Knowledge ecosystems in the new ERA

In September 2020, the European Commission published its Communication on ‘A new ERA for Research and Innovation’. In the context of this Communication, and together with our partners, IDEA will contribute to investigate the organisation and spread of ecosystems at the EU, national, regional and local levels, the role of specific actors active at the core of ecosystems (in particular universities and research organisations), the circulation of knowledge by individual research & innovation talents, and the potential legal and financial measures to support research careers and cooperation. An extensive evidence base on knowledge ecosystems in Europe will be created, including  all levels: the ecosystem, the ecosystem actors and the individual talents. This evidence base is needed to assess how knowledge ecosystems across the ERA are organised, how they could be strengthened, both at the individual talent and organisational level, and how their attractiveness for talents and for investments can be addressed.

The study includes a comprehensive analysis of the state of play, the design of monitoring mechanisms, and the creation of a toolbox of support measures. Our role in this multi-layered work will focus on research careers and researcher mobility. We lead the work on defining a European competence framework for R&I talents, as well as the mapping of brain drain in Europe and identification of potential solutions. We will also manage the development of an observatory for continued monitoring in this area.