Senior Adviser
HR Strategy for Researchers
UiA strives to create knowledge together with researchers from both Norway and abroad. One of the ways we do this is through a dynamic HR strategy based on the 2005 European Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Inherent to this agreement, UiA is actively implementing the HRS4R (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers) and promoting international cooperation through our membership in the pan-European Euraxess network.
1. Foundation: Charter and Code
In 2011, The University of Agder signed the 2005 European Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
Charter and Code comprise 40 general principles and requirements which apply to both researchers and employers/funders.
The 40 principles address all researchers at every stage of their career, covering topics like mobility, career development, research ethics, working conditions and gender balance.
By signing the Charter and Code, the University of Agder also accepts that it has to work actively to meet the standards established by the principles, i.e. to facilitate for mobility, to establish a system for career development and to promote gender balance, to mention a few examples.
The Code of Conduct for the recruitment of researchers has been given added emphasis by introducing the concept OTM-R: Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment. OTM-R includes a detailed checklist for ensuring that the institution’s recruitment policy and practices are of the highest standard.
2. Process: HRS4R (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers)
HRS4R is the formal process which the university enters into by having signed the Charter and Code.
The process consists of several carefully defined stages, where the requirements of each stage have to be met before moving on to the next.
A gap analysis must be conducted whereby the gaps between the institution’s policy and practices and Charter and Code are identified.
An action plan must be developed with measures which address these gaps.
When the action plan has been approved, the institution is granted the right to display the HR Excellence in Research Award on its web pages. UiA has, from the first action plan approved in 2013, chosen to let the HRS4R action plan be composed of relevant measures from other institutional plans like R&D, Equality, HR etc. The current plan, developed in 2022, focuses on career development, gender balance, and research assessment.
The process also includes evaluations, an interim internal assessment after the action plan has been implemented for two years, and an external assessment and site visit after another three years with the revised action plan. UiA will be visited by an HRS4R expert group in the spring of 2023.
3. Networks: Euraxess
EURAXESS - Researchers in Motion is a unique pan-European initiative delivering information and support services to professional researchers. UiA is a member of the Norwegian Euraxess Network and thereby a Euraxess contact point where researchers can get information and assistance.
The Norwegian Euraxess network has regular meetings with discussions and development work about issues that are relevant to both incoming and outgoing researchers. Contact information and comprehensive general information useful to researchers coming to Norway are available at the Euraxess Norway portal.
