The InSPIREurope project will forge a coordinated, cross-sectoral, Europe-wide alliance in support of researchers at risk. The project partners are uniquely suited to lead such cooperation as they include leading organisations in supporting researchers at risk including the French and German national funding programmes and the European office of the Scholars at Risk network organisations with expertise in European and national R&I programmes leading actors in influencing EU policies on higher education, research and innovation universities in regions underrepresented in existing support networks and initiatives for researchers at risk.
This project aims to lay groundwork for a durable support structure in Europe for researchers at risk through the creation of the InSPIREurope Coordinating Committee, a project team that will live on, grow and diversify beyond the life of the project. Through guidance, coaching, and training, researchers at risk will stand a better chance of accessing existing EU and national funding and support; while employers across Europe will gain new insights into the integration of diverse research talent. Deploying the vast dissemination networks of the partners, the Coordinating Committee will promote the good support measures already in place at the national and European level, encourage their replication, facilitate greater coordination and peer-learning between national-level and European-level research and innovation initiatives, and provide concrete recommendations to the policy level on sustaining such support over the long-term.
Through outreach, the project will encourage the development of new support initiatives in particular in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. Through stakeholder fora and mutual learning opportunities, the project will break down barriers between the academic and non-academic sector towards the common goal of integrating the research talent of researchers at risk.
This project, led by Sinead O’Gorman, began 1 Sept 2019 and is expected to complete on 31 Aug 2022 with an over budget of €1,492,321,25.