Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SECURE (Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-03-31
The SECURE project addressed a major challenge within the European Research Area (ERA): the absence of structured, sustainable, and attractive research career pathways, particularly in the academic sector, where precarious conditions and limited advancement opportunities prevail. These challenges undermine researchers’ well-being, long-term commitment, and the overall capacity of Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem.To respond to these issues, SECURE developed a comprehensive Research Career Framework (RCF) aimed at supporting research organisations in enhancing how researchers are recruited, employed, trained, and retained. The RCF promotes intersectoral mobility, recognises both research-specific and transferable skills, and offers practical solutions to improve the stability and attractiveness of research careers across sectors.
The project is focused on achieving five main objectives to steer all project activities:
1. Develop a comprehensive RCF integrating relevant existing policies
2. Develop a range of tenure track-like models (TTLMs) integrating best practices from existing use cases
3. Conduct trials at organisations to implement, test, and refine the RCF
4. Engage research stakeholders for co-design and validation of the RCF
5. Mainstream the Research Career Framework through EURAXESS, policy briefs, and a summit and policy roundtable
The project will produce several key exploitable results to share with the research and innovation community (stakeholders, policymarkers and society):
- State-of-the-Art on RCF and on TTLMs
- Action plans to implement RCF and TTLMs
- Implementation report by trial organisations
- Mainstreaming plan and policy briefs for promoting SECURE RCF
The project is focused on achieving five main objectives to steer all project activities:
1. Develop a comprehensive RCF integrating relevant existing policies
2. Develop a range of tenure track-like models (TTLMs) integrating best practices from existing use cases
3. Conduct trials at organisations to implement, test, and refine the RCF
4. Engage research stakeholders for co-design and validation of the RCF
5. Mainstream the Research Career Framework through EURAXESS, policy briefs, and a summit and policy roundtable
The project will produce several key exploitable results to share with the research and innovation community (stakeholders, policymarkers and society):
- State-of-the-Art on RCF and on TTLMs
- Action plans to implement RCF and TTLMs
- Implementation report by trial organisations
- Mainstreaming plan and policy briefs for promoting SECURE RCF
The SECURE project has advanced a robust, flexible framework to enhance research careers in Europe, combining thorough literature reviews, stakeholder involvement, and evidence-based models to tackle career precarity and support institutions in attracting and retaining top research talent.
Main achievements of the SECURE project include a detailed analysis of existing frameworks and tenure track-like models, which informed the design of the Research Career Framework (RCF) and Tenure Track-Like Models (TTLMs). The project maintained continuous consultation with researchers, research organizations, and industry stakeholders to ensure the models address real needs and fit the European context. It developed concrete recommendations to enhance professional development, mobility, and career progression, adaptable to various institutional and national settings. Tailored action plans were designed and implemented in six pilot organizations, with ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and documentation to refine the framework and models. Aligned with key European policies, the RCF was actively promoted and disseminated through Policy Briefs, collaboration with the EURAXESS network, and events such as the SECURE Roadshow and Closing Summit, facilitating its adoption by numerous institutions.
Main achievements of the SECURE project include a detailed analysis of existing frameworks and tenure track-like models, which informed the design of the Research Career Framework (RCF) and Tenure Track-Like Models (TTLMs). The project maintained continuous consultation with researchers, research organizations, and industry stakeholders to ensure the models address real needs and fit the European context. It developed concrete recommendations to enhance professional development, mobility, and career progression, adaptable to various institutional and national settings. Tailored action plans were designed and implemented in six pilot organizations, with ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and documentation to refine the framework and models. Aligned with key European policies, the RCF was actively promoted and disseminated through Policy Briefs, collaboration with the EURAXESS network, and events such as the SECURE Roadshow and Closing Summit, facilitating its adoption by numerous institutions.
The SECURE project offers a comprehensive Research Career Framework (RCF) that provides organisations with an integrated set of policy guidelines, legal and financial recommendations, and practical tools to attract, support, retain, and transition research talent across Europe. The final version of the RCF is designed to align with and build upon existing European initiatives, including the European Charter for Researchers (ECfR), the European Competence Framework for Researchers (ResearchComp), and the ESCO classification.
Complementing the RCF, the Tenure Track-like Models (TTLMs) developed in SECURE offer a set of concrete, adaptable options for implementing structured career progression pathways within research-performing organisations. The policy, legal, and financial insights from these models are being integrated into the consolidated RCF. The goal is not to create a completely new framework, but to enhance and operationalise existing recommendations to reduce precarity in research careers.
The adoption of the Council Recommendation on Research Careers has had a significant impact on SECURE, reinforcing the importance of aligning project outputs with the Recommendation, the Charter, and ResearchComp. In particular, Recommendation 35 defines tenure track-like models as “structured frameworks where a fixed-term contract offers the prospect of progression to a permanent position, subject to positive evaluation.” This definition underpins the approach taken in SECURE.
Complementing the RCF, the Tenure Track-like Models (TTLMs) developed in SECURE offer a set of concrete, adaptable options for implementing structured career progression pathways within research-performing organisations. The policy, legal, and financial insights from these models are being integrated into the consolidated RCF. The goal is not to create a completely new framework, but to enhance and operationalise existing recommendations to reduce precarity in research careers.
The adoption of the Council Recommendation on Research Careers has had a significant impact on SECURE, reinforcing the importance of aligning project outputs with the Recommendation, the Charter, and ResearchComp. In particular, Recommendation 35 defines tenure track-like models as “structured frameworks where a fixed-term contract offers the prospect of progression to a permanent position, subject to positive evaluation.” This definition underpins the approach taken in SECURE.