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HR Excellence in Research Award - HRS4R

Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is pleased to announce its initiative to apply for the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award. The HR Excellence in Research Award gives public recognition to research institutions that have made progress in aligning their human resource (HR) policies with the principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code).

The HR Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) was launched by the European Commission to support research institutions and funding organizations in the implementation of the Charter and Code in their policies and practices. The principles of the Charter and Code specify the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers as well as of employers of researchers. The overarching aim is to develop an attractive, open and sustainable European labour market for researchers, giving individual researchers the same rights and obligations wherever they may work throughout the European Union. The value and impact of implementing this strategy at the Institute of Physics should be primarily to benefit researchers. By implementing the strategy, the institution will continuously try to improve its policies, practices, research environment, and support for researchers.

In order to gain the HR Excellence in Research Award, the institute is required to follow the following steps of the HRS4R process:

  1. The institution conducts an internal gap analysis to compare its practice against the principles of the Charter and Code.
  2. The institution develops an action plan based on the findings of the analysis to fill gaps in the provision of support and career development for researchers.
  3. The analysis and action plan are submitted to the European Commission and reviewed by external international experts. Once acknowledged, institutions can use the HR Excellence in Research logo.
  4. The institution carries out a self-assessment at least every two years to assess progress and update its action plan.
  5. An external evaluation will take place at least every four years. External reviewers can recommend improvements needed in order to retain the acknowledgement.

The implementation of the HRS4R process at the Institute of Physics was initiated by the director’s official endorsement of the 40 principles of the Charter & Code on November 9th, 2017. The HRS4R process has been carried out by the HR team as a part of the project “HR AWARD FZU – Improving quality of the strategic management in the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences”. The Institute of Physics also established the Working Group for HRS4R and Steering Committee containing a wide range of stakeholders and researchers within the Institute of Physics to oversee the implementation process. In the last year, the HR team, Working Group for HRS4R and Steering Committee have been making tangible and measurable advances to analyse the current situation and propose active steps for aligning the HR policies of the Institute of Physics with the principles of the Charter & Code. The process started with a thorough employee survey and Gap Analysis resulting in the development of the customized Action Plan for the forthcoming 2 years. The Gap Analysis and Action Plan were submitted to the European Commission on October 5th, 2018.

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