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This award is in recognition of the commitment of the centre to implement fair and transparent recruitment and evaluation policies for research staff.
The seal marks the pledge to conserve excellence and to work towards the implementation of a strategic plan with continuous evaluation.
The European Commission has awarded the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) the “HR Excellence in Research” seal in recognition of its commitment to continuously improve human resources practices. The seal has been given in acknowledgement of fair and transparent recruitment and evaluation procedures for research staff, in accordance with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
The seal includes the right to use the European logo, thus facilitating visibility and public recognition of research institutes committed to the principles of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R).
The award process has taken two years and has involved the following actions:
- An internal analysis to compare the HR policies and practices of IRB Barcelona with the principles of the Charter and Code.
- Develop a strategic action plan aimed at researchers. This is an open-access document and can be consulted on IRB Barcelona’s website. IRB's Action Plan
- Evaluation of the comparative analysis and action plan by the European Commission.
In two years’ time, IRB Barcelona will undergo an examination with respect to the progress made on the strategic action plan, and every four years it will be subject to an external evaluation.
The action plan for 2014-2016 includes the implementation of the following measures, among others:
- Drawing up of a code of conduct.
- Drawing up of a recruitment policy that includes the principles of the Charter and Code.
- Development of new recruitment procedures that comply with the Charter and Code.
- Drawing up of a policy to manage conflict of interests.
- Implementation of a short-stay programme.
- Offering dissemination activities.
IRB Barcelona started working towards obtaining the “HR Excellence in Research” to ensure that scientists can concentrate on research activities, to contribute to the drawing up of quality contracts and the retention of scientific talent, and to increase awareness of rights and obligations.
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
