Recherche, Forschung, Ricerche, Investigación, Tutkimus

The European Commission's Policy News suggests that Europe aims to increase its spending on research and development and technological innovation and bring it up to the level of the world's most prosperous countries by 2010.

A new action plan gives Member States a framework they can adapt to their own economies and with which they can contribute to reaching the goal.

EU leaders have endorsed a target of 3% of gross domestic product for overall R&D spending. The present average level is 1.9% of GDP, compared with 2.7% for the US and 3% for Japan. Europe invests E120billion less on research than the US each year, and the gap is growing. But since the gap in public research spending is quite small, the EU leaders have set industry the target of coming up with two-thirds of R&D spending.

The Commission undertook consultations with all parties concerned, particularly industry, on the best way to bring about the growth. The result is 'Investing in Research: an Action Plan for Europe'.

Introducing the document, Research Commissioner, Philippe Busquin, said: 'This is Europe's chance to boost its competitive potential and to ensure sustained improvements to people's quality of life. However, this requires the determined and co-ordinated efforts of all interested parties, current and future EU Member States and public and private stakeholders. Everybody can and should contribute to making this action plan a success'.

Member states vary wildly in their overall R&D spend, and in the ratio of public to private expenditure. Reaching 39% by 2010 is a collective goal to which each country should contribute, taking into account its starting position. 'The action plan is a road map for member states', says Isi Saragossi of the EC's Directorate-General for Research, responsible for the plan. 'It provide a common framework and guidelines allowing each member state to decide its own objectives and priorities and can benefit from experiences in other countries.'

The 3% objective requires the mobilisation of a range of policy instruments and closer co-ordination between research and other policies (for example, product regulation, competition, fiscal, regional human resources) to tackle in parallel various weaknesses of the research and innovation systems. The action plan identifies a broad range of new actions required to make Europe more attractive for research and innovation, and lists current initiatives that support the 3% objective.

Although Europe's scientific production is excellent in many areas, its public research base is fragmented and not sufficiently to the needs of industry, More effective use of public-financing mechanisms (grants, fiscal incentives, guarantee schemes, risk capital) is required to increase the leverage effect on private investment. Regulatory obstacles to the development and deployment of new technologies should be removed. State aid rules should be modernised and adapted to the reality of research and innovation and competition in the global economy. Actions to enhance the quantity and quality of human resources are especially critical.

Statistics suggest that some 1.8million people are employed in research and development. Many, however, are employed on short-term contracts with poor career prospects, and movement between universities and industry remains sluggish. If Europe is to achieve its economic potential, then it needs an open employment market for research professionals, argues a communication from the EC.

Obstacles to mobility of researchers within Europe stem from three kinds of problems, explains Raffaele Liberali, director for the human factor in the Commission's Directorate-General for Research. 'First, there are a number of legal and administrative barriers relating to differences in national practices and legal systems regarding entry conditions for non-European researchers, recognition of qualifications, recruitment methods, evaluation processes and contractual issues'.

There are also cultural barriers linked to national research patterns, the rigidity of job markets, the lack of organised information and assistance, services to researchers, and the lack of an organised 'mobility culture' in many universities. This aspect is often related to the lack of public recognition of researchers in Europe, as compared with the US.

Finally, there are a number of structural obstacles. 'Career patterns in universities often make it very difficult for a research assistant to leave his or her job for a few years,' says Liberali, 'because there is no guarantee that they will be able to find a job when they return.' Moving between countries, or even between academia and industry, can harm career advancement and pension rights.

However, Liberali stressed improving mobility is only part of the answer. 'In order to be effective, mobility needs to be underpinned by a political strategy which aims at recognising research and researchers, as one of the central driving forces of our economies and one of the key factors in sustaining and improving our position in the world.'

The Commission addressed the problem of mobility within the European research Area in a Communication. One practical outcome is a proposal for a directive on improving entry conditions for research workers. another is the pan-European researchers' mobility portal, which provides comprehensive information on the national and EU legislation, financial schemes and job vacancies.

The sixth Framework programme already devotes 1.6billion Euros, almost a tenth of its budget, to support training, mobility and career development of researchers.

Further initiatives include a European researchers' charter for the career management of human resources in R&D, a code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers at European level, and the development of a framework for recording and recognising the professional achievements of researchers throughout their careers.Other proposals include a European Year of Researchers, improved mentoring and supervision of doctoral candidates, as well as better pay and benefits. Measures to encourage more women to take up research careers are also proposed.

Raffaele Liberali suggests member states play a central part in the implementation of these initiatives, as they remain fully responsible for most of the matters referred to. 'The Commission has played its part by initiating a debate and proposing concrete initiatives,' he says, 'This type of co-operation with the member states has proven to be extremely successful in the area of conditions of entry for third-country researchers. We want to do the same now in the other areas pertaining to the development of researchers' careers.'

Improving the status of researchers does not guarantee that they will work in Europe, of course. 'The key word here is attractiveness,' he says. 'You can train the best researchers in the world, but if your working and living conditions are not attractive, researchers will move to other places.

This is what has happened to a certain degree in the past with the US, and still remains a source of concern, although it is not possible to estimate the exact extent of this so-called brain drain. So our goal is clear: it is to improve the living and working environment of researchers in Europe and to foster public recognition of their role in society. This is how, in my view, we will not only retain our best researchers, but also attract top research talent form other parts of the world.'

A former Member of Parliament, Gwilym Roberts chaired many House of Commons Committees covering business and consumer affairs and served in the DTI.