HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY FOR RESEARCHERS

Transcription

1 HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY FOR RESEARCHERS HRS4R AT UCY FINAL REPORT JUNE 2012

2 HRS4R at UCY Final Report Background The University of Cyprus (UCY) was founded in 1989 and its first students were admitted in The University (being the first University ever established in Cyprus) aims at creating opportunities for intellectual growth and pursuing excellence in education. Since its establishment, research has been one of its main pillars. Despite its short history, the UCY has managed to attract a significant amount of research grants mainly from the European Union, having endorsed the Charter and Code (C&C) for researchers in December of Since research has always been one of the UCY core activities, the development and adaptation of a Human Resources Strategy for Researchers is a major priority. Following the Euraxess conference, which was held in Cyprus in February of 2011, UCY began to discuss the development of an HR Strategy for Researchers in light of and in accordance with the directions of the European Commission. The UCY also participated at the Dublin s Seminar held in June The Rectors Council, during its 21 st meeting in 2011, decided to support the implementation of the project called HRS4R at UCY which is being developed under the supervision of the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Professor Athanasios Gagatsis. Methodology As recommended by the European Commission, a gap analysis must be developed, comparing the 40 principles of the C&C to the current practices of the UCY. This process aims to define a realistic list of the strong and weak points of the UCY practices towards complying with the principles of C&C. In order to achieve this, an ad-hoc committee was formed consisting of academic staff, mature and young researchers and administrative staff. At first, a brief presentation was provided to the members of the committee about the project purposes and goals. Afterwards the methodology was set up and agreed in order to develop a certain Human Resources Strategy for Researchers compatible to C&C. The roles and actions of the committee were also clearly defined. As agreed, all members of the committee had individually compared each single principle of the Charter and Code to the current practices, procedures, policies and legislation of the UCY. All various comments and subsequent views were registered in a document that was shared with all members of the committee. In order to finalize the gap analysis the committee held four more meetings to discuss the findings produced from multiple perspectives, i.e. from people with different backgrounds and expertise, knowledge and experience. The meetings took place between October and December of The main conclusion of the gap analysis was that the current practices of the UCY are in line with most of the C&C principles. However, the gap analysis also highlighted areas from the UCY s current practices that can be improved in order to expand its research potential in the near 1 P a g e

3 future. The next step was directly related to considering and agreeing to the actions that need to be taken in order to improve the UCY current practices with regard to the C&C Principles. For that reason the ad hoc Committee held three more meetings, from January to February of All the corrective actions were shaped into a strategic action plan which was submitted to the Rectors Council and then to the UCY Senate for approval and submission to the European Commission. Ad Hoc Committee for the HRS4R Project at the UCY The ad hoc committee of the project HRS4R is consisted by: Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Professor Athanasios Gagatsis Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Andreas Christofides Professor Aggelos Efstathiou Associate Professor Eleni Kostea Assistant Professor Tatiani-Eleni Synodinou Assistant Professor Demokritos Kaltsas Visiting Lecturer Anastasia Kynigou Director of, Mr. Glafkos Christou Director of Research and International Relations Service, Dr. Gregory Makrides Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Officer, Mrs. Demetra Demetri Research Service Officer. Mrs. Christiana Karkoti Human Resources Service Officer, Mrs. Christina Loizidou Diagnosis Areas and Actions for Improvement The main areas of desirable improvement which have arisen from the gap analysis are the following: 1. Ethical and professional aspects a. Development and implementation of a Deontology Code for Researchers. It is important to apply a Code of Deontology that respects academic freedom and research flexibility. The Code of Deontology will cover a wide range of issues in order to clarify central topics pertaining to ethics, rights, obligations, duties, support (i.e. financial, IT, administrative) working rules and conditions, etc. The Code of Deontology can enhance corporation, communication, coordination and is expected to promote efficiency and equality among researchers. Based on the fact that research at the UCY is 2 P a g e

4 rapidly growing and many new researchers are constantly joining the UCY, the Deontology Code will be useful in establishing a strong joint Research culture among the different Schools and Departments of the University without neglecting to take into account their sub-cultures and differences. b. Creating a Researcher s Manual. All the UCY internal procedures are established by legislation, rules, circulars and regulations relating to many different situations such as internal vs. external funding research programs. Since managing is a considerably important aspect for funding agencies as well as for the UCY, complex procedures inevitably lead researchers to spend a lot of time in dealing with them, which result in inefficiencies to deploying research agendas. In some cases researchers, in order to save time, are inclined to apply wrong procedures, thus creating administrative complications. A Researcher s Manual could be a significant tool, so that the financial management of the programs will be less time consuming. Researchers might be easily well-informed about the correct actions and procedures for each case at hand so they will be able to avoid administrative issues. Furthermore, this manual will be useful to every new researcher since ease of access to the right information would stimulate and create awareness about using the accurate procedures which are integral to the legislation framework. c. Intellectual Property Rights: Current rules recognize and respect the rights of researchers. Nevertheless, it is deemed necessary to modify existing rules in order to make even clearer the distinction between research results, such as those protected by patents as well as research results that are protected by copyright law. Moreover, a clear policy has to be set up as regards the recognition of the role and contribution of each researcher to the outcome of the specific research (by effectively exercising the moral right to paternity or obligation to cite the name of the researcher) regardless both of the regime of attribution pertaining to economic rights or the outcome of the research and the rules about the exploitation of economic rights. Intellectual rights property policies must be codified and included in a separate chapter or text of the Regulation 4.8. The relevant rules must be published at The University website and in any case they must be notified to the researchers the earliest possible prior to signing a contract with the contracted employees or the contract for the provision of services. In addition, Recognition and Contribution policy of researchers to the results of their research ( works of research ) does not exist. The concept and status of joint authorship must be defined both as to the results of research which are protected for patents and copyrights. The participation proportion to the financial management arising from research results must be clearly defined on the basis of the actual proportional contribution of the researcher. The policy must include rules not only for the system of attribution of financial rights but also for the recognition of authorship. Therefore, specific rules must also be established for named recognition of each researcher who has contributed to the work/result of research by 3 P a g e

5 taking into consideration the kind of the protected work/result, the kind and the form of the contribution and the possibility to duly acknowledge the name of numerous joint authors. These rules shall abide to fair practices as well as international and European norms. d. Another planned action is the establishment of the Institution of Commissioner that aims to support non-discriminatory behaviour and reinforce justice, transparency and equal treatment of researchers. Furthermore, the Commissioner will be responsible for the solution/resolution of any conflict that may arise during the implementation of a research program. The Commissioner would also provide suggestions to university bodies in order to improve and strengthen research through The University s human resources. 2. Recruitment a. Amendment of the current vacant position announcements: Today UCY uses different vacancy position templates for each position (depending on the type/status of the researcher position). For recruiting non Faculty Staff, the vacant position announcement should be modified to include an additional section, titled Researcher Profile. This is necessary to increase the prospect for job-person fit, optimizing the chances for the research project success and its uninterrupted completion. Furthermore, expectations relevant to the traits/characteristics/skills and abilities of the Researcher should be explicitly described in the job position advertisement as well as integrated into recruitment criteria and procedures in order to attract the most competent people for each respective position. In addition, all vacant position announcements will be published in a wider range of communication/information Medias such as Euraxess site. b. Employment Contracts: Researchers should be fully informed of their rights and legal obligations that are associated with their employment as well as their general duties and responsibilities to the University. All information mentioned above should be included into employment contracts, informing researchers as to where they can receive information from, with particular respect to different rules, regulations, and guidelines in relation to their employment at the UCY. Furthermore, the contracts will explicitly describe potential penalties in case a researcher fails to either deliver the research output or refuses to return back any University property that was used for research purposes. 3. Training and Development a. Researchers Evaluation: the current policy applied by the UCY for employee s evaluation does not apply to researchers who are not Faculty members. This has an impact on young researchers career and personal development since they don t have the chance to get an official feedback 4 P a g e

6 from peers in order to, first, identify their weaker points and second, try to improve them. Setting up an evaluation mechanism seems to be critical and will result in equal opportunities for all researchers to develop further in their respective areas through the improvement of their competences and skills. In addition, evaluation will, in the long run, increase research quality since human resource factor is of fundamental importance. b. Mentoring/Coaching of new Faculty Staff as well as other categories of researchers such as: post-doctors, special research scientists etc, is another area that there is room for improvement. At present, mentoring is on a voluntary basis and applied inconsistently among different Departments and Schools. Despite its informal status, mentoring must be well established into the UCY culture, hence helping new researchers to operate efficiently within their academic environment by enhancing their skills and competences, building networks and getting comfortable within their new working environment. Coaching on the other hand would help researchers identify their skills and competences so they will be able to employ them in the best possible manner. c. Training: The Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) is operating since 2005 and its main purpose is to support teaching, in a way that educationalteaching needs and international qualitative criteria are successfully met. The UCY also gives opportunities to post doctors and special scientists to acquire teaching experience. Thus said, The Centre can develop further to encompass a wider function through the training of young researchers for skills, research and teaching development. 4. Working Conditions and Social Responsibility a. Raise Awareness of Health and Safety issues: Since 1996 The UCY applies the National Law relating to safety and health. Through the collaboration of the Health and Safety Sector and the Technical Services, risk assessments are held regularly and researchers receive training in health and safety issues, etc. More than 76 laboratories are operating at the UCY attached to different kinds/levels of risk assessment. The University also applies verified health and safety policies for each type of laboratory. Despite that, it is of great importance to keep young researchers being constantly informed about such policies, and also renew relevant information on a regular basis through organizing seminars, information meetings, workshops, tutorials etc. In addition, all researchers must have an easy access to the Health and Safety Manual and all relevant information must be widely disseminated. b. Development of gender balance circular: The lack of a gender balance circular may create, in some cases, unequal opportunities between male and female researchers with regard to proportional representation on committees or representation at the higher layers of hierarchy. Employing an appropriate circular will open more professional opportunities for female researchers. 5 P a g e

7 c. Promoting dissemination of research results to the wider community: The Industry Liaison Office aims to intensify communication and cooperation between The University and business corporations on issues such as technology transfer media, development of applied research in response to specific industrial problems, cooperation in research programs/projects and student placements by host organizations for the completion of research/project work. The Office is also responsible for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the Cyprus business and academic field. In that sense, the Industry Liaison Office can develop its operations by promoting the dissemination and deployment of research results in such a way as to contribute to the welfare and development of the society as a whole. Monitoring the Action Plan Implementation Successful implementation of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers relies on solid monitoring of the progress corresponding to each action (piecemeal monitoring). Since the implementation requires the synergy of different bodies, committees, departments, and services that might implement more than one action at the same time, it is critical to establish a monitoring committee that will be authorized to follow up implementation process. The committees meetings will be scheduled well in advance and the minutes will be notified to the management so as to make available an analytical action progress report, including the objectives so far achieved, plus forthcoming actions and any possible problems and divergences that might occur with regard to the initial target positions. The committee will be chaired by the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Professor Athanasios Gagatsis, and consisted by the Director of Finance and Administration, Representatives of the Academic Staff, one representative of the Research Committee, the Director of, the Director of Research and International Relations Service, two post-doc researchers and one PhD candidate. The final charter of the monitoring committee will be approved by the Rectors Council. 6 P a g e

8 Action Plan based on the gap analysis and UCY priorities 1. Ethical and professional Aspects Action Implementation procedure Time schedule Leadership 1. Setting up a Deontology Code for Researchers 1. Creating an ad hoc committee Research Committee School Councils 2. Mapping the main areas of content 3. Developing and conducting the Deontology Code November 2012 September 2013 Ad hoc Committee and Research Committee Research Committee 4. Approval of the Code by the University s Bodies 5. Promotion of Deontology Code among the researcher Community through : a. Informative meetings b. Website publication c. ing d. Schools and Departments Councils October 2013 From November of 2013 onwards Research Committee / Rectors Council / Senate Director of Finance and Administration -, Research and IR Service, Schools and Department Officers

9 2. Creating a Researcher s Manual 1. Assembling the current research policies, circulars, procedures rules and regulations and classified them accordingly to subjects i.e. funding, financial issues, recruitment etc. 2. Publication of the manual a. s to academic /research staff b. UCY Webpage c. Hardcopies to Schools and Departments 3. New staff briefing 4. Renewal of the Researchers Manual December 2012 Ongoing Whenever is applicable / Schools Officers 3. Improving the internal circular 4.8 section regarding Intellectual Property Rights 1. Setting up an ad hoc committee to revise the internal Circular 4.8 according to the current and upcoming needs that might arise. 2. Approval of the renewed Circular 3. Promotion of the new Circular a. s to academic /research staff b. UCY Webpage c. Researcher s Manual October 2012 September 2013 Just after the final approval and then ongoing (whenever is applicable) Rectors Council Personnel and Regulations Committee / Senate / UCY Council Office of Finance and Administration Directors 4. Establishment of the institution of The Commissioner 1. Development of the statute for the operation of the institution of The Commissioner 2. Submitting the proposal for approval 3. Announcing the establishment of the institution of The Commissioner 4. Submission of interest (by academics) for April 2013 September 2013 Deans Council Rectors Council, Senate Office of Director of Finance and Administration 8 P a g e

10 the Commissioner s position 5. Election of Commissioner 6. Launching the operation of the institution of Commissioner November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 Rectors office Senate Commissioner 2. Recruitment Action Implementation procedure Time schedule Leadership 1. Revise vacant position frame and expansion of the communication media used 1. Development of researchers profile 2. Submission for approval 3. Adopting the new frame of vacant position announcement 4. Expanding visibility of the vacant position announcements by using a wider range of communication medias i.e. Euraxess webpage December 2012 January 2013 Immediately s / Research Committee Personnel and Regulations Committee 2. Employment Contracts amendment 1. Finalizing the basic duties and responsibilities of researchers which will be attached to their contracts 2. Recording any other special obligations/duties for a particular position 3. Development of a penalty policy a. Submitting the Proposal for approval b. Ratifying the policy c. Publicizing the new policy September 2013 January 2014 April 2014 April 2014 / right after approval Project Coordinator Research Committee Personnel and Regulations Committee/ Senate / UCY Council HR service 9 P a g e

11 3. Training and Development Action Implementation procedure Time schedule Leadership 1. Creating Researchers Evaluation Policy 1. Development of an evaluation policy for researchers 2. Approval of the proposed policy 3. Adopting of the policy code 4. Follow up January 2013 May 2013 From September 2013 onwards Research Committee with Personnel and Regulations Committee Project Coordinators Research Committee 2. Mentoring Coaching establishment for all new research staff 1. Defining mentoring process and its main philosophy (goals and purposes) 2. Development of a formal mentoring policy 3. Approval and adopting of policy 4. Induction week for all new researchers May 2013 December 2013 January 2014 Research Committee with Research Committee / Senate Schools officers / Project Coordinators 5. Training Sessions for new researchers 4. Working Conditions and Social Responsibility 1. Defining the current demand for training 2. Specifying required resources for training 3. Development of a training schedule 4. Approval and adopting of training schedule December 2012 March 2013 May 2013 / September 2013 Departments / Vice Rector office for Academic Affairs TLC TLC Rectors Council Senate Action Implementation procedure Time schedule Leadership 1. Raise awareness of Health and Safety issues in working environment 1. Setting up a calendar for health and safety issues 2. Publication of individuals health and safety manuals at departmental/laboratories webpages and onwards June 2012 Health and Safety Sectors with Departments Health and Safety Sectors with Webpage administrators 10 P a g e

12 3. New staff briefing on health and safety issues Ongoing Project Coordinators / Health and Safety sector 2. Development of gender balance circular 1. Inquiry into existing situation i.e. committee s gender proportion, career development 2. Explicating unequal treatment (if any) 3. Development of gender balance circular 4. Approval and adopting of circular 5. Staff briefing January 2013 May 2013 September 2013 December January 2014 Just right after the approval Gender s Centre Gender s Centre Genders Centre + + law officer Personnel and Regulations Committee Office of Director of Finance and Administration 3. Promoting dissemination of research results to the wider community 1. Creation of corporation networks between the UCY and enterprises in Cyprus 2. Taking up a follow up mechanism in order to examine the operation and initialization of research results from the business sector June 2012 June 2013 Research and International Service Research and International Service 11 P a g e