European Research Area in action

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The academic year was dominated by deepening dialogues within the current policy actions of the ERA, as well as forward-looking discussions on which topics should form the basis of the next policy cycle of the ERA in 2025–27. Our participation in the working groups of ERA actions provides us with a direct contact and voice among representatives of EU Member States and Associated Countries, European Commission and other stakeholders. The ERA has proven to be a fruitful ground for the preparation of future policy approaches in a spirit of co-creation. The dialogues have increased our interaction with and understanding of national contexts and the objectives of the European Commission in different policy areas. The following sections describe our work in the most important ERA actions we have participated in.

Empower higher education institutions

This action has focused on the European excellence initiative as a funding instrument in Horizon Europe/FP10. The Guild has been involved in the development of the topic since 2019 when, as the first stakeholder, it published a position paper on this initiative. Within the ERA Action the topic was connected to the theme of European University alliances, and The Guild consulted its R&I Policy Group as well as the European Universities WG in preparing the Commission’s approach to supporting excellence in Europe’s universities. As a result, a call was created which reflected openness to different types of collaborations, in line with our position. Work is still ongoing to further shape support for excellence in universities and to identify funding opportunities for the European University alliances.

Promote attractive research careers

With four other university networks, The Guild reacted to the European Commission’s proposal for a Council recommendation for a European framework for research careers. We acknowledged the need to make research careers more attractive to strengthen Europe’s scientific leadership. Stronger commitment from the Member States is needed to empower universities to provide suitable working conditions, including better career security.

In a panel about research careers at the 2024 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Conference, Julien Chicot re-asserted, on behalf of The Guild, the positive effects of MSCA on research careers. To uphold these effects there is a need to preserve the MSCA model and strengthen its financial base.

Promote gender equality and foster inclusiveness

The Guild Gender and Diversity working group has been regularly engaged throughout 2023–24 on topics stemming from the ERA Action 5 Subgroup on inclusive gender equality. The Guild was involved in the Subgroup's task force to discuss the Zero-Tolerance Code of Conduct to counteract gender-based violence, including sexual harassment, in the EU Research and Innovation ecosystem. While emphasising the importance of establishing a shared understanding of these issues and fostering safe academic environments, The Guild underscored the need to critically assess the limitations inherent in a strict zero-tolerance approach. For the upcoming year, The Guild will continue to provide support through a newly established task force that will focus on principles for the integration and evaluation of the gender dimension in R&I.

Finally, The Guild’s Gender and Diversity working group’s highlight of the year was an in-person meeting organised in Brussels where members addressed the impact of COVID-19 on gender equality in research and innovation, and exchanged practices on how to foster intersectional gender equality measures at universities, including topics such as inclusive and innovative pedagogies, work-(self-)care reconciliation and measures to address gender inequality and precarity in academia.

Improve EU-wide access to excellence

This action brings together the R&I and Cohesion policy communities to increase synergies between the different EU programmes and help bridge the research and innovation gap across Europe. The Guild has emphasized the crucial role of investments from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in lower R&I performing countries in increasing the quality of their research and higher education sector. We are pleased to participate in the ERA subgroup and provide examples of how synergies are implemented at member universities. In the current programming period synergies have focused more on innovation activities, in particular demands driven by the private sector needs. However, it is impossible to strengthen universities’ place in the regional innovation ecosystem without better supporting its research capacities.

Global Approach

The Guild’s Responsible Internationalisation Statement, published in November 2023, provides a positive perspective about international cooperation in research and innovation. It sets out principles that underpin the potential of universities on the global stage, while acknowledging risks that must be assessed and mitigated proportionally.

Our network strongly believes that the most effective form of security depends on institutional autonomy and academic freedom and the statement shows our willingness to take on this responsibility. It calls on policymakers at the European and national levels to engage efficiently to find the right balance and trust between governments, funders, institutions and academics to build a culture of responsibility.

In recent years, The Guild has contributed to an understanding of how research security strategies can impact performance of our members in practice to Member State representatives in the ERA Forum Subgroup on the Global Approach. Our contribution has already had an impact as a submission to the European Commission’s consultation on Enhancing Research Security. This was a key input for the drafting of the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on enhancing research security which eventually incorporated a responsible internationalisation heading.

The Guild’s Responsible Internationalisation Task Force convened in Brussels for a workshop in February to engage in a policy dialogue with Mirko van Muijen, from the European Commission’s International Cooperation Directorate about the rationale of the Commission’s proposal and process that followed as the policy was passed on to the Member States and the Council. The group had a follow-up workshop to explore the heterogeneity of research security contexts across Europe and shared best practices and lessons learned.

In April, Sean Rowlands participated in a panel discussion on research security organised by the Norwegian Contact Office for Research, Innovation and Education in Brussels (Norcore). Panellists included Ministry representatives from the Netherlands and Norway, expert advisors supporting researchers in Germany through a dedicated international cooperation agency within the DAAD and funding agencies from Sweden, Flanders and Norway.

Multilateral Dialogues

The ERA subgroup on the Global Approach has been a venue for strategic discussion by European Member States and stakeholders about how it can best coordinate with counterparts in third countries. To this end, The Guild volunteered to co-organise the final multi-lateral dialogue in January on equitable partnerships with Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). We ensured special invitations were extended for the Secretary General and incoming Secretary General from ARUA to participate. They influenced common values and practices for international cooperation that European, American and Asian actors may adopt, in line with The Guild’s position on Strengthening the African Knowledge Society.

The Guild’s proposal for an ERA Action on fundamental research

In the Summer of 2023, a process was launched to propose new policy actions for ERA for the years 2025-27. In 2019, The Guild had successfully advocated for fundamental research and the scientific leadership of Europe to become a priority in the Pact for R&I that outlines the long-term objectives of the renewed ERA, and now was the time to propose an activity implementing this priority that was endorsed by the Member States. The Guild led the creation of a coalition consisting of university networks, researcher associations and R&I funders at European and national levels (from Sweden and Norway) to develop a policy action corresponding to the ambition for pursuing strengthened scientific leadership in Europe, in line with the Pact for R&I. This work resulted in a process where, by Spring 2024, the action has been discussed several times with all Member States and the Commission. The next step would include gathering interested Member States to join forces to create a concrete work plan for the action.