More mobility for researchers in Europe - 'Money follows researcher' agreement

[Guest guest]

More mobility for researchers in Europe - 'Money follows researcher'

agreement

13 Nov 2004 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=16303

If a scientist moves to another country in the course of an ongoing

project, there is an interest for him or her to transfer the funds to

the new institution in that country. To make this option available to

researchers throughout Europe, the presidents and heads of the European

funding organisations, gathered under the name EUROHORCs (European Union

Research Organisation's Heads of Research Councils), signed an agreement

during their last meeting held in Lisbon on 22 October 2004. The aim is

to facilitate the mobility of researchers within the European Research

Area, to preserve existing research opportunities, and to bridge the

period until an application for funds in the new country has been

successful.

Initially, the letter of intent was signed by the representatives of

twelve organisations from ten countries. Another six to eight signatures

will follow before the end of the year. This will constitute the

Europe-wide implementation of a principle that has already been the

subject of several bilateral agreements initiated by the Deutsche

Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) over the last

couple of years with organisations such as the UK Engineering and

Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Netherlands Organisation

for Scientific Research (NWO) and, trilaterally, with the Austrian

Science Fund (FWF) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF). The

agreement stipulates the readiness for a transfer of grants if a

scientist/researcher moves to a new position in one of the other

participating countries. This principle has become known as " money

follows researcher " .

By signing the agreement, all organisations affirm that they support the

principle and its implementation within their individual structures.

Each organisation may decide when and to what extent a transfer of

funding is appropriate. Based on experiences with previous agreements,

the DFG has developed the following basic principles: The precondition

for a transfer of resources is an existing grant. This principle applies

above all to the Individual Grants Scheme, but also to coordinated

programmes - as long as it is compatible in each individual case with

the overall project. If possible, the project should have at least

another six months to run. If the project has not yet begun, the

transfer can be limited to one year. The possibility of transferring

equipment and larger investments needs to be considered on a

case-by-case basis.

It is important to note that while the EUROHORCs agreement is signed by

all the participating organisations on a multilateral basis, each

individual case involves only the organisation which is responsible for

the grant. From the perspective of the researcher, the transfer agreed

to by that organisation facilitates the change to the university or

institution within the new system.