Visionary Analytics

🚀𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘂𝗽 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?

Visionary Analytics contributed to the development of the first edition of the European Startup and Scaleup Scoreboard (ESSS). Published by the European Commission, the Scoreboard offers a comprehensive and comparable overview of startup and scaleup ecosystems across the EU. Its findings provide valuable evidence for shaping more targeted policies to support Europe’s next generation of high-growth companies.

Key findings include:

• Europe’s startup and scaleup performance is improving, but progress remains uneven across Member States
• The EU continues to underperform in scaling and high-growth outcomes
• Access to finance remains a major bottleneck for scaling
• A small group of countries continues to drive overall EU performance

Find out more here:https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1196

The project was lead by 4FRONT and other partners: European Future Innovation System (EFIS) Centre, OneTandem and Dealroom.co.

📊𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁?

A new European Commission study takes a deep dive into the economics of scientific publishing, open access, and the legal frameworks shaping how publicly funded research is shared and reused.

Some key takeaways:
- 72% of EU/EEA peer-reviewed publications are available through some form of open access (vs. 44% globally).
- Costs remain high, around €4 billion annually, largely borne by universities and research organisations.
- Legal fragmentation across Member States continues to affect cross-border research and reuse.

The study explores two major policy levels:
👉 EU-wide Secondary Publication Right (SPR)
👉 Stronger copyright exceptions for scientific research

💡 Core finding: Greater access and reuse can improve research efficiency, collaboration and innovation — but policy design matters, as more ambitious approaches also increase pressure on parts of the publishing ecosystem.

Read our full spotlight: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/the-future-of-open-access-and-scientific-publishing-in-europe/

📊 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗦𝗖𝗔 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗣𝟭𝟬

We are proud to announce that Visionary Analytics has been contracted by the European Commission (DG EAC) to carry out a research project on the review of MSCA unit costs in preparation for FP10.

The project explores how current unit cost system under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) support researchers and institutions across Europe, and how it can be further improved for the next Framework Programme for Research & Innovation (FP10).

Our research will assess the suitability of existing unit cost approaches, examine their application across MSCA actions, and provide recommendations to strengthen transparency in unit cost model.

By engaging with researchers, organisations, and policymakers, this work will contribute to more effective and responsive funding systems for the future of European research.

📢 Stay tuned for upcoming insights and learn more in our latest Spotlight: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/va-launches-new-research-on-msca-unit-costs-for-fp10/

🤝𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 - 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱.

Although these sectors employ 74% of the European workforce, collective bargaining coverage averages only 48%, far below the EU’s indicative 80% target under the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive. This gap leaves millions of workers without effective access to social dialogue.
Our new study investigates why bargaining in private services remains comparatively weak, what structural barriers social partners face, and how Europe can strengthen collective bargaining systems to better reflect today’s service-based economy.

✨ Key insights
• Fragmented and mobile private service workforce makes organising more difficult, especially in micro and small enterprises.
• Union capacity is limited by low membership, scarce resources and dispersed workplaces.
• Employer representation is uneven, with many associations lacking bargaining mandates and complex business models blurring accountability.
• Regulatory frameworks lag behind today’s reality, often excluding non-standard, freelance and platform workers from collective agreements.

💡 What needs to change
The study points to the importance of strengthening sectoral and multi-employer bargaining, lowering barriers to representation, improving the resourcing of social partners, and updating regulatory systems to include all forms of work. Without these changes, Europe will struggle to achieve the AMW Directive's objectives - and to ensure meaningful social dialogue for the majority of its workforce.

Read the spotlight here: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/overview-report-on-challenges-for-collective-bargaining-in-service-sectors/

🔬𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲

Europe’s ability to compete globally in research and innovation depends on one critical factor: people.

Visionary Analytics is proud to lead two new projects for DG RTD focused on research careers in Europe:

- The first project, "Strengthening Research Talent Retention in Europe", looks at how to make research careers more attractive and stable today, together with Technopolis Group, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and ARCTIK - Communication for Sustainability.

- The second, "The Futures of Researchers’ Careers: What Challenges for EU Policy?", is a foresight study exploring how research careers can become more future-ready, together with FFRC, Prospectiva, Technopolis Group, IDEA and ARCTIK - Communication for Sustainability.

📊Why this matters: As highlighted in the Draghi report (2024), Europe faces structural barriers that limit innovation and competitiveness. At the same time, many researchers still encounter precarious employment, limited career stability and barriers to mobility, making talent retention a growing challenge.

🔍Our work will focus on:

- improving employment conditions and career pathways for researchers

- identifying best practices to retain talent and support transitions

- exploring future career models and skills needs

- identifying long term trends and disruptions affecting researchers’ careers in Europe

- analysing how innovation ecosystems shape demand for talent

- assessing new funding and employment approaches

Through this work, we aim to support policies that strengthen research careers and help Europe remain an attractive destination for global talent.

Read more in our spotlight: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/the-future-of-research-careers-in-europe/

📊𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗙 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 (𝗥𝗧𝗗𝗜, 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟰–𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬)

Research and innovation are key to Europe’s competitiveness, yet many regions continue to face challenges in financing, skills, and collaboration between science and industry. During the 2014–2020 period, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) invested heavily in research, technological development and innovation (RTDI) to address these gaps.
As part of the ex post evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund, Visionary Analytics contributed to Work Package 4 (WP4), focusing on research, technological development and innovation (RTDI) across EU regions.

🔎 Key insights from the evaluation:
• ERDF significantly supported knowledge creation, contributing to 138,000+ scientific publications and 7,000+ patents.
• Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) helped better target investments by aligning funding with regional strengths, particularly where they were well designed and implemented.
• Strong results were achieved in business innovation and science–industry collaboration.
• Innovation performance remains uneven across regions, with more developed regions benefitting more.
• Synergies with programmes like Horizon 2020 exist but remain underexploited.
• Administrative complexity and capacity constraints continue to affect implementation.
The findings highlight the need for a more systemic and coordinated approach to innovation support, including stronger synergies across funding instruments and better support for the full innovation cycle.

📖 Read more in our spotlight: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/strengthening-innovation-across-europe-key-findings-from-the-erdf-rtdi-evaluation/

⚡ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

The electricity sector is central to Europe’s path to climate neutrality - but its success depends not only on technology, but on people.

Through the AWJEES project (2025–2026), Visionary Analytics contributed to supporting European social partners (European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), industriAll Europe, Eurelectric) in addressing key workforce challenges across three areas:
- Just Transition
- Gender Equality
- Knowledge & Skills

🔎 Key insights:

1) The energy transition is reshaping jobs, requiring stronger support for workers and better skills anticipation.
2) The sector remains male-dominated, highlighting the need for more inclusive workplaces.
3) Attracting talent is a growing challenge, with low awareness of career opportunities among young people.
4) Stronger social dialogue and collaboration are essential for a fair and effective transition.

The project provides practical guidance and best practices to help make the electricity sector more inclusive, resilient and attractive for the future workforce.

👉 Read more in our spotlight: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/towards-attractive-workplaces-and-a-just-transition-in-the-european-electricity-sector/

👉 Read the full report: https://www.eurelectric.org/publications/towards-attractive-workplaces-and-a-just-transition-in-the-european-electricity-sector-by-epsu-industriall-and-eurelectric/

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀?

💻Have you ever had to work online alone at your computer while your team is based in a different part of the world, able to meet in the office and discuss everything in person? If so - or if this topic feels close to you - we invite you to training created specifically to discuss what it means to work remotely.

During the meeting, we will talk about:
- how to support your professional development while working remotely;
- how to overcome isolation within the team when you are not physically together;
- how to communicate effectively with colleagues and successfully complete shared tasks.

🔹You will also have the opportunity to ask your own questions or suggest a topic for discussion. All the advice and observations presented at the meeting are based on research involving Ukrainian refugees in several EU countries. This data helps us focus on the topics that resonate most strongly with the audience.

📍 Online (Zoom)
🗓 16 April | 15:00-16:00 EET
🗣 Event language: English
🔗 Participation is free of charge. Registration link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/zckzx-U2T3GY2TrvUTD57A #/registration
Join the meeting to realize: you are not alone in this!

Many thanks to our partners Faculty of Business Administration, VŠE, Remaking_eu and Ukreate Hub!

📢 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆: 𝗘𝗨 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵–𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 – 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱

Young people are key to Europe’s future, yet many still face challenges related to participation, education, employment and inclusion. A new study for the European Parliament reviews how the EU Youth Strategy (EUYS) 2019–2027 is being implemented and explores how it could evolve beyond 2027.

The study has two parts:
• Part I, prepared by European Parliamentary Research Service, provides a policy overview based on Commission evaluations, Eurobarometer surveys, Youth Policy Dialogues and Parliament resolutions.
• Part II, prepared by our research team, evaluates the strategy’s implementation at the EU level and in six Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal.

Our research focused on four areas:
▪️ the European Youth Goals
▪️ youth mainstreaming across policies
▪️ youth participation and inclusion
▪️ access to quality education and training

Key findings show uneven implementation across Member States, progress in youth mainstreaming since the European Year of Youth 2022, expanded participation opportunities through initiatives such as EU Youth Dialogue, Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, and persistent structural barriers affecting access to opportunities.

📍 The study findings were presented on 24 February during the European Parliament’s CULT Committee meeting.

👉 Read more about the study and its findings here: https://www.visionary.lt/?post_type=spotlight&p=2722&preview=true

💻𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘁?

As digital technologies become an integral part of learning, ensuring learners’ and educators’ well-being is emerging as a key priority across the European Union. EU policies such as the Council Conclusions on supporting well-being in digital education (2022) and the Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027 highlight both the opportunities and risks linked to digital learning environments.

Together with the Joint Research Centre and DG EAC, Visionary Analytics carried out a study to deepen the understanding of well-being in digital education across the EU. Among the tasks, the research combined policy analysis with involved fieldwork in 12 schools across Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania and Finland, engaging learners, educators, school leaders and parents.

The study highlights the importance of balanced and age-appropriate use of digital technologies, well-being-oriented technology design, addressing the digital divide, and adopting whole-school approaches supported by collaboration between policymakers, schools, families and EdTech providers.

Key outputs include practical tools: a Model of Emerging Practices for Well-Being in Digital Education, and a set of optional SELFIE questions, and evidence-based recommendations to support policy and practice.

We thank JRC, DG EAC, our experts and all stakeholders - especially the 12 engaged school communities - for their valuable insights!

🔍 Learn more about the study and its findings: https://www.visionary.lt/spotlight/well-being-in-digital-education/