In 2005, the European Commission adopted a European Charter for Researchers (the Charter) and a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (the Code).
The Charter and Code address researchers as well as employers and funders in both the public and the private sectors.
The Charter and Code are key elements in the EU’s policy to boost researchers’ careers.
The Charter provides a set of 40 general principles and requirements which specifies the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers as well as of employers and/or funders of researchers.
The Code promotes open and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures.
The goal of the Charter and Code is to ensure a relationship between researchers and employers/funders that stimulates good results in terms of generating, transferring, sharing and disseminating new knowledge and technological development, and career development for researchers.
The Charter and Code also recognise the value of all forms of mobility and means of enhancing professional development of researchers.
The recommended principles are in relation to following four main areas:
- Ethical and professional aspects
- Recruitment and selection
- Working conditions and social security
- Training and development
HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R)
The HR Strategy for Researchers (euraxess.ec.europa.eu) is a tool for research institutions and funding organisations to implement the Charter and Code in their policies and practices.
The implementation of the Charter and Code principles makes OsloMet more attractive to researchers looking for a new employer or a host for their research project.
With the HRS4R Award, the European Commission recognises the institutions which make progress in aligning their human resources policies to the 40 principles of the Charter and Code, based on a customised action plan/HR strategy.
The HRS4R logo reflects OsloMet’s commitment to continuously improve the human resources policies in line with the Charter and Code, notably the commitment to achieve fair and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures.
Recruitment, working conditions and career development for researchers
OsloMet is actively supporting the EU programmes for researcher mobility.
By signing the Charter and Code, OsloMet is committed to ensure transparent recruitment processes and equal treatment of all applicants.
The aim is to ensure fair conditions for researchers, with the clear intention to contribute to the advancement of the European Research Area.
The GAP-analysis shows that Norwegian legislation and OsloMet’s practice comply with the Charter and Code principles.
However, our analysis shows that there is room for improvement as defined by action points in the Charter and Code Action Plan, and quality development should thus be a continuous process.
HRS4R certification process
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Endorsement 2009
In 2009, the President of the Oslo University College signed a letter of endorsement for Charter and Code.
In 2011, OsloMet (former HiOA) was established through a merger between Oslo University College and Akershus University College. Both institutions recognised and approved the principles of the Charter and Code before the merger.
In 2012, a preliminary GAP analysis to assess the 40 Charter and Code principles showed that there were room for improvement in many areas.
Gaining a solid understanding of what researchers needed was important.
Since then academic positions are published regularly in the EU job portal Euraxess Jobs, there is a focus on diversity, research support in the EU programmes, and international recruitment.
The focus on mobility in research and internationalisation across all faculties and research centres is increasing.
The work on completing the GAP analysis and action plan was accepted for the HRS4R application from the OsloMet Board in December 2015.
In February 2016, the application was sent to the EU commission to implement Charter and Code at OsloMet.
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First certification 2016
On 16 March 2016, OsloMet received the certification from the EU Commission to use the "HR Excellence in Research" logo.
The OsloMet Action Plan 2016-2018 provides an overview of the strategies, focus areas, ongoing projects and action points relevant to the Charter & Code.
The HR Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) is a commitment to work on our action points and to implement improvement measures, as well as make systematic self-assessment of progress and results.
We aim to update a progress report and publish news on progress and results.
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Internal review
The internal review of the Charter and Code certification was published on 5 March 2018. The documentation includes the HRS4R internal review and the OTM-R checklist.
Each action point as listed in the Charter and Code action plan for 2016-2018, has a status update on those steps that are completed, partly completed or not completed. Target indicators with detailed explanations are also included.
After the 2016 certification, OsloMet launched its new Strategy with a clear focus on internationalisation and digitalisation.
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External review
An external review will be carried out in 2024.
