Researchers at Belgian universities - What drives them? Which obstacles do they encounter?

How do researchers at Belgian universities view their role in society? What drives them? Which obstacles do they encounter? What factors determine the quality of their research? How do they handle ethics, questions of diversity and gender, open access and public engagement?

A total of 1720 researchers from all Belgian universities took part in the online survey. It is the first large-scale survey to ask academics in Belgium about these issues.

The major conclusions are that researchers at Belgian universities don't do it for the money, a flashy career, the honour, fame and glory or for a good pension. They are driven by curiosity, the desire to produce new knowledge, or the aspiration to respond to existing and future societal needs. In their everyday work, however, it is not easy to meet the expectations placed on them by the academic system and society.

This report publishes the detailed results. Each time, we discuss the findings for the whole group and then we look at some striking differences between subgroups.