HRS4R – Human Resources Strategy for Researchers
The Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC) endorsed in October 2013 the “European Charter for Researchers” and “The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researcher” showing its support towards providing a high quality research environment for European researchers.
Since then CTTC has been working towards implementing the points of the Charter and Code (C&C), fulfilling the requirements of the “Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)”.
The steps that have to be followed to implement the HRS4R (timeline and phases of the HRS4R process) are the following:
- Preparation of Internal (Gap) Analysis against the principles of the “European Charter for Researchers” and “The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researcher”.
- Preparation of an Action Plan based on the results of the Internal Analysis.
- Review of the Internal Analysis and the Action Plan by the EC and granting of the “HR Excellence in Research” award if positive evaluation.
- Two-Year Implementation Phase.
- Interim Assessment. Self-Assessment (Internal Review) of the Action Plan implementation and External Assessment carried out by the EC via the panel of peer reviewers, two years after the initial HRS4R award is granted.
- Three-Year Implementation Phase.
- Assessment and Site Visit, undertaken by external experts, based on Internal Review and self-assessment document, five years after initial HRS4R award and three years after the Interim Assessment. Positive evaluation drives towards the Award Renewal phase.
- Three yearly cycles of continuous improvement, enhanced quality and assessment.
After the Initial Phase of the HRS4R timeline, CTTC prepared and approved the Internal Analysis and the Action Plan on 09/11/2015, obtaining the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ award on 19 November 2015.
The Action Plan of CTTC can be accessed here: CTTC_ActionPlan. After the Implementation Phase of two years from the initial HRS4R award, CTTC prepared the Internal Review including the revised Action Plan.
CTTC approved the final Self-Assessment document with the HR Strategy and Action Plan on 29/01/2018. The related document can be accessed here: CTTC Self-Assessment
After receiving the Interim Assessment with the comments and recommendations from the External Experts, the three-Year Implementation Phase started, for the implementation and continuous monitoring of the HRS4R actions according to the Revised Action Plan.
Then, a new internal review has been performed and an Improved Action Plan elaborated to enter the Award Renewal Phase. The Improved Action Plan has been approved by the Direction on February 7th, 2022. The corresponding document can be accessed here: CTTC Action Plan for the Renewal Phase.
The next steps will be the implementation and continuous monitoring of the HRS4R actions according to the Improved Action Plan, incorporating feedback/recommendations from the External Assessment and Site Visit.
As the Open, Transparent and Merit-Based Recruitment (OTM-R) is a main pillar of the C&C and the establishment of an OTM-R Policy is a key element in the HRS4R strategy, CTTC is committed to continuously improve on this and to address the OTM-R principles in the years to come. The OTM-R checklist is also used as a tool to assess the recruitment system at CTTC. The recruitment policy can be found here: CTTC Recruitment Policy for Research Staff.
All CTTC openings are also published in EURAXESS
