For the purposes of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers,

• researchers mean: all people who carry out professional activities in Research and Development, at any stage of their career and regardless of their qualification. Researchers are «professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems and in the management of the projects concerned». A distinction is made between «early-stage researchers» and «experienced researchers». «Early-stage researchers» means researchers in the first four years of full-time research activity, including research training periods. «Researchers with proven experience» means researchers with at least four years of full-time research experience, «from the time they have obtained the diploma giving direct access to doctoral studies, in the country where have obtained their degree/diploma, or who already hold a doctoral degree, regardless of the time taken to obtain it».
• Employers refers to: all public or private bodies that employ researchers on the basis of a contract or that host them under other types of contracts or agreements, including those that do not provide for a direct financial relationship, but funding from third parties;
• funders refers to: all bodies that provide funding to public and private research institutions.