Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

**Council of the**
**European Union**

**Interinstitutional File:**

**2023/0285 (NLE)**

**LEGISLATIVE ACTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS**

**Brussels, 6 December 2023**
**(OR. en)**

**15135/23**

**RECH 489**
**EDUC 418**
**COMPET 1082**
**IND 590**
**MI 944**
**EMPL 526**

Subject: COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on a European framework to attract and
retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe

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**COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION**

**of …**

**on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation**

**and entrepreneurial talents in Europe**

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular

Article 182(5) and Article 292, first and second sentence, thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

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Whereas:

(1) Commission Recommendation 2005/251/EC **[1]** played an important role in supporting

researchers and research careers in the Union. The European Charter for Researchers and

the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (‘Charter and Code for

Researchers’) have become reference points for researchers and employers or funders of

researchers, contributing to strengthening the European Research Area (ERA) and

supporting the development of a more attractive, open and sustainable Union labour

market for researchers. A European procedure certifying the commitment and progress of

an institution towards the implementation of the principles of the Charter and Code for

Researchers, the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R), is in place since

2008.

**1** Commission Recommendation 2005/251/EC of 11 March 2005 on the European Charter for
Researchers and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers
(OJ L 75, 22.3.2005, p. 67).

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(2) The Commission Communication entitled ‘European Skills Agenda for sustainable

competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’, adopted on 1 July 2020 **[1]**, underlines that

researchers are at the forefront of science and innovation, and that they need specific sets

of skills to have successful careers within and outside academia. It defines a taxonomy of

skills for researchers to allow, inter alia, the statistical monitoring of brain circulation, the

development of a European Competence Framework for Researchers, and support for

equipping researchers with the skills needed for inter-sectoral mobility. The first flagship

action of the Skills Agenda, the Union Pact for Skills, supports upskilling and reskilling

through collaboration between industry, education and training providers, social partners

and public authorities in largescale skills partnerships.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘European
Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’, COM(2020)
274 final.

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(3) The Commission Communication entitled ‘A New ERA for Research and Innovation’,

adopted on 30 September 2020 **[1]**, acknowledges that career development conditions to

attract and retain the best researchers in the Union are necessary in the global race for

talents, and that precarious employment, notably for early-career researchers, has not been

adequately addressed over the past years. It also highlights the frequent misalignment

between researchers’ skills and the needs of society and the economy, and the importance

to train and incentivise researchers to pursue a career outside academia, involving industry.

That Communication points out that in order to strengthen research careers in Europe,

there is a need for a toolbox of measures aiming at the recognition of researchers’ skills,

the development of a competence framework for researchers, enhanced mobility and

exchange mechanisms between academia and industry, targeted training opportunities, and

a one-stop-shop portal that researchers from the public and private sectors can all access

for a wide range of support services. That Communication also foresees the improvement

of the research assessment system to rightfully and properly recognise diversity of career

paths and activities that better respond to the requirements of society.

(4) The Council Conclusions on the ‘New European Research Area’ of 1 December 2020

stress that creating attractive and safe working conditions, and enhancing the attractiveness

of research careers, taking into account open science, gender equality, digital skills,

research assessment, diversification of research careers and multiple career paths, are vital

elements of the new ERA, contributing to attracting and retaining excellent researchers.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘A new ERA
for Research and Innovation’, COM(2020) 628 final.

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(5) The Council Conclusions on ‘Deepening the European Research Area: Providing

researchers with attractive and sustainable careers and working conditions and making

brain circulation a reality’ of 28 May 2021 recognise that researchers are at the heart of

Union research and innovation systems, and that more coordinated action at Union level is

needed to overcome the existing challenges faced by researchers in building interoperable

and sustainable research careers – allowing for diversified and multiple career paths –,

stimulating balanced talent circulation, and making the Union an attractive destination for

researchers. Those conclusions suggest that an analysis of the possible evolution of the

Charter and Code for Researchers towards a single and comprehensive framework, which

addresses all challenges related to research careers beyond values and principles and

focuses on all possible research employment domains, be carried out and request that the

Commission make a proposal in 2022. Matters such as recruitment, incentives for early

career researchers, career diversification and progression, interoperability with all sectors

of society including industry, researchers’ assessment, gender equality, work-life balance,

and an improved governance and services of EURAXESS and other instruments like

Europass are suggested as elements to be included in that proposal.

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(6) Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/2122 on ‘a Pact for Research and Innovation in

Europe’ **[1]** includes research careers and the mobility of researchers, together with

assessment of research, researchers and institutions, as important fields of action in the

context of the priority areas for joint action by the Union and Member States in support of

the ERA, and specifies a common set of principles and values to underpin research and

innovation in the Union. It also highlights the need to give greater attention to early- and

mid-stage researchers’ careers, including the specific barriers that women face in those

stages.

**1** Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/2122 of 26 November 2021 on a Pact for Research
and Innovation in Europe (OJ L 431, 2.12.2021, p. 1).

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(7) The ERA Policy Agenda annexed to the Council Conclusions on the ‘Future governance of

the European Research Area’ of 26 November 2021 includes dedicated actions to

‘Advance towards the reform of the assessment system for research, researchers and

institutions to improve their quality, performance and impact’, and to ‘Promote attractive

and sustainable research careers, balanced talent circulation and international,

transdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility across the ERA’. The last-mentioned action

foresees the development of a Union framework for research careers, together with the

upgrading of existing instruments and initiatives and creation of new ones. That includes

the launch of an observatory on research careers; an evolution of the Charter and Code for

Researchers; the setup of the ERA Talent Platform as a one-stop-shop online gateway to

EURAXESS services, network and portals including HRS4R, and RESAVER; the launch

of the ERA4You initiative to promote talent circulation between sectors and across the

Union; the exchange of good practices with regard to research and innovation systems to

support balanced brain circulation; and the piloting of the new framework for research

careers with the European Universities alliances.

(8) The Commission Communication entitled ‘A European Strategy for Universities’, adopted

on 18 January 2022 **[1]**, envisages the development of a framework for research careers, in

synergy with a European framework for attractive and sustainable careers in higher

education to be proposed by 2023.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a
European strategy for universities, COM(2022) 16 final.

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(9) The Commission Communication entitled ‘A new European Innovation Agenda’, adopted

on 5 July 2022 **[1]**, acknowledges that innovation depends on successfully attracting,

nurturing and retaining talented individuals and a diverse array of skills and underlines the

importance of inter-sectoral mobility.

(10) Council Recommendation (EU) 2022/2415 on the guiding principles for knowledge

valorisation **[2]** emphasises the importance of investing in the development of entrepreneurial

culture, practices, skills and capacities for researchers and other research and innovation

actors, including intermediaries, whose continuing professional development is essential to

maximising the transformation of research and innovation results into solutions that benefit

society. A Code of Practice on industry-academia collaboration will support the

implementation of that Recommendation.

–
(11) The Council Conclusions on the European Universities initiative Bridging higher

education, research, innovation and society: Paving the way for a new dimension in

European higher education **[3]** invite Member States and the Commission to promote

synergies between the higher education dimension of the European Education Area (EEA),

the ERA and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A New
European Innovation Agenda, COM(2022) 332 final.
**2** Council Recommendation (EU) 2022/2415 of 2 December 2022 on the guiding principles
for knowledge valorisation (OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p. 141).
**3** –
Council conclusions on the European Universities initiative Bridging higher education,
research, innovation and society: Paving the way for a new dimension in European higher
education (OJ C 221, 10.6.2021, p. 14).

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(12) Researchers are a fundamental resource for society. They conduct research, foster

innovation, contribute to solutions to societal challenges and provide policymakers with

evidence for informed decision-making processes. Researchers are highly skilled talents

who have great potential to better meet labour market demand. It is crucial to improve

researchers’ overall working conditions and environment, including by offering them

attractive salaries.

(13) Enhancing the attractiveness and stability of research careers across the Union is a key

element of the ERA. Therefore, there is a clear need to make research careers more

attractive and inclusive for students and graduates, and to put in place framework

conditions to retain talented researchers in the Union, as well as for making it an appealing

and competitive destination for international researchers.

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(14) The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have been supporting for over 25 years, as

part of the Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation, researchers from all over

the world, at all stages of their careers, with a focus on training, skills and career

–
development. The programme has also had a structuring impact on organisations higher

–
education institutions, research organisations, enterprises etc. by spreading good

practices and increasing their international attractiveness and visibility, in particular

through the development of excellent doctoral programmes. The MSCA contributes to

inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and geographical mobility, develops researchers’ skills,

addresses gender imbalances, retains talented researchers and attracts new talent to Europe.

In particular, the MSCA Industrial Doctorate scheme can be considered an example of best

practice, where the research experience, location and supervision of a doctoral candidate

are equally shared between an academic and a non-academic establishment with provisions

to ensure academic standards. It is an important example of interaction and cooperation

between ecosystem actors, fostering transversal skills and inter-sectoral mobility, and

supporting industry’s need for highly skilled talents and researchers’ understanding of

industrial challenges, aiming at greater recruitment opportunities within the ecosystem.

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(15) Eurostat data show a growing trend in the number of full-time equivalent researchers in the

Union. In 2021, there were 2 million researchers working in the Member States, which is

627 000 more than in 2011. Most researchers work in the business enterprise sector (56 %)

and the higher education sector (32 %), followed by the public sector (11 %). It is

important to sustain this growth with adequate investment, infrastructure and policies at

national and Union level that support attractive research careers, including with regard to

diversity, inclusiveness and gender equality, and that promote a culture valuing research

careers in all sectors of society.

(16) There is a need for a clear and common definition and understanding of ‘researcher’ at

Union level, for example the widely accepted definition from the Frascati Manual.

Researchers should be understood as professionals performing research and innovation

–
activities in all sectors, including academia higher education institutions, research

– –
organisations, research infrastructures, business including industry, start-ups, spin-offs

– –
or small and medium-sized enterprises, public administration bodies including

–
government, policy-making bodies, public laboratories and the health care system, and

the non-profit sector. Researchers may be additionally involved in different types of

activities in any sector of the economy or society. Efforts are needed to achieve full

recognition of researchers’ careers, as well as to improve the comparability across Member

States and sectors.

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(17) Performing high-level research and innovation requires the support of other professionals.

Amongst them, research management and research technician careers deserve proper

recognition, including by way of further analysis and alignment at the level of the Union.

Research management capacity should be strengthened by defining required skills and

competences, developing relevant training, fostering comparability, and allowing their

holders to effectively manage and support research and innovation.

(18) The European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO) classification

has been updated in 2022 to include improved taxonomies of skills and occupations for

researchers, thus specifying the occupations relevant for researchers across labour market

sectors, and the transversal skills researchers need. The implementation of the ESCO

classification in EUROPASS and in the European network of employment services

(EURES) facilitates the uptake of that improved taxonomy in the labour market. The

Commission needs to interact with the International Labour Organization to ensure the

specific category of ‘researcher’ is included in future revisions of the International

Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO), on which the ESCO classification is based.

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(19) As recognised by Article 13 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

and as stated in the Bonn Declaration on Freedom of Scientific Research of 20 October

2020, the European Higher Education Area Rome Communiqué of 19 November 2020,

and Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/2122, academic freedom and freedom of

scientific research must be safeguarded as essential prerequisites for researchers to advance

–
research and innovation. A Staff Working Document on tackling research and innovation

R&I – foreign interference was published by the Commission in January 2022, outlining

best practices to support higher education institutions and research organisations in

safeguarding their fundamental values, including academic freedom, integrity and

institutional autonomy, as well as to protect their staff, students, research findings and

assets.

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–
(20) There is a need to effectively address persisting gender inequalities including the gender

pay gap, gender biases in assessment and recognition, work-life balance issues as well as

–
gender-based violence in addition to possible intersections of gender with other

conditions of vulnerability or marginalisation such as ethnicity, disability and sexual

orientation in research careers, as they all affect participation and career progression.

Instruments of institutional change, such as inclusive gender equality plans, can be

important in this regard, taking note of the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 **[1]** . SHE

FIGURES 2021 showed that women continue to be under-represented among researchers,

constituting only 33 % of the total population of researchers in the Union. Additionally,

that report also demonstrated that a higher percentage of researchers who are women are

employed in the higher education sector, compared to researchers who are men, whereas

their percentages are lower in the public and business sectors. Across the Union, a higher

proportion of researchers who are women, compared to researchers who are men, work on

a part-time basis and under precarious contracts in higher education – 11 % in the case of

women and 7 % in the case of men – and women only occupy 26 % of the top academic

positions, those of full professorship or equivalent researcher positions. Therefore, specific

efforts are needed to address gender inequalities in research careers and women’s under

representation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in research

and innovation, as well as in the higher education sector as highlighted in the European

Strategy for Universities.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A Union for
Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, COM(2020) 152 final.

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(21) To support the full personal and professional development of researchers in the Union, and

in particular of early-career researchers, it is essential to address existing challenges which

have negative consequences on the overall research and innovation system in the Union,

and on the internal market for research. Such challenges include aspects of employment

and working conditions, such as differing student or employee status for doctoral

candidates across the Member States, a frequent lack of open and transparent merit-based

recruitment, precarity linked to short-term project-based contracts, unsatisfactory access to

equal opportunities, a lack of inter-sectoral mobility opportunities during doctoral training

and postdoctoral work, a lack of work-life balance, family care, physical and mental health

wellbeing measures, and weaknesses in social protection tools, including difficulties with

the portability of entitlements between sectors and Member States.

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(22) The employability and career development of early-career researchers would benefit from

dedicated incentives for their recruitment, such as financial and social protection

incentives, including opportunities for permanent or open-ended contracts in line with

Council Directive 1999/70/EC of 28 June 1999 **[1]** . In this respect, a wider use of baseline

funding or life-cycle research funding could be promoted alongside project-based funding.

Baseline funding provides higher education institutions or research organisations with a

projection of guaranteed financial support in return for meeting certain deliverables and

quality standards; life-cycle funding is characterised by an initial competition for funding

that is renewed if assessed positively following a monitoring process. This allows research

organisations to develop more long-term research strategies and engage in sustainable

commitments towards employees, while using project-based funding to continue exploring

new itineraries.

**1** Council Directive 1999/70/EC of 28 June 1999 concerning the framework agreement on
fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP (OJ L 175, 10.7.1999, p. 43).

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(23) As asserted in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one has, as a

member of society, the right to social security and an entitlement to the realisation of the

economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for one’s dignity and the free

development of one’s personality. Principle 15 of the European Pillar of Social Rights

states that, in retirement, both the employed and the self-employed have the right to a

pension commensurate to their contributions that ensures an adequate income. Yet, mobile

researchers experience difficulties accumulating adequate supplementary pensions as a

result of vesting periods, high transfer fees, limited knowledge of complex financial

products and administrative burdens on retirement. Therefore, safeguards based on the

Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on ‘Access to social protection for workers

and the self-employed’ **[1]** should be ensured for researchers.

(24) RESAVER, the European pension solution supported by the Commission which deals with

occupational retirement provisions for research performing organisations and which will be

one of the components of the upcoming ERA Talent Platform, has the potential to address

the social protection issues faced by mobile researchers. However, its uptake is hindered

by limited awareness and substantial administrative and legal hurdles. With the aim of

safeguarding the occupational pension rights of mobile researchers, information about how

potential mobility might affect pension rights should be provided and the participation of

research performing organisations in RESAVER should be considered.

**1** Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on access to social protection for workers
and the self-employed (2019/C 387/01) (OJ C 387, 15.11.2019, p. 1).

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(25) Inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and geographically balanced mobility are essential to

making research careers in the Union more effective, sustainable and attractive. With such

mobility, the overall research and innovation system becomes more competitive, and

fosters better knowledge production, circulation, and use, while promoting and enabling

non-linear, diversified career paths. Those forms of mobility, including virtual mobility,

should be promoted, incentivised and adequately integrated into researchers’ professional

development and action should be taken to address existing mobility obstacles of any

nature, including the limited portability of grants, the administrative burden, for example,

of business trips, or for the recognition of residence permits for mobile researchers,

relocation challenges, or language barriers, or for the transfer of pension entitlements.

(26) A change of approach is needed to foster interoperable and inter-sectoral research careers,

whereby the assessment and reward system would attribute equal value to careers

undertaken in all sectors and would not penalise geographical, inter-disciplinary and inter

sectoral mobility, career breaks or career relocation, including sabbaticals or parental

leave, and researchers would take into consideration indistinctly careers in academia and

beyond. Multiple career paths, characterised by geographical, sectoral, and inter

organisational mobility, or hybrid paths, characterised by the simultaneous combination of

sectors, deserve full recognition and consideration on a par with linear career paths – to be

understood as careers following a straight line of progression from one position to another,

usually within the same field or discipline.

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(27) In some instances, doctoral training continues to be directed primarily at future careers in

academia, and does not sufficiently take into consideration the wider range of occupations

across relevant sectors, or the importance of fostering entrepreneurship among researchers.

Equipping researchers with transversal skills through formal and informal trainings, in

addition to strong research skills, is highly important for creating better career

opportunities, inter-sectoral mobility and innovation, and for making research careers in

the Union more attractive.

(28) The European Competence Framework for Researchers (ResearchComp) developed by the

Commission in consultation with Member States and stakeholders, will play an important

role in equipping researchers with a wide set of transversal skills and closing the skills gap

between academia and all other relevant sectors. Researchers’ training – including doctoral

–
training could be developed according to the competences described in the framework

and based on the exchange of best practices in order to allow for lifelong up-skilling and

re-skilling of researchers. Adequate recognition of, and validation mechanisms for, formal

and informal training opportunities, including on-the-job training, would be needed.

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(29) To ensure that researcher training is developed or co-developed on the basis of actual skills

needs, the interaction and cooperation of academia, industry, business, public

administration, the non-profit sector, and all other relevant ecosystem actors could be

promoted, including for example in relation to internships, traineeships or job shadowing.

The Principles for innovative doctoral training included in the Report adopted by the ERA

Steering Group on Human Resources and Mobility of 2011, as well as Council

Recommendation (EU) 2022/2415 of 2 December 2022 on the Guiding principles for

knowledge valorisation **[1]** which points out the need to have a system conducive to

entrepreneurial activities for the benefit of researchers, could be taken into consideration in

this regard.

(30) Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and related competences among researchers,

including competences for seeking investors and capital, is crucial to improve knowledge

valorisation and the transformation of innovative ideas into new services and products with

higher potential for market uptake, sustainable growth, innovation and societal benefits.

Following a successful entrepreneurial path requires that intellectual assets such as

publications, data, know-how and intellectual property are properly understood and

efficiently managed as set out in Council Recommendation (EU) 2022/2415 of 2

December 2022 on the Guiding principles for knowledge valorisation **[1]** .

**1** Council Recommendation (EU) 2022/2415 of 2 December 2022 on the guiding principles
for knowledge valorisation (OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p. 141).

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(31) Cross-sectoral talent circulation and improved interoperability of research and innovation

jobs among sectors demand a combination of different and complementary measures at

national and Union levels in accordance with the principles of academic freedom and

institutional autonomy, including system reform. A policy approach that involves mutual

learning on the basis of successful models for inter-sectoral mobility schemes can

contribute to strengthening a mutually beneficial academia/non-academia cooperation, and

reinforcing innovation ecosystems, improving training and lifelong learning for

researchers, innovators, and other research and innovation talents, including up-skilling to

build support capacity, and enhancing the recruitment system, and boosting researchers’

development of entrepreneurial skills.

(32) Researchers are not always aware of the crucial role of policy making in the field of

research and innovation and the role of science in policy making. Both dimensions can

have an impact on the research careers overall as well as on the research and innovation

system. It is important for doctoral training to include and instil this awareness, in order to

ensure greater involvement of researchers in the policy making process and recognise their

activities in science for policy throughout their career.

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(33) Researchers, in particular early-career ones, should be made aware of opportunities

available in all sectors and of the possibility of pursuing those opportunities to widen their

personal and professional development spectrum. Career advisory and support services,

tailored to the needs of researchers, have an important role to play by stimulating inter

sectoral, inter-disciplinary, geographical and virtual mobility, and through the possibility

of developing entrepreneurial activities. Interinstitutional mobility, notably between

different profiles of higher education institutions and research organisations and along

diverse and flexible academic paths should be promoted, including by addressing obstacles

linked to the competences developed in the previous institution, and the ones required in

the new one.

(34) Research assessment should enable evaluating the performance of researchers and research

to achieve the highest quality and impact. As highlighted in the 2022 Paris call on research

assessment, in the scoping report ‘Towards a reform of the research assessment system’

published by the Commission in 2021 and based on a broad consultation with stakeholders,

in the Council Conclusions on ‘Research assessment and implementation of Open Science’

of 10 June 2022 _,_ and in the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment published in

July 2022, a proper evaluation of performance requires a recognition of increasingly

diverse research outputs, activities and practices, including collaboration and open sharing

of outputs, and ensuring high research integrity standards and societal impact of research.

Researcher assessment should therefore move to a more balanced approach between the

quantitative and qualitative evaluation of research, by favouring qualitative assessment

with peer-review, supported by responsible use of quantitative indicators.

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(35) In order to reinforce careers in academia leading to the most senior positions, a transparent,

structured, inclusive and gender-equal career accession and progression system is needed.

The development of tenure-track-like systems, to be understood as defined frameworks

where a fixed-term contract has the prospect of progression to a permanent position subject

to positive evaluation, could be considered for this purpose at the level of Member States

and research performing organisations.

(36) Despite efforts at Union, national and regional level, the issue of talent drain from less

developed regions in the Union persists, as highlighted in the Commission Communication

entitled ‘Harnessing talent in Europe’s regions’ **[1]**, and additional measures are required to

achieve more balanced geographical mobility for researchers. The Commission talent

circulation analyses 2021-2022 indicate the positive contribution of existing actions at

Union level to encouraging more balanced talent circulation, but they also identify

persistent challenges and provide pathways for brain gain. Excellent research environments

– –
including research infrastructures, attractive working conditions and a level of

remuneration commensurate with professional qualifications and the activities performed,

play a very important role in this context, but they often require reforms of the national

research and innovation systems. A policy approach that aims to support and incentivise

such system transformations should be pursued, involving mutual learning exercises on the

basis of successful pathways that have enabled establishing a more balanced circulation of

talents in Member States.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Harnessing
talent in Europe’s regions’, 17 January 2023, COM(2023) 32 final.

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(37) Supporting researcher mobility and career development, while ensuring a sustainable talent

pipeline for the research and innovation domain and enhancing scientific collaboration

between the Union and the world, is the main objective of EURAXESS, a unique pan

European initiative delivering information and support services free of charge to

researchers and their families. To further support this objective, EURAXESS could expand

its information delivery and support activities for researchers and higher education

institutions and research organisations, with optimised structure of services and

governance, improved digital and user experience and interoperability with other Union

initiatives such as Europass and EURES. The effectiveness and coherence of EURAXESS

information portals and services would benefit from strong national bridgehead

organisations.

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(38) To remain globally competitive, the Union needs to become more attractive for talent from

around the world while avoiding talent drain affecting developing countries. The

Commission Communication entitled ‘Attracting skills and talent to the EU’, adopted on

27 April 2022 **[1]**, emphasises the necessity for the Union to enhance its appeal to global

talent, notably by promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the Union and by

exploring further potential avenues for legal migration to the Union in the medium to

longer term. The revision of Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of

the Council **[2]** was an important step to improve the Union’s attractiveness allowing highly

qualified migrants to benefit from improved rights as well as quicker and more streamlined

procedures. Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council **[3]** also

contributes to those objectives by making it easier and more attractive for students and

researchers to come to the Union while at the same time promoting the circulation of

knowledge and skills through enhanced intra-Union mobility rights.

**1** Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Attracting
skills and talent to the EU’, COM(2022) 657 final.
**2** Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October
2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of
highly qualified employment, and repealing Council Directive 2009/50/EC
(OJ L 382, 28.10.2021, p. 1).
**3** Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on
the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research,
studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au
pairing (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 21).

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(39) The Charter and Code for Researchers is being revised to respond to the new reality and

the current challenges faced by researchers and institutions, including a better integration

of gender balance, gender equality and inclusiveness comprising measures aiming at

research environments that are free from gender-based violence, as well as open science

practices. The new Charter for Researchers, in Annex II of this Recommendation, is

streamlined in order to simplify its implementation and to promote its uptake beyond the

academic sector. All organisations employing or providing funding for researchers are

invited to endorse the new Charter for Researchers. Organisations that have endorsed the

principles of the existing Charter and Code for Researchers are considered as continuing to

endorse the new Charter for Researchers. This should apply in particular to institutions that

have entered or completed the HRS4R process, for which the endorsement of the Charter

for Researchers constitutes the first step.

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(40) An observatory on research careers, combining the best of the current Union data in a

single place, is needed to monitor the implementation of measures to strengthen research

careers and system reforms. It should support the data needs of Member States and

research performing organisations relevant for the adaptation and development of policies

for research careers. It should equally support researchers to have a better understanding of

challenges and opportunities, and promote the attractiveness of Europe’s research

performing organisations for the best talents. Where relevant, links with the European

Higher Education Sector Observatory proposed in the European Strategy for Universities

could be considered. Data collected in application of Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the

European Parliament and of the Council **[1]** could be adapted to respond to the needs of the

research careers observatory’s users.

**1** Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to
persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending
Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European
Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the
European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98
(OJ L 261I, 14.10.2019, p. 1).

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(41) In order for the European framework to attract and retain research, innovation and

entrepreneurial talent in the Union to succeed, commitments from the Member States and

all stakeholders involved are needed. In particular, alliances of higher education

institutions, such as those established under the European Universities Initiative and

supported by the Erasmus+ Programme and the Framework Programmes for Research and

Innovation, as well as the wider higher education sector, research organisations and all

relevant stakeholders, could be encouraged to participate on a voluntary basis and

following a bottom-up approach, to contribute to a broad implementation of the framework

by piloting relevant activities.

(42) Those recommendations should be implemented with due regard to the broad diversity of

national research and innovation systems and circumstances and to the principle of

institutional autonomy of higher education institutions and research organisations across

the Union,

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:

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Researchers, research managers and research technicians in the European Research Area

1. For the purposes of this Recommendation:

‘Researchers’ means professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new scientific

knowledge based on original concepts or hypotheses. They conduct research and improve

or develop concepts, theories, models, infrastructures, techniques, instrumentation,

software or operational methods. Researchers may be involved fully or partially in

–
different types of activities such as basic or applied research, experimental development,

operating research equipment in any sector of the economy or society and disseminating

and valorising research results. They may also be partially involved in, among others,

project management, teaching, mentoring, supporting evidence-informed policy making,

open science practices, knowledge and technological transfer activities, and science

communication. Researchers identify options for new research and development activities,

and plan for and manage them by using high-level skills and knowledge developed through

formal education and training or from experience.

2. Researchers can conduct their activities with equal relevance in all sectors performing

research and innovation, including academia, industry, business, public administration and

the non-profit sector, where their skills, knowledge and attitudes can be beneficial to

European society, the research and innovation system, and the economy.

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3. Research management careers can be undertaken by researchers and other professionals to

manage and support research and innovation activities. Research management careers

should be adequately framed and recognised at the level of the Union, by defining relevant

skills and competences, in order to strengthen research managers’ professional capacity, to

enable the development of relevant training, and to foster comparability. Research

managers can perform different tasks, for example:

(a) streamlining or facilitating the planning, development, management, FAIR data

management, administration, monitoring, communication and valorisation of

research and innovation;

(b) ensuring compliance with policy objectives, funding programme requirements,

financial rules and legal regulations;

(c) improving the efficiency and effectiveness of research and innovation projects or

systems;

(d) enhancing the impact of research and innovation on policy and society;

(e) supporting the design and implementation of research and innovation policies,

programmes and projects.

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4. Research technicians are professionals whose main tasks require high levels of technical

knowledge, training, and experience in one or more fields of engineering, the physical and

life sciences, or the social sciences and humanities. They participate in scientific and

technical tasks involving the application of concepts and operational methods and the use

of research equipment, normally under the supervision of researchers. Research technicians

have a crucial support role in the performance of high-level research and innovation.

Member States should consider adequately framing and recognising research technicians’

careers at national level.

5. All researchers, regardless of their status and sector of employment, should be framed in

the following profiles:

(a) R1 – First Stage Researcher: Researchers doing research under supervision up to the

point of a PhD or equivalent level of competence and experience.

(b) R2 – Recognised Researcher: Researchers with a PhD or equivalent level of

competence and experience who have not yet established a significant level of

independence in developing their own research, attracting funding, or leading a

research group.

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(c) R3 – Established Researcher: Researchers with a PhD or equivalent level of

competence and experience who are able to independently develop their own

research, attract funding, and lead a research group.

(d) R4 – Leading Researcher: Researchers with a PhD or equivalent level of competence

and experience who are recognised as leading their research field by their peers.

6. For the purposes of this Recommendation, R1 and R2 profiles should be considered

early-career researchers, and R3 and R4 profiles should be considered senior researchers.

Member States are recommended to encourage the use of references to the profiles in all

vacancies specifically addressed to researchers or, where relevant, to invite higher

education institutions and research organisations to do so.

Profiles should not necessarily be considered as stages on a progressive career path.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of occupations for researchers across sectors along the

R1-R4 profiles is set out in Annex I.

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Recognition, interoperability and comparability of researchers’ careers

7. Member States and the Commission are recommended to promote and support a full

recognition of researchers’ careers as well as an equal esteem and reward of the different

paths regardless of the sector of employment or activity, and to take supportive measures

to allow for their full interoperability and comparability across Member States, sectors and

institutions.

8. Non-linear, multi-career and hybrid paths could be encouraged and supported by Member

States, and should be recognised on a par with linear career paths with multiple

professional outcomes.

9. Member States are recommended to implement new versions and updates of the European

Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations classification, with specific regard to

researchers’ occupations and skills.

10. Member States are recommended to encourage human resources offices in all sectors to

map career structures for researchers against the profiles referred to in point 5 of this

Recommendation.

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Recruitment and working conditions

11. Member States are recommended to promote and support open, transparent and merit

based selection and recruitment of candidates, without penalisation for career breaks or

non-linear, multi-career, and hybrid paths.

12. Member States are recommended to encourage respect of collective agreements and

effective social dialogue, and to take support action so that employers and funders provide

attractive, inclusive and competitive research and working conditions, where researchers

are valued, encouraged and supported. Such support action could include:

(a) providing commensurate remuneration, work-life balance and flexible working

conditions that help bring together personal life, family, caring, health, safety, and

overall wellbeing, without prejudice to careers;

(b) ensuring gender equality, gender balance, equal opportunities and inclusiveness for

researchers from all backgrounds including under-represented and marginalised

groups, and promoting among research performing and funding organisations the

use, implementation and monitoring of instruments of institutional change, such as

inclusive gender equality plans open to intersections between genders and other

social categories, in line with the new European Research Area framework and the

European Strategy for Universities;

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(c) safeguarding the freedom of scientific research from any possible limitation or

interference, including from foreign actors;

(d) offering dedicated support at institutional level to researchers in relation to the

fulfilment of administrative duties;

(e) taking resolute action to counter the phenomenon of precarity and to support job

security and stability. This could, on a voluntary basis, incentivise the establishment

of a maximum threshold for the number of fixed-term contracts per organisation in

researcher human resources overall. Whenever permanent, long-term or highly

recurrent research tasks are being fulfilled, permanent or open-ended contracts are

recommended as the appropriate instrument. Researchers under fixed-term contracts

–
should benefit from specific measures as referred to in point 29 of this

Recommendation – that promote their career development and continuity;

–
(f) considering the use of different funding models e.g. baseline, life-cycle, or project

based –, to allow research organisations to develop more long-term research

strategies and engage in more stable commitments towards employees;

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(g) providing access to adequate social protection irrespective of the form of

employment, without prejudice to the right of Member States to define the

fundamental principles of their social security systems. Such measures could pertain

to the following branches, insofar as they are provided in the Member States:

(1) unemployment benefits;

(2) sickness and healthcare benefits;

(3) maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave and related benefits;

(4) invalidity benefits;

(5) old-age benefits and survivor benefits;

(6) benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases.

13. Member States are recommended to ensure researchers’ access to updated, comprehensive,

user-friendly and clearly understandable information on their social protection rights and

–
obligations, and to ensure that entitlements whether they are acquired through mandatory

–
or voluntary schemes are preserved, accumulated and/or transferable across all types of

employment and self-employment statuses and across borders, economic sectors,

throughout the person’s working life or during a certain reference period and between

different schemes within a given social protection branch.

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14. Member States that aim to enhance saving in defined contribution supplementary schemes

are recommended to promote the use of the solutions provided by the RESAVER pension

fund which guarantees the absence of a vesting period and asset transfer fees.

15. Member States are recommended to encourage specific measures in support of early-career

researchers, corresponding to the R1 and R2 profiles referred to in point 5 of this

Recommendation. Taking into account national circumstances, such specific measures

could include:

(a) providing First Stage Researchers with social protection and working conditions

applicable to researchers in other career stages and with adequate income;

(b) providing early-career researchers with financial and social protection incentives;

(c) promoting the use of, and supporting, incentives for the recruitment of early-career

researchers by employers in all sectors, in particular with permanent or open-ended

contracts;

(d) promoting and recognising interinstitutional, inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and

geographical mobility, including virtual mobility;

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(e) promoting cooperation between academia, research funders and other relevant

ecosystem actors, notably industry and other businesses as well as public and

non-profit organisations, with regard to skills needed and skills provided, so as to

foster recruitment of highly-skilled researchers meeting the targeted skills needed in

the sectors concerned;

(f) promoting involvement of early-career researchers into research teams avoiding the

demand of tasks unrelated to their scientific training.

Researchers skilled for inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary careers and for entrepreneurship and

innovation

16. The goal of the first-stage researcher is to cultivate the research mindset, to nurture

flexibility of thought, creativity, and intellectual autonomy through an original, concrete

research project. Member States are recommended to take appropriate steps to encourage

that doctoral training is geared towards those goals, and furthermore compatible with

interoperable careers in all relevant sectors and for the practice of Open Science, including

by making use of ResearchComp, the Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training, the

European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, and of any other future initiatives taken

for the purpose of strengthening the transversal skills of researchers.

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17. The Commission is recommended to take action to support and facilitate the use of

ResearchComp, promote the exchange of good practices, and consider future revisions of

the Competence Framework where needed on the basis of the evolution of the research and

innovation system and of the labour market.

18. Member States are recommended to place emphasis on schemes aiming to strengthen the

transversal skills needed by researchers to engage in knowledge valorisation activities and

entrepreneurship. Such schemes could include awareness raising activities and trainings on

relevant topics, including intellectual assets management, standardisation, industry

academia, academia-public administration sector collaboration, including science for

policy activities, and engagement with society.

19. Member States and the Commission are recommended to encourage interaction and

cooperation, including partnerships, between academia, industry, other businesses, public

administration, the non-profit sector, and all other relevant ecosystem actors, and to ensure

that doctoral training and targeted training are developed or co-developed on the basis of

the actual skills needs of the parties concerned, including by building on best practice

examples implemented under existing programmes at Union and Member State level.

The support of such interaction and cooperation is particularly recommended in areas

where specific skills are necessary for operating with state-of-the-art research and

technology infrastructures.

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20. Member States and the Commission are recommended to take action to foster an

innovation and entrepreneurial mindset in researchers, including the necessary skills for

investment-seeking, with the objective of allowing those who undertake an entrepreneurial

career path to couple their knowledge production capabilities with knowledge valorisation

proficiency, turning innovative ideas into business and fostering innovation and progress.

A specific focus should be put on the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation among

women and on the creation of women-led spin-offs. The same approach should be

envisaged for minority and marginalised groups.

Member States could consider measures to mitigate the potential risks for researchers

undertaking an entrepreneurial career, including through the possibility to return to their

previous career path.

21. Member States are recommended to take action to support the development and provision

of targeted training, to encourage up-skilling and re-skilling opportunities for researchers

with a lifelong perspective and to foster inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary mobility.

Member States are also recommended to take the necessary steps to promote a fair and

transparent validation procedure of formal and informal training opportunities, including

on-the-job training.

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22. The Commission is recommended to take the following action in the context of the

development of initiatives fostering cross-sectoral circulation of talents:

(a) supporting mutual learning for Member States on the basis of models of

inter-sectoral mobility schemes established by the Commission, in three priority

areas:

(1) strengthening academia and non-academia cooperation;

(2) improving training and lifelong learning for researchers, innovators, and other

research and innovation talents;

(3) boosting entrepreneurship, transversal skills and engagement among

researchers in activities increasing social impact;

(b) reinforcing inter-sectoral mobility components in existing instruments for

researchers’ mobility, and complementing them with new instruments, where

deemed necessary;

(c) creating awareness on inter-sectoral mobility schemes, via a branch of the ERA

Talent Platform referred to in point 33 of this Recommendation.

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23. Member States are recommended to consider establishing national schemes promoting

inter-sectoral mobility in one or more of the three priority areas referred to in point 22 of

this Recommendation.

24. Member States are recommended to undertake all necessary effort to promote the

elimination of existing structural and administrative barriers which can hamper or obstruct

mobility between sectors, including by supporting researchers in overcoming family and

personal barriers to mobility, by supporting the interoperability of careers, where

applicable, and by facilitating temporary or permanent mobility, without hindering linear

research career paths.

25. Member States and the Commission are recommended to promote inter-disciplinary

mobility of researchers, including by adequately taking into consideration and addressing

hurdles such as lack of recognition and difficulties in securing funding from traditional

sources.

Career assessment, development and progression

26. Member States are recommended to support the recognition of the value of geographical,

inter-sectoral, interinstitutional, inter- and trans-disciplinary mobility as important means

of enhancement of scientific knowledge and professional development at any stage of a

researcher’s career. Virtual mobility has been proved as a valid asset and can also be

considered. The assessment and reward system should not penalise non-linear, multi-career

and hybrid paths.

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27. Member States and the Commission are recommended to promote and support systems for

the assessment and reward of researchers that:

(a) are based on qualitative unbiased judgement provided by peers and other pertinent

experts, supported by the responsible use of quantitative indicators;

(b) reward quality and the various potential impacts of their research on society, science

and innovation;

(c) recognise a diversity of outputs, inter alia publications, datasets, software,

methodologies, protocols, patents; a diversity of activities, inter alia mentoring,

–
research supervision, leadership roles, entrepreneurship, FAIR data management

following the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable –, peer

review, teaching, knowledge valorisation, industry-academia cooperation, support for

evidence informed policy-making, interaction with society; and a diversity of

practices, inter alia Open Science, early knowledge and data sharing, and open

collaboration, in addition to all mobility experiences referred to in point 26 of this

Recommendation;

(d) ensure that the researcher’s professional activity meets high standards of ethics and

integrity, applies appropriate conduct of research, and values good practices,

including open practices for sharing research results and methodologies whenever

possible;

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(e) use assessment criteria and processes that respect the variety of research disciplines

and national contexts;

(f) support a diversity of researcher profiles and career paths, and value individual

contributions, but also the role of teams, collaborative work, and inter-disciplinarity;

(g) ensure gender equality, gender balance, equal opportunities and inclusiveness.

To ensure coherence in the implementation of the recommendations listed in this point,

Member States are encouraged to foster continuous training for the actors involved in the

assessment and reward process.

28. Member States are invited to encourage organisations to join coalitions, alliances or

initiatives set up to evolve assessment systems in line with the recommendations listed in

point 27 of this Recommendation. Member States are also encouraged to tackle, within

their area of competence, national administrative or legal barriers to such evolution of

research assessment and help prevent any contradictions or incompatibilities that might

exist in the application of the recommendations listed in point 27 of this Recommendation,

between the assessment of research, of researchers and of research organisations.

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29. Member States are recommended to promote measures, including advisory and mentoring

mechanisms, that make researchers, in particular early-career ones, aware of opportunities

available in all relevant sectors and to promote a culture of diversification of careers for

better personal and professional development. In this regard, Member States and the

Commission are recommended to support the provision of career advisory and support

services, e.g. EURAXESS, to stimulate inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and geographical

mobility, as well as the creation and development of entrepreneurial activities.

30. Member States are recommended to promote a fair, equal, inclusive, transparent, structured

and gender-equal career accession and progression system for researchers in academia, up

to the top positions. In this respect, Member States are recommended to consider

developing tenure-track-like systems, to be understood as defined frameworks where a

fixed-term contract has the prospect of a progression to a permanent position, subject to

positive evaluation.

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Balanced circulation of talents and making the Union an attractive destination

31. Member States are recommended to take resolute action to put in place favourable,

attractive and competitive conditions for conducting research and innovation activities, and

for the return of researchers from abroad. Such measures could include, but not be limited

to:

(a) incentives to make research activities more attractive, taking into consideration the

need for a fair competition for talents;

(b) simplification of legal and administrative requirements for researchers;

(c) investments in the research and innovation system, including support to networking

within and beyond the Union, to connect and integrate national research and

innovation systems to European research networks and provide higher visibility of

national capabilities and high-level research and technology infrastructures;

(d) the exchange of best practices with regard to creating an attractive, safe, inclusive,

gender-equal and competitive research and innovation environment, even as regards

the improvement of remuneration, working conditions and services, and the

reduction of administrative and language barriers for foreign and internationally

mobile researchers;

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(e) return and career reintegration grants and attractive positions for returning

researchers;

(f) the possibility of having dual positions in institutions established in different

Member States, thereby fostering knowledge transfer, skills development,

collaboration, and preventing talent drain;

(g) exploring options for a common approach for the staff of the Research

Infrastructures, especially in the case of a European Research Infrastructure

Consortium (ERIC).

The Commission is recommended to support Member States in their endeavours, including

by enabling the implementation of synergies among Union programmes, and Union and

national programmes.

32. The Commission is recommended to take the following actions fostering a more balanced

circulation of talents:

(a) supporting mutual learning for Member States in view of the reform of their research

and innovation systems, including through calls for expression of interest to create a

community of practice with training and guidance for Member States on the basis of

successful pathways and solutions enabling more balanced talent circulation;

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(b) monitoring mobility flows, within the Union and with third countries, through an

interactive talent circulation map in the observatory on research careers referred to in

point 40 of this Recommendation;

(c) facilitating transnational ties with the research and innovation diaspora and third

country communities and facilitating the attraction or return of talents, via a branch

of the ERA Talent Platform referred to in point 33 of this Recommendation;

(d) promoting a balanced talent circulation of researchers at Union level, by

strengthening the human capital base with more entrepreneurial, managerial and

better-trained researchers and innovators.

Support actions for research careers

33. The Commission and Member States are recommended to take appropriate measures to

strengthen the EURAXESS portals, services, as well as the international dimension, and to

develop the ERA Talent Platform as an online one-stop-shop for researchers and

institutions in all sectors, with a new governance framework and a coordination role of

relevant national bodies and institutions involved in service delivery. The ERA Talent

Platform should allow:

(a) researchers to manage their learning and training opportunities and their careers;

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(b) research and innovation institutions, employers and funders to conduct networking

activities, better manage their pools of talents, collaborate and exchange best

practices, while facilitating talents’ attraction and retention and improving data for a

better understanding of mobility trends across Europe and beyond.

Services could be broadened to include talent development and career management

services, with a focus on researchers in all relevant sectors of society, including academia.

34. The Commission is recommended to ensure links and interoperability between the ERA

Talent Platform and other relevant Union and national initiatives, including Europass,

ESCO and EURES, to provide for an improved governance model of the platform and the

underlying network of service centres to better meet the needs of researchers and research

performing organisations.

35. Member States and the Commission are recommended to acknowledge the importance of

the endorsement and implementation of the Charter for Researchers referred to in point 36

of this Recommendation.

36. The new Charter for Researchers set out in Annex II to this Recommendation should

replace the Charter and Code for Researchers set out in the Annex to Recommendation

2005/251/EC. Member States and the Commission are recommended to encourage the

endorsement and implementation of the new Charter for Researchers by research

employers and funders from all sectors, including through dedicated incentives, in view of

making it a structural tool in support of researchers and research careers.

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37. The Commission is recommended to adjust the Human Resources Strategy for

Researchers, or any future similar implementation mechanism, to the new Charter for

Researchers, and to ensure continuity in respect of the institutions that have endorsed the

principles of the old Charter and Code for Researchers and have adhered to the Human

Resources Strategy for Researchers, notably by considering them as continuing to endorse

the Charter for Researchers set out in Annex II to this Recommendation. The Commission

is recommended to apply the same transitional measures to the institutions which started

the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers process under the old Charter and Code for

Researchers.

38. The Commission is recommended to regularly review and adapt all tools in support of

research careers, based on the actual needs of researchers, in coordination with Member

States and relevant stakeholders.

39. The Commission and Member States are recommended to encourage and support alliances

of higher education institutions, such as the European Universities alliances, the whole

European higher education, research and innovation sector and all relevant stakeholders, to

pilot relevant actions foreseen by this Recommendation on the basis of a voluntary and

bottom-up approach.

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Monitoring of research careers

40. In addition to the overarching European Research Area monitoring systems, the

Commission and Member States are recommended to monitor relevant aspects of research

careers in the Union and the implementation of this Recommendation through a dedicated

Observatory, to the benefit of the research community, policy makers, public

administration and relevant organisations at European and national level. The Observatory

should support better understanding of challenges and opportunities by researchers, and it

should also promote the attractiveness of Union research performing organisations for the

best talents, while guaranteeing the protection of data privacy throughout implementation.

41. The Observatory should carefully consider and identify the type of support data that would

be relevant to observe research careers. Where possible, links to existing data should be

considered and prioritised in order to reduce administrative burden for Member States and

all relevant stakeholders. Member States are recommended to cooperate for the purpose of

collecting data relevant for the implementation of the observatory in an efficient and

sustainable way.

42. The Commission is invited to propose – on the basis of the data provided by the

–
Observatory on research careers further measures that encourage and promote the

development of research careers.

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43. The Commission, in collaboration with Member States, is recommended to consider

relevant links between the Observatory on Research Careers and the European Higher

Education Sector Observatory proposed in the European Strategy for Universities, where

relevant, and thereby enhance synergies between the European Research Area and the

European Education Area.

44. Member States and the Commission are recommended to consider the adaptation to the

data needs of the observatory referred to in point 40 of this Recommendation of the data

collected in the context of Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.

Done at …,

_For the Council_

_The President_

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