HRS4R initial phase
A 4- step approach led by a project committee (CoProj) set up in March 2024, steered by an executive board.
STEP 1
SELF-ASSESSMENT OF UPCITÉ’S PRACTICES
In order to carry out the initial phase, a project committee (CoProj) was set up in March 2024, led by an Executive Board. The first stage of the initial phase consisted of a self-assessment of UPCité’s practices with respect to the 40 principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the recruitment of researchers, divided into 4 main categories:
- ethics and professional responsibilities;
- recruitment practices and career development;
- working conditions;
- training and professional development.
For this self-assessment, a questionnaire was sent to 26 experts and advisors, from both the governance team and the administrative departments. Exclusively qualitative, its objective was to analyse the compliance of our current practices with the 40 principles of the European Charter. A total of 101 analyses were collected and processed by the executive board. These informed the creation of a diagnostic report, developed collaboratively during workshops with members of the CoProj team.
STEP 2
INITIAL FORMALISATION OF THE GAP ANALYSIS, THE ACTION PLAN AND THE OTM-R POLICY
The workshops conducted in the first stage led to a gap analysis, identifying discrepancies between the institution’s current practices and these principles, while highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. As part of the CoProj workshops, this process resulted in the development of UPCité’s initial action plan for 2025-2030 and, in parallel, the finalisation of the OTM-R checklist.
STEP 3
CONSULTATION OF THE ENTIRE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
In order to align the draft action plan with the needs and expectations of the community of faculty members, researchers and research support staff,
the third stage of the initial phase consisted of a survey entitled “HRS4R – Let’s improve our practices together”. Organised in the form of a 25-question questionnaire, it was sent to all R1, R2, R3 and R4 on 10 July 2024.
Download
→ HRS4R questionnaire
STEP 4
CONSOLIDATING THE ACTION PLAN
Insights from the survey (more than 1,800 replies) and an initial identification of the indicators for each action initially envisaged made it possible, during the fourth stage of the initial phase, to design a second version of the action plan. This work, carried out by the executive board, was then presented to all the members of the CoProj. Some adjustments were made and incorporated into a consolidated version of UPCité’s action plan for 2025-2030. These constructive and iterative exchanges have made it possible to define essential levers of action to improve the quality and efficiency of our HR practices.