Trans-national operation of the EURAXESS Service network

Specific challenge:

EURAXESS will help making a career in European research institutions more attractive, both for researchers in Europe who are facing career decisions and for those who are currently outside Europe and might consider relocating to Europe to develop their research careers here. By increasing the service level of the whole EURAXESS Services Network the benefit for the research community will be long-lasting and far-reaching.

Scope:

The objective of the action is to further diversify the services provided by the EURAXESS Service Centres to take care of the career development of mainly young researchers in Europe. A particular focus shall be on female Higher Education Institution students and researchers, including mobile and non-mobile ones, with the aim to contribute to the completion of the ERA and the Responsible Research and Innovation field. This action will support activities the EURAXESS Service Network represented by Bridgehead organizations to address strategic issues related to further widening of the services - from mainly mobility-related to new services. These include for example the set-up of career development centres and/or support for dual careers, support to researchers integration in SME’s and industry in general, better integration of researchers into the culture of the host country, as well as mentoring programmes for researchers. Services should also include dedicated gender-specific information on the following: returners' schemes (e.g. fellowships or other opportunities aimed at researchers who had a career break, so to facilitate their re-entry), programmes aimed at female researchers and the promotion of Higher Education Institutions and research organisations having in place a Gender Equality Plan. Other services for researchers should be proposed: for instance, national EURAXESS website shall provide policy information as provided on the European EURAXESS portal about EU research policies for researchers and their careers. This includes, issues related to ERA and Responsible Research and Innovation, Open Access, in cooperation with existing coordination and support actions (e.g. OpenAIRE, RECODE, FOSTER). Activities such as the deepening of existing services through trainings, seminars, networking and updating of national EURAXESS portals shall also be part of this action.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of the order of EUR 3.6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected impact:

Increased job and funding opportunities on the EURAXESS Jobs portal and personalised assistance to researchers will accelerate the career development of young researchers, in particular female researchers. In the medium term, the action will produce efficiency gains and reduce transaction costs by creating a better match of existing talent and R&I needs and capacity in European research institutions. It will contribute directly to the Horizon 2020 objective of cross-national and international circulation of researchers; it will increase the number of researchers who have access to research infrastructures through Union support and the number of excellent researchers overall. It will contribute to meeting ERA objectives on gender equality. Over time, the action will contribute directly towards European targets on R&D intensity and percentage of researchers in the active population, and to boost European research competitiveness.

Type of action: Coordination and Support Actions.