In December 2015, the Catalan Water Research Institute (ICRA) received the “HR Excellence in Research” award of the European Commission.

This award and its logo recognize that ICRA endorses the policies and practices of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R), established by the European Commission to implement the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code).

The implementation process began in October 2014, when the Strategy Group Work (HRS4R) was created. After carrying out a gap analysis and a self-assessment, in line with the results of the analysis obtained, the Action Plan 2015 – 2017 emerged. ICRA adopted its Action Plan 2015 – 2017 accordingly with the Strategy (HRS4R) and with the principles of the Charter and the Cord of the European Commission, focusing on the key areas for change and its development.

These two documents (the Charter and the Code) prove that ICRA has the means to achieve a transparent and open labor market for researchers and that includes the general principles and requirements associated with the position, obligations and rights of researchers and their contractors, as well as with the recruitment and recruitment of researchers.

This recognition makes it possible to achieve international visibility, showing a favorable working environment for researchers with equal opportunities, ethical integrity and work-life balance. ICRA believes that, in this way, researchers will be able to focus on the development of their career and increase their employability and professional development.

Self-Assessment Report

In December 2018, ICRA published its Self-Assessment Report and sent it to the European Commission for its evaluation.

This Self-Assessment Report contains information on the evolution of the Action Plan of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) and the status of each action as well as the new actions planned for the coming years.

Renewal of the Award

ICRA obtained the “HR Excellence in Research” logo. This recognition shows the Institute’s commitment to implementing policies and best practices to achieve the standards of the European Commission in Human Resources.

This is the Self-Assessment Report of the Renovation Phase, which contains the Action Plan and the implementation of the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct. In this way, ICRA will be more attractive internationally by providing favorable working conditions for researchers with equal opportunities, ethical integrity and work-life balance.

The European Charter is a set of general principles and requirements that specify the roles, responsibilities and rights of researchers, as well as their contractors and/or funders of researchers. It seeks to ensure that the relationship between these parties contributes to the successful development of the generation, transfer and exchange of knowledge and to the professional development of researchers.

The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers consists of a set of general principles and requirements that contractors and/or funders must follow when appointing or hiring researchers. It aims to improve recruitment/recruitment and make selection procedures fairer and more transparent, and proposes several means of judging merit: merit should not be measured simply on the basis of the number of publications, but on a wider range of assessment criteria, such as teaching, supervision, teamwork, knowledge transfer or management and public awareness.

The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) can be considered as a tool to put the principles of the Charter and the Code into practice. In order to achieve this, the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers follows 5 steps: