Speakers included politicians such as Janez Potocnik (Commissioner for Science and Research), Jose Maria Gago (Portuguese Minister), Mojca Kucler Dolinar (Slowenian Minister) as well as high level researchers from universities, national research centres, academies, etc.

CORDIS describes the event as follows.

'Today is a highlight in the calendar for the Portuguese presidency. I trust it will also be a milestone in the creation of the European Research Area,' declared European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik at the opening session of the high level conference on the future of science and technology in Europe taking place in Lisbon, Portugal.

There has been widespread interest during the last few months in the debate on the future of the European Research Area (ERA); the Commission's online consultation on the Green Paper on the ERA attracted over 650 responses from a wide variety of countries, disciplines and organisations. In addition to this, 127 more detailed, free-format responses have been sent into the Commission.

In his speech, the Commissioner responded to some of the questions raised during the consultation, particularly those relating to the role of the Commission in the ERA.

'The Commission can not and would not wish to impose the European Research Area,' he emphasised, saying that instead all players need to take responsibility for making the ERA a reality.

Mr Potocnik added that there was 'no appetite' in the Commission for top-down coordination, and a bottom up approach was preferred. 'As an economist, I strongly believe in incentives,' he commented.

During a session devoted to the challenges facing European science and technology, a number of issues came up time and again. The importance of boosting the links between the three sides of the knowledge triangle - research, innovation and education - was highlighted by most of the speakers, who came from backgrounds as diverse as research, policy-making, industry and grass-roots organisations.

Human resources also came out as a major barrier to the further advancement of European research. As Frédéric Sgard of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Global Science Forum pointed out, demand for researchers is currently outstripping supply. The ongoing lack of women in the sciences was particularly lamented, and more than one speaker remarked that we already know why women are not coming into and staying in the sciences; the time has come to take firm actions to change the situation.

Many speakers called on the Member States make good on their promises regarding the Lisbon Agenda. 'ERA will fail if the Member States don't live up to the Lisbon objectives,' warned Andrew Dearing of the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA).

'We need more maturity about the ERA and to accept that we cannot all do everything but we can all gain as Europeans from the success of each other,' added Enric Banda of Euroscience.

The importance of gaining public support for science was also recognised. This could be brought about by raising awareness of how science provides solutions to some of society's biggest concerns, such as healthcare, the environment and security.

An optimistic vision of the future came from Mojca Kucler Dolinar, who became Slovenia's Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology just a few days ago. Her country will take over the presidency of the EU in January, and she asked participants for their support in building the foundations of the ERA.

'The success of the ERA is in our hands,' she said. 'Let's make the vision of the European Research Area a reality.'

Ultimately, there was a clear sense that we already know how to overcome many of the barriers to creating the ERA; the challenge now is to implement these solutions. As Graham Davies of the University of Birmingham said, quoting Elvis: 'A little less conversation, a little more action'.

CORDIS published a review on one of the parallel sessions - Researchers.

Putting human resources at the heart of the ERA

Mobility, recruitment, gender, social security and the Charter and Code of Conduct were just some of the topics highlighted by the ERA (European Research Area) Expert Group on Researchers, which presented its interim findings at the conference on the future of science and technology in Europe in Lisbon, Portugal.

Following the publication of the Green Paper on the ERA, the Commission appointed a number of expert groups to look into specific aspects of the ERA in more detail. The 'Researchers' group is chaired by Alex Quintanilha of the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology in Porto, Portugal. The Green Paper consultation reveals that many stakeholders view a systematic approach to human resources as vital to the success of the ERA.

On recruitment and early career structures, the group criticises the fact that all too often academic research positions are not properly advertised and are earmarked for national or even internal staff.

'The advertising of positions has to be mandatory,' said Professor Quintanilha. Furthermore, the group recommends that the entire recruitment process be as transparent as possible, with jobs advertised well in advance, together with their selection criteria. CVs of both the evaluation board members and candidates should also be made available.

Koen Van Dam, President of the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Young Researchers (EURODOC) added in his paper on the interim findings that these criteria should also apply to doctoral positions. Mr Van Dam also called for an improvement in working conditions for those working towards their PhD. 'Research is a job at all stages, including the doctoral phase,' he said, adding that salaries and social security benefits should reflect this fact.

A major barrier to mobility in Europe is insecurity regarding the transferability of social security and pension rights. Some 53% of respondents to the Commission's wider consultation on the ERA also called for a new European legal framework, providing common rules adapted to highly mobile workers. In their interim report, the Expert Group calls for the Commission and Member States to ensure greater coordination of social security systems.

Making the ERA more attractive for women is also identified as a priority. The group identifies the selection and hiring procedures at universities and research institutions, as well as the 'not so women-friendly culture' in these organisations, as two of the main obstacles preventing more women from getting into scientific careers.

'Policy-makers should take positive and urgent actions for promoting gender representation among all (selection) committees, boards and governing bodies of research institutions, setting this as a criterion for eligibility for funding at various levels,' the Expert Group writes. They also suggest that a certain proportion of Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) funds be set aside for women-led research, while maintaining scientific excellence as the basic criterion for funding.

The Expert Group notes that many of the issues identified during the course of its work could be tackled by applying the Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (C&C) principles, first drafted in 2005. However, awareness of the C&C is low among both senior and more junior scientists.

The group urges the Commission to promote knowledge and awareness of the C&C, and calls on funding agencies to adopt the C&C principles concerning mobility, recruitment, working conditions and social security in all their grant terms and conditions.

'To implement the C&C principles is an ambitious objective and ambitions should always be matched with resources. Political will and commitment could be boosted by a label/signet awarded to institutions committed to the application of C&C principles,' the group suggests.

Professor Quintanilha emphasised the fact that the paper presented in Lisbon is very much a working document, and a new version of the paper will be released towards the end of the year.

For more information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2007/fst/index_en.htm