Compared with most of EU partners, the UK claims to have built a very open research environment, with approximately 20 per cent of academics coming from abroad. These are roughly evenly split between EU and non-EU in their origins.
As a result, the national action plan is largely restating current UK practice. However, the document also identifies future actions to build on good practice, and features a number of case studies showcasing national and local initiatives that have been effective in reaching this position.
Future actions include developing and strengthening the implementation of the UK Researchers’ Concordat, which aims to increase the attractiveness and sustainability of UK research careers, and to improve the quantity, quality and impact of research for the benefit of UK society and the economy.
Science Minister Paul Drayson said the UK is investing record amounts in research. “This investment is vital to make sure that the UK and Europe is to fulfil our economic potential and address the great challenges ahead. That includes creating an environment which encourages the brightest young people to choose research careers.”
The national action plan shows that the UK is the most popular destination for researchers who are supported by various elements of the EU’s Framework Programme 7, including the Marie Curie programmes, which explicitly set out to fund mobile researchers, and the European Research Council, which funds the best researchers throughout the continent, enabling them to take their research wherever they choose in Europe.
The National Action Plan on Researcher Mobility and Careers within the European Research Area has been drawn up as the UK's contribution to work on the careers and mobility axis of the European Research Area initiative (ERA). Under European Council conclusions agreed last year, member states were called on to publish plans setting out actions in those fields.
While the plan has no legal force, along with its counterparts from other member states, it will feed into future discussions on how to develop policies at national and European level to make Europe a more attractive place to do top quality research.
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