The 2025 GYA Sasha Kagansky Interdisciplinary Grant was awarded to Daniel Schwab (U.S. Department of Energy) and Antonia Morita Iswari Saktiawati (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Malaysia) for their project “Global Science Talent Index (GSTI)”.
The Global Science Talent Index (GSTI) is a benchmarking initiative designed to evaluate how national systems support early-career researchers through policies, investments, and institutional practices. By integrating standardized metrics (e.g., R&D investment, mobility patterns, and opportunity structures) with researchers’ lived experiences, the GSTI aims to provide an evidence-based, holistic assessment of science system performance. The pilot phase will focus on 5–8 countries, representing diverse geographic and economic contexts, to develop and validate the framework. Ultimately, the GSTI aims to generate actionable insights that foster inclusive, high-performing research systems globally, supporting the Global Young Academy’s (GYA) mission to inform science policy and promote balanced and accessible research environments.
The 2025 Sasha Kagansky Interdisciplinary Grant is funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec.
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Project Summary
The GSTI seeks to address a major gap in global science policy: the lack of a systemic, comparative framework to assess how national research systems support early-career researchers. hallenges such as uncertain career pathways, limited mobility, and uneven access to opportunities affect researchers across all regions. By combining structured policy indicators with qualitative insights from researchers themselves, the GSTI will provide a comprehensive tool tfor understanding – and ultimately improving – the conditions under which emerging scientists develop their careers.
The project’s pilot phase will focus on a small, diverse set of 5–8 countries to capture variation in income levels, geography, and science system structures.. The methodology includes three components: (1) policy scans of national research frameworks, (2) quantitative indicator mapping using global datasets, and (3) surveys and interviews to capture the lived experiences of early-career researchers. These elements align with the GSTI’s three core dimensions – Access to Opportunity, System Investment, and Mobility & Retention – forming the foundation for cross-country comparison and actionable policy recommendations..
The GSTI pilot will culminate in a comparative briefing paper as its primary deliverable, alongside stakeholder engagement summaries, and dissemination materials tailored for policymakers and research institutions. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and engaging stakeholders across regions, the project will strengthen GYA’s role as a global leader in science policy. The pilot’s success will lay the groundwork for scaling the GSTI into a globally recognized tool, influencing how institutions and governments support the next generation of researchers.
