Building a top researcher network
Euraxess is a network spanning 35 European countries that helps researchers find employment anywhere in Europe. It promotes exchange and mobility to the benefit of the European Research Area (ERA), and ultimately the economy. Euraxess operates on local, national and regional levels, and helps remove obstacles to researchers' mobility by providing key information including immigration, funding opportunities, social security and pensions. It operates through help desks and a website where researchers post CVs and link with research institutes. Lately there have been several complimentary initiatives to support Euraxess. One of these is 'Enhancing the outreach and effectiveness of the partners in the Euraxess Services Network' (Euraxess T.O.P.) The project is reinforcing the quality, effectiveness and coherence of the services provided by the Euraxess Services Network for mobile researchers. It is promoting transnational cooperation and developing applicable best practices by collecting information and experiences from all Euraxess members. The Euraxess T.O.P. project is coordinated by a German organisation is represented by 10 more countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Spain and Sweden). Most other EU countries in the Euraxess network are also contributing on a voluntary basis. The consortium of partners is developing an electronic handbook on how to design and run a Euraxess Services Centre, complete with a collection of best practices and checklists for quality management issues. It is also improving the contents and structure of national portals and promoting the Euraxess Jobs section, in addition to organising workshops for the services centres. Lately, the team has been outlining the structure of national networks and collecting over 100 best practices on running a services centre. It has also been working on checklists and other tools for quality assessment of the work already carried out by these centres. Funding for upgrading the portals in different participating countries is also being considered, coupled with each country's commitment to continue promoting the portal and supporting its purpose. In addition, two workshops were conducted in 2010 by experienced Euraxess staff members who helped participants establish new centres and identify potential trainers. The single most important outcome of this project will undoubtedly be the electronic handbook to set up more centres. Once it is published, complete with feedback from the workshops, the establishment of more Euraxess services centres will become easier and more efficient. Ultimately, this will enhance researcher exchange, facilitate mobility and support recruitment across Europe.