  The  EU  and  its  Member  States  still  have  not  fully 
implemented  ERA  as  envisaged  in  the  2012  Communication.  Further  work  is  needed  by 
different actors. ERA 'top-scores' can be used as potential benchmarks for countries lagging 
behind.  

The ERA NAPs that have been published by Member States and Associated Countries are a 
clear proof of political ownership on all ERA priorities and show a high level of ambition to 
make further progress on ERA. 

The Commission’s policy agenda on Open Science, Open Innovation and Open to the World 
will  also  open  up  ERA  to  future  challenges,  like  digitalisation  and  global  networks.  This 

19 Staff Working Document, table 6 

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reconfirms  that  the  ERA  concept  evolves  over  time.  New  challenges  arise  and  it  is  up  to 
governments to define how to take advantage of opportunities . There are new barriers to tear 
down. A successful ERA will lead to Open Innovation, Open Science and Open to the World. 

At the same time focus should now turn towards reinforced implementation to deliver on all 
ERA  priorities.  This  is  the  responsibility  of  Member  States,  with  monitoring  and  policy 
support from the Commission. 

The  ERA  Stakeholders'  Organisations  sustained  their  efforts  towards  the  implementation  of 
ERA priorities20. Their commitment was underlined by the signing of a new Joint Statement 
by the Presidents of the five organisations represented in the ERA Stakeholders' Platform and 
Commissioner Moedas in June 2015. In addition, the ERA Stakeholders' Platform welcomed 
new  members  in  2016,  thereby  broadening  its  spectrum  of  actors.  EIRMA,  ERF-AISBL, 
ERRIN, EU-LIFE and TAFTIE were granted observer status after they adopted ERA action 
plans. 

The  integration  of  the  monitoring  of  the  ERA  Roadmap  in  the  current  progress  report  is  a 
powerful  tool  to  help  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  define  and  implement  the 
necessary  ERA  reforms  at  national  level.  Also  streamlining  with  other  reports  on  ERA 
priorities  could  be  considered.  Using  the  ERA  Monitoring Mechanism  as  a  backbone  could 
further  strengthen  the  quantitative  foundation  of  ERA  NAPs.  The  ERA  monitoring  process 
could further be strengthened by mutual learning exercises on the basis of a combination of 
the ERA NAPs and the complementary country snapshots for the next ERA Progress Report. 

20 Staff Working Document, annex 3. 

13 

 
 
                                                            
Growth of countries across ERA Priorities 

Country 

EU-28 
AT 
BE 
BG 
CH 
CY 
CZ 
DE 
DK 
EE 
EL 
ES 
FI 
FR 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IS 
IT 
LT 
LU 
LV 
MT 
NL 
NO 
PL 
PT 
RO 
RS 
SE 
SI 
SK 
UK 

JRC Res 
Excellence 
(2010-2013) 

6.4% 

2.6% 
9.5% 
0.6% 
4.2% 
8.7% 
1.9% 
6.0% 
8.4% 
3.8% 
5.5% 
5.9% 
5.6% 
6.2% 
5.2% 
5.2% 
7.3% 
: 
5.6% 
-0.6% 
13.6% 
4.1% 
8.0% 
9.1% 
7.1% 
3.6% 
4.7% 
1.3% 
-1.5% 
5.2% 
-1.0% 
4.0% 
9.1% 

GBARD 
transnat 
(2010-2014) 

7.8% 

3.4% 
1.0% 
16.0% 
: 
0.7% 
-3.4% 
-1.1% 
-3.7% 
25.7% 
-12.6% 
6.2% 
-0.2% 
: 
22.5% 
3.8% 
5.7% 
: 
18.1% 
24.8% 
35.2% 
47.1% 
-100.0% 
10.4% 
-3.9% 
76.8% 
1.4% 
9.5% 
: 
-2.5% 
-18.4% 
15.7% 
11.0% 

EURAXESS 
job postings 
(2012-2014) 
7.8% 
2.3% 
1.8% 
-2.0% 
4.6% 
-1.4% 
-39.1% 
8.5% 
3.0% 
13.7% 
-8.8% 
21.3% 
-29.4% 
16.7% 
308.2% 
-29.4% 
17.2% 
: 
10.7% 
-19.2% 
-26.0% 
72.3% 
: 
13.4% 
11.2% 
-4.7% 
31.0% 
-34.8% 
-12.1% 
17.0% 
21.2% 
111.8% 
4.9% 

Headline Indicators21 

Women Grade A 
(2007-2014) 

3.4% 
6.0% 
6.4% 
5.5% 
-1.9% 
4.6% 
1.7% 
5.9% 
5.4% 
3.2% 
4.3% 
1.9% 
2.5% 
2.5% 
6.4% 
-0.7% 
12.7% 
: 
2.1% 
12.3% 
8.6% 
2.8% 
34.6% 
6.3% 
5.4% 
1.6% 
2.0% 
-1.1% 
: 
4.3% 
6.0% 
3.3% 
: 

Public or Private 
research insitutions 
co-op (2008-2012) 
3.5% 
14.7% 
0.4% 
-9.3% 
: 
11.2% 
-2.3% 
: 
-7.2% 
10.0% 
: 
13.1% 
-0.1% 
-1.6% 
-2.2% 
-2.6% 
: 
: 
12.2% 
2.9% 
-12.0% 
0.1% 
-0.6% 
: 
0.8% 
-3.8% 
3.5% 
22.9% 
: 
8.9% 
: 
-11.5% 
: 

Higher educ- 
private co-op 
(2008-2012) 
1.3% 
1.7% 
-1.2% 
-1.7% 
: 
-6.5% 
2.3% 
: 
-4.6% 
8.8% 
: 
11.9% 
-1.5% 
-2.9% 
-0.1% 
-2.3% 
: 
: 
0.2% 
9.3% 
-12.3% 
-9.8% 
7.6% 
: 
0.3% 
-3.0% 
1.2% 
-4.0% 
: 
4.2% 
: 
0.1% 
: 

Non-ERA pubs 
per 1000 res 
(2005-2014) 
4.1% 
2.9% 
3.0% 
1.4% 
1.4% 
8.4% 
6.3% 
0.0% 
3.5% 
8.4% 
: 
9.1% 
8.9% 
4.2% 
6.3% 
3.0% 
6.2% 
9.9% 
2.9% 
7.7% 
13.8% 
13.8% 
16.4% 
5.4% 
6.0% 
3.0% 
11.1% 
8.6% 
4.6% 
3.8% 
5.3% 
1.6% 
5.7% 

21 A description of these indicators is included in the statistical ERA Monitoring handbook which is part of the accompanying Science Metrix study 

14