Please find below a compilation of useful resources for at-risk researchers, scholars, host institutions and employers, NGOs, policymakers and others. The list of resources for researchers at risk and host institutions was developed in association with the Inspireurope mapping report, led by the European University Association. Also included below are links to publications and other resources on the broader topic of academic freedom.
In August 2021, the Inspireurope project published Researchers at Risk: National-Level Actions in Europe, led by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Philipp Schwartz Initiative and the PAUSE Programme. The report gathers the experiences of 14 national-level initiatives in Europe supporting researchers at risk. The aim is to share knowledge and insights between those already involved in these efforts, and to encourage the development of new national-level initiatives.
The Inspireurope mapping report is available here: 'Researchers at Risk: Mapping Europe's Response'
The report was launched at a webinar hosted by Inspireurope partner, EUA on 3 November 2020 from 14:00 to 15:00 CET. Representatives from higher education institutions and organisations supporting researchers at risk discussed the research findings. A recording of this webinar is available below.
In order to map existing support in Europe for researchers at risk, and identify gaps and opportunities for future support, quantitative and qualitative data on existing support measures in Europe was collected through the project’s own data collection, based on questionnaires and interviews, and through desk research.
Click here to view the Inspireurope survey data collected from host institutions and organisations
Click here to view the Inspireurope survey data collected from researchers at risk
The following organisations provide fellowships, arrange placements or provide other direct support to researchers at risk:
| Name of organisation & Description |
|---|
| The Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) The Philipp Schwartz Initiative provides universities and research institutions in Germany with the means to host threatened foreign researchers for a period of 24 months on a fully funded research fellowship. An extension is possible under a co-financing mode Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| The French national PAUSE programme, hosted by College de France The PAUSE programme is a national project initiated by the French state with support from civil society and economic stakeholders. Its mission is to facilitate the hosting of scientists from crisis zones for sufficiently long periods to enable them to integrate and to ensure continuity in their research Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Institute of International Education Scholar Rescue Fund The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is the only global programme that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of higher education institutions and individuals working to protect threatened scholars, prevent attacks on higher education, and promote academic freedom and related values. Although it does not offer scholarships, it can help researchers at risk find a scholarship in a host institution. Scholars at Risk Europe, hosted at Maynooth University, is the European office of the global Scholars at Risk network Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Denmark SAR Denmark is coordinated by the University of Copenhagen and includes 9 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Sweden SAR Sweden is coordinated by the University of Gothenburg and includes 21 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Italy SAR Italy is coordinated by the University of Trento and University of Padua and includes 23 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Slovakia (with Bratislava Policy Institute) SAR Slovakia is coordinated by the Bratislava Policy Institute and includes 7 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Norway SAR Norway is currently chaired by the University of Agder and includes 19 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Ireland SAR Ireland is coordinated by Universities Ireland and includes 9 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Netherlands SAR Netherlands is coordinated by UAF and includes 19 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Finland (with UNIFI) SAR Finland is coordinated by UNIFI and includes 11 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| IIE-SRF-EDUFI Fellowship, Finland In Finland, the Scholar Rescue Fund grants are targeted to scholars from conflict regions in the early stages of their academic career (recent PhD graduates or scholars with limited academic experience after graduation). Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Germany (with AvH) SAR Germany is coordinated by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and includes 45 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| SAR Switzerland SAR Switzerland is coordinated by a steering committee, currently chaired by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and includes 24 universities and associations working to promote academic freedom and to protect threatened scholars. Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) The Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) is a charitable British organisation dedicated to assisting academics in immediate danger Supported provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| The Université libre de Bruxelles Solidarity Fund The ULB Solidarity Fund offers 1-year postdoctoral fellowships to enable threatened academics to continue their work at ULB in a climate of academic freedom Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Academy in Exile Academy in Exile offers scholars who are threatened in their home countries because of their academic or civic engagement for human rights, peace and democracy, the opportunity to resume their research abroad Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Einstein Junior Scholars and Einstein Guest researchers’ programmes The Einstein Foundation offers two special programmes (Einstein Junior Scholars and Einstein Guest Researchers) to enable researchers and scientists who are experiencing constraints in their work around the world to come to Berlin for two years to pursue their research without undue restrictions or threats Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Zukunftskolleg Bridge Fellowships The Zukunftskolleg Bridge Fellowships offer researchers at risk the opportunity to carry out research and teach at the University of Konstanz for a period of up to nine months and to be integrated into the German academic system Support provided: Location of fellowships/placements: |
| State of Bremen Scholarship Programme The Senator for Science, Health, and Consumer Protection of the State of Bremen supports PhD and postdoctoral candidates whose scientific work in their home country is endangered due to persecution and threats Support provided: Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scholars The Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scientists supports research placements for guest scientists at universities, colleges and research institutes within Baden-Württemberg, so that scientists who are persecuted in their home countries can continue their work in safety Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Hamburg Programme for Scholars at Risk (HPSAR) The Hamburg Programme for Scholars at Risk (HPSAR) aims to enable endangered scientists to bridge acute emergencies and at the same time to further qualify and orient themselves in the German science system Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Hessen Fund for Refugees The Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts (HMWK) grants scholarships for particularly talented and high-performing refugee students, doctoral candidates and scientists at the state universities of Hesse as part of the ‘Hessen Fund’ Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| Academics in Solidarity- Freie Universität Berlin ‘Academics in Solidarity’ is a peer-mentoring program that connects exiled researchers and established scholars in Germany, Lebanon and Jordan Support provided:
Location of fellowships/placements: |
| OFF University Off-University creates new strategies to uphold and sustain academic life and knowledge threatened by anti-democratic and authoritarian regimes Support provided:
Location of support: |
In addition to the organisations listed in the fellowships and placements section above, the following projects and initiatives include specific resources for researchers at risk:
| Name of project/ Initiative & Description |
| Inspireurope Inspireurope is a coordinated, cross-sectoral, Europe-wide alliance for researchers at risk. These are defined as researchers who are at risk in their countries of origin (due to discrimination, persecution, suffering and/or violence) or are seeking refuge out of these reasons or have recently found refuge in Europe. |
| EURAXESS- Science4Refugees The Science4Refugees initiative on the EURAXESS portal provide information on research internships, part-time and full-time jobs listings, access to a European Research Community, as well as a complete range of information and support services on working and living in Europe |
| BRiDGE – Step II (Dec 2018-November 2020 BRiDGE – Step II is the successor to the BRiDGE project and is focussing on supporting the long-term careers of 300 highly skilled refugee researchers and their integration in to the labour markets of the European Union member states and its associated countries |
| BRiDGE project (April 2018-March 2020) The BRiDGE project was an all-in-one solution for the localised guidance of refugee researchers and enabled the 40 EUAXESS country members in the European Research Area to identify and utilise the potential of refugee researchers across Europe. |
| Birarada Birarada was established to carry out educational and research activities for the benefit of society and nature, to carry out artistic and cultural activities, to support the activities being carried out, to solidarity with individuals and institutions with similar purposes and to strengthen the existing solidarity |
| The SCIREA project The aim of the Horizon 2020 ‘SCIREA’ project was to help skilled refugees on the Greek islands be accepted into European academic institutions and to improve their qualifications. |
| CARe project January 2019 – October 2020 The CARe project (Career Advancement for Refugee Researchers in Europe) aims to support the integration of researchers with a refugee background into the European research labour market. |
| S.U.C.RE. 2016 - 2018 S.U.C.RE. specifically focused on the processes required for the proper integration of refugees/migrants (students and scholars) in higher education as well as on their academic support after their acceptance/entrance in a University |
| Academic Refuge 2016- 2019 The EU-funded ‘Academic Refuge’ project aimed to improve the capacity of European universities to assist refugees and threatened academics on campus and to promote understanding and respect for higher education values |
| SIMHE Services The aim of SIMHE services is to enhance the identification and recognition of prior learning of highly educated immigrants of different statuses and make it easier to direct immigrants to higher education on national and regional levels. |
| CMinaR 2016-2019 The CMinaR project aimed to tackle the challenge of integrating refugees and migrants into the labour market by bringing together experienced partners from countries that are amongst the most affected by, and play a key role for refugees’ integration |
The following are useful resources for organisations both in the academic sector and those outside of academia interesting in potentially hosting or employing a researcher at risk:
1. Publications and Guides on Hosting Researchers at Risk
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developed by the Academic Refuge Project |
| 4. |
| 5. PAUSE's Welcome Handbook for Host Institutions |
2. Inspireurope webinar on 'Welcoming researchers at risk: considerations for new employers and host organisations in Europe', January 21st 2020
3. Inspireurope webinar on 'Funding researchers at risk to join the host organisation', May 26 2020
4. Workshop at the 2020 Inspireurope Stakeholder Forum on Mentoring and Supporting Researchers at Risk, June 8 2020
5. Workshops on preparing the work environment inside and outside of academia for researchers at risk, Inspireurope Outreach Workshop, Thessaloniki Greece and online, September 30th 2020
6. Inspireurope webinar on Hosting Researchers at Risk: How host organisations can best support researchers at risk to make the most out of their stay at the organisation, December 9th 2020
which will be expanded upon over the course of the project.
| Scholars at Risk (SAR) 'Free To Think' Reports |
| Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring project SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project focuses on developing a greater understanding of the volume and nature of attacks on higher education communities in order to develop more effective protection responses. |
| MOOC on Academic Freedom
Produced as part of the EU-funded Academic Refuge project, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on academic freedom and higher education values, is hosted on the Future Learn platform. It is a 3 week, free course which allows the participant to explore why academic freedom is crucial for maintaining the quality and relevance of research in higher education aswell as understanding some of the current threats to academic freedom, and how this relates to the academic community worldwide. |
| Academic Freedom Index (AFi)
Report introducing the Academic Freedom Index (March 2020) |
| The Global Observatory on Academic Freedom, a project supported by the Open Society University Network (OSUN), aims to conduct rigorous, innovative and pertinent scientific research aspiring to respond to the urgent need of rethinking the concept of academic freedom, a concept whose crisis we are witnessing throughout the world. New times pose new challenges, theoretical as much as empiric, and GOAF will seek to stimulate the debate, connect the interested stakeholders and reflect upon possible pathways vital to the preservation of academic freedom and democratic societies. |
To view the panel discussion 'More important than ever: Academic freedom for quality research and innovation', Inspireurope Stakeholder Forum, June 8th 2020, please click below:
| Name of Fellowship/ Initiative and Description |
| The Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowships Researchers have the choice to apply for a European Fellowship if they are moving within the EU or associated countries, or if they are interested in moving to the EU or an associated country from any other country in the world. Within this strand, two panels are particularly attractive for scientists who want to resume their research career (Career Restart Panel) or who have worked outside Europe for an extended period and would like to return (Reintegration Panel). Researchers based in the EU or associated countries can apply for a Global Fellowship to do part of their research outside Europe (one to two years) and then return for one year to an EU or associated countries-based organisation. Applications submitted under the regular MSCA IF call that fail to reach an adequate place in the ranking to be funded and where the host organisation is located in an eligible ‘Widening country’ will be reassigned to the Widening Fellowships call upon the agreement of the applicant. |
| European Research Council (ERC) Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply for ERC grants provided the research they undertake will be carried out in an EU Member State or Associated Country. Research projects funded by the ERC can last up to five years and can cover frontier research in any scientific domain, including social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary studies. The grants may help both emerging research leaders ('ERC Starting Grants' and 'ERC Consolidator Grants') and already well-established and recognised scientists ('ERC Advanced Grants'). |
| EURAXESS- Researchers in Motion Researchers in Motion is a unique pan-European initiative delivering information and support services to professional researchers. Backed by the European Union, member states and associated countries, it supports researcher mobility and career development, while enhancing scientific collaboration between Europe and the world. |
| The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) COST provides international research funding for researchers and innovators to set up interdisciplinary research networks in Europe and beyond, including all fields of science and technology. Researchers can propose their own action or participate in an existing action. |
| Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It provides funding to individuals, such as students staff, trainees, young people and youth workers, as well as organisations. |
| EURAXESS- Intercultural Assistant The EURAXESS Intercultural Assistant for Researchers aims at raising awareness of the complexity of the intercultural encounters researchers on the move are likely to experience. |
The following are public research organisations, funding and performing scientific research in Europe:
| Description |
|---|
| Migrants Entrepreneurship support schemes Information on EU-funded support for migrant entrepreneurs |
| European website on integration Migrant Integration information and good practices. Lists of EU and national funding to support integration of migrants, and country specific information on integration programmes. |
| Name of organisation | Description |
| Protect Defenders |
Protect Defenders is the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism, established to protect defenders at high risk and facing the most difficult situations worldwide. It is led by a consortium of the following 12 NGOs active in the field of Human Rights:
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The following are useful resources for writers, journalists, artists at risk:
| Description |
| European Centre for for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) Journalists-in-Residence Programme The ECPMF’s Journalists-in-Residence Programme offers temporary shelter for journalists facing harassment and intimidation as a direct result of their work. |
| The Brown University International Writers Project Fellowship Each academic year, the International Writers Project at Brown University offers a resident fellowship for ten months to one writer who feels who feels unable to practice free expression at home. |
| Artists at Risk Connection Artists at Risk assists persecuted artists by connecting them to their global growing network of resources, facilitates cooperation between human rights and art organisations and amplifies their stories as well as raising visibility of the field of artistic freedom |
| Assistance Desk of Reporters Without Borders The Assistance Desk of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) provides financial and administrative assistance to professional journalists and citizen-journalists who have been the victims of reprisals because of their reporting. |
| IIE- Artist Protection Fund The Artist Protection Fund (APF) is an initiative of the Institute of International Education (IIE), which makes fellowship grants to threatened artists from any field of practice and places them at host institutions in safe countries where they can continue their work and plan for their futures. |
| International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) ICORN offers residencies to writers/artists who are threatened or persecuted for expressing their opinions or ideas, through professional or artistic work. |
| PEN International Emergency Fund for Writers at Risk The Foundation PEN Emergency Fund provides one-off grants of up to Euros 1250 for a range of emergency assistance measures which include safe passage |
The following are communication resources which can be used regarding the Inspireurope project:
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| 3. Overview of the Inspireurope project (5 mins video)
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| 4. Video on Researchers at Risk and the Inspireurope project produced for the EU Research and Innovation Days 2020 |