The overall goal of this contract was to support the European Commission (Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) in the evidence-based policy development on the research profession in Europe. It included collecting and providing up-to-date and internationally comparable data, indicators, and analysis focused on the mobility, career paths, working conditions, and remuneration of researchers in Europe.
The study consists of two large-scale surveys and a report on internationally comparable indicators drawn from various secondary sources and the MORE4 surveys:
- EU higher education survey. This survey consisted of online (CAWI – computer-assisted web interviewing) and telephone (CATI – computer-assisted telephone interviewing) surveys implemented in April-May 2019. In total, it reached 9,321 researchers with both EU and non-EU citizenship currently employed in higher education institutions in the EU (28 Member States + 3 Associated Countries). The sample excluded any EU and non-EU researchers currently working outside the EU. It did, however, cover researchers who returned to work in the EU after a mobility period in third countries. Survey results are representative at the country level.
- Global survey. This survey was implemented in March-July 2020. In total, 5,542 responses from individual researchers currently working outside the EU have been received. More specifically, responses came from (1) EU researchers currently working outside the EU, (2) non-EU researchers who used to work in the EU in the past, (3) non-EU researchers who did not work in the EU but were internationally mobile elsewhere and 4) non-EU researchers who have no mobility experience at all. The majority (but not all) of respondents were researchers working in higher education institutions.
- Set of internationally comparable indicators. A selection of 36 key indicators on researchers, their careers, and mobility was developed and presented as a separate deliverable.
The analysis in this study focuses on mobility patterns, motives, and barriers, reflecting at the same time on their impact on individual researchers. It offers up-to-date insights on dual positions, virtual and short-term mobility; also a great wealth of data on international mobility, and the motivating factors and barriers for intersectoral mobility. To ensure that all study findings are comparable over time (e.g. with MORE3 data), it pays close attention to policies addressing young researchers, open science, open innovation, and openness to the world.
In addition to analytical reports, the study team produced an online indicator tool. The latter offers a detailed overview of indicators informed by the EU higher education surveys carried out in MORE2, MORE3, and MORE4. All data from this tool will soon be accessible online and could be downloaded broken-down per country, gender, field of science, career stage, and year (2012, 2016, 2019).
All key study deliverables will soon be published on the official MORE4 website.