Intersectoral Mobility

Karen VandeveldePolicy Advisor Research – Ghent

UniversityResearcher ECOOM

ERACMutual Learning Seminar26 March 2014

Strategy: ERA

Motivation: economic competitiveness & social challenges

Instrument: intersectoral mobility

Skills training, joint supervision

Research collaboration

Human capital: sufficient critical mass

Strong economy: R&D intensity

1.Remove administrative barriers, esp. in recruitment

2.Appreciation of institutions through evaluation criteria/incentives

3.Raise awareness: social security, pensions, EU programmes

1. Joint researcher training programmes

2. Employment skills

3. Appreciation of staff through evaluation criteria

4. Professionalise academic staff

1. intersectoral mobility: internship, consultancy

2. Permanent positions for intersectorally mobile staff

1.Joint Ph.D. supervision

2.Align academia-industry interests through framework conditions: co-location, grants, TTO

3.Informal networks SME’s-academia

1. Joint researcher training programmes

2. Employment skills

3. Joint Ph.D. supervision

4. intersectoral mobility: internship, consultancy

5. Appreciation of staff through evaluation criteria

6. Permanent positions for intersectorally mobile staff

7. Remove administrative barriers, esp. in recruitment

8. Align academia-industry interests through framework conditions: co-location, grants, TTO

9. Appreciation of institutions through evaluation criteria/incentives

10. Informal networks SME’s-academia

11. Professionalise academic staff

12. Raise awareness: social security, pensions, EU programmes

Training early-stage researchersChanges in the doctoral training programme :

•feasible, rewarding and relatively low-cost initiative?

•fostering university-industry partnership ?

•enabling researchers’ employability outside academia?

Are the outcomes of this new type of research training sufficiently tangible? Or not yet?

Have the principles of Innovative Doctoral Training been implemented? Is research training an issue that deserves continued attention?

Note: other working groups also focusing on ‘researcher training’

Do any of the following pose a difficulty in your country?

Never/not at all Sometimes / in some cases Very often/very much

- Preparing researchers with a wider range of skills beyond research skills

- Encouraging doctoral graduates/researchers to actively look outside academia for career opportunities

Training early-stage researchers (1/2)New Ph.D. programme

Skills training Employment awareness

Collaborative PhD – Postdocs

Austria X

Belgium X X X X

Czech Republic X X X

Estonia X X X X

Finland X X

France X X X X

Greece

Moldova X X

New Ph.D. programme

Skills training Employment awareness

Collaborative PhD – Postdocs

Slovenia X X X

Spain X X

Switzerland X X

The Netherlands

United Kingdom X X X

Ireland X X X X

Training early-stage researchers (2/2)

Researchers: demand/supply – appraisal

JapanUS

Researchers: demand/supply – appraisal

Sectoral distribution of doctorate holders, 2009 (OECD, CDH dataset)

Researchers: demand/supply – appraisal

Focus of activities on R1-R2 level researchers

•Increase in number of PhD graduates ? Supply-demand?

•Application of research skills in the new job environment ?

•Sufficient appreciation of research experience outside academia ?

Sufficient appreciation of non-academic experience inside academia – especially on R3-R4 levels?

Monitoring?

Is intersectoral mobility typical for early career stage ?

Do any of the following pose a difficulty in your country?

Never/not at all Sometimes / in some cases Very often/very much

- Having sufficient demand for researchers outside academia

- Having sufficient demand for people below doctoral level in research-related jobs outside academia

- Gaining acceptance from academics that employment outside academia is a valuable outcome from doctoral training

- Persuading employers in R&D intensive sectors to appreciate the added value of a doctoral degree

- Persuading employers in SMEs & different sectors of the economy to appreciate the added value of a doctoral degree

Ph.D. numbers: supply/demand

Appreciation outside acad (R1, R2)

Appreciation within acad (R3, R4)

Austria X

Belgium X X

Czech Republic

Estonia X

Finland

France X

Greece

Moldova X

Researchers: demand/supply – appraisal (1/2)

Increase Ph.D. Numbers: supply/demand

Appreciation outside acad (R1, R2)

Appreciation within acad (R3, R4)

Slovenia X

Spain

Switzerland X

The Netherlands

United Kingdom X

Ireland X X X

Researchers: demand/supply – appraisal (2/2)

Administrative – legal issues – government support

Are administration, IP and pensions no longer a problem, or no longer a priority?

What about internships & legal impediments?

Government initiatives such as tax incentives, structural reorganisation?

Internships Tax incentives Co-location Legislation & “strategies”

Austria X

Belgium X

Czech Republic X

Estonia X X

Finland X

France X X X

Greece X X

Moldova X

Administrative – legal issues – government support (1/2)

Internships Tax incentives Co-location Legislation &“strategies”

Slovenia X

Spain X

Switzerland

The Netherlands

United Kingdom X

Ireland X

Administrative – legal issues – government support (2/2)

Innovation performance levels

Innovation performance levelsSome surprisingly similar concerns & observations:

-supply vs. demand / lack of understanding / problem specific in particular disciplines (humanities!)

-Partnerships / focus on SME’s

-Smart specialisation / building on strengths

-Focus on skills & training

But… is there a continuum in the type of activities and incentives corresponding with the level of innovation and gradually improving innovation performance?

Specialisation EU-funds: Marie Curie, ESF, Tempus

SME-focus R&D focused programmes

Austria X X

Belgium X X X

Czech Republic

Estonia X X

Finland X

France

Greece X X

Moldova X X

Innovation performance levels (1/2)

Specialisation EU-funds: Marie Curie, ESF, Tempus

SME-focus R&D focused programmes

Slovenia X X

Spain

Switzerland X

The Netherlands

United Kingdom X

Ireland X

Innovation performance levels (2/2)

Reflection time:What do we have?

-Policy model for fostering intersectoral mobility

-Revisit of 2006 recommendations

-Overview of current situation in every country

Anything missing? Any issue we may have overlooked?

Any country misrepresented?

Any other approaches we could take to address these issues?

Reflection time:What do we have?

-Policy model for fostering intersectoral mobility

-Revisit of 2006 recommendations

-Overview of current situation in every country

Where are we going?

-What works? Why? How?

-The next step: recommendations?

Be inspired…

Mail: Karen.Vandevelde@UGent.be