Following the launch of Inspireurope in 2019, three developments in particular highlighted the value and need for the coordination work undertaken by project: first, the political upheaval in Afghanistan, second, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and third the Covid-19 pandemic. Since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, organisations in the Inspireurope consortium have received and responded to unprecedented numbers of requests for help from scholars from Afghanistan, all seeking pathways to safety. The infrastructure and partnerships in place because of the Inspireurope project allowed partners to coordinate quickly to share information on scholars seeking evacuation, visa pathways to safety and other urgent matters. Six months after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan came the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, and since March 2022, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of Ukrainian researchers reaching out to organisations inside and outside the Inspireurope consortium for assistance finding temporary positions in Europe. Inspireurope partners worked closely with higher education institutions across Europe, national ministries and the European Commission to respond to the suddenness and scale of the need. The third phenomenon underscoring the importance of Inspireurope’s efforts has been the struggle against Covid-19. The pandemic placed new pressures on researchers and placed more researchers at risk. In the face of multiplying threats to researchers at risk and an increasing number of individuals who are affected by such threats, organisations in the Inspireurope consortium worked together to respond. Higher education networks, employers, associations, governments, national agencies and other actors turned to Inspireurope as an entry point for action.
The Inspireurope Coordinating Committee was the primary vehicle for ensuring cooperation across Europe, including sharing of expertise and good practices. Through outreach to business networks and companies, Inspireurope opened new doors, and created greater awareness of the availability in Europe of an untapped pool of diverse research talent. Through three high-level stakeholder fora, and mutual learning opportunities, Inspireurope brought policymakers, universities, funders, NGOs and other key research and innovation stakeholders together to share their perspectives on how to improve support in Europe for researchers at risk. Through direct guidance, coaching, training, and information for approximately 2,000 programme participants, Inspireurope contributed to building the skills and knowledge needed to support greater access by researchers at risk to existing EU, national and institutional support. The networks of the partner organisations ensured the broadest possible dissemination of project outputs: invitations to consultation processes, events, webinars, and reports have reached an audience of over 72,000.
The Inspireurope report “Researchers at Risk: Mapping Europe’s response” mapped existing support in Europe for researchers at risk and identified gaps and opportunities for future support. The report identified the excellent work underway in Europe in support of researchers at risk, as well as critical gaps and challenges. These areas were addressed in the project's policy recommendations report published in 2022. Recommendations included:
1. Acknowledge and support researchers at risk, including as a matter of defending academic freedom, and as a contribution to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and research
2. Establish a dedicated European fellowship scheme
3. Create national support programmes for researchers at risk
4. Facilitate access of researchers at risk to existing European funding programmes
5. Build capacity to enhance long-term prospects for researchers at risk
6. Expand opportunities beyond academia for researchers at risk
7. Consider intersectionality in the support for researchers at risk
8. Enhance visa pathways for researchers at risk
Inspireurope also published a report on National-level Actions in Europe in support of researchers at risk, which gathered the experiences and advice of representatives from 14 national-level initiatives in Europe. The report shared insights of those already involved in these efforts, and encouraged the development of new national-level initiatives where these do not yet exist. Publications and recordings of the project's webinars and events are all openly available on the Inspireurope website:
https://sareurope.eu/inspireurope(opens in new window)
