Read more about the award
The HR Excellence in Research distinction is awarded by the European Commission to
institutions that implement The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R), following the principles and
guidelines of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
Through the implementation of the HRS4R Strategy, research institutions commit themselves to providing favourable working, development, career and mobility conditions and transparent recruitment processes for researchers, thereby contributing to the competitiveness of the European Research Area (ERA) and the attractiveness of EU science systems on a global scale. The European Commission promotes HR-awarded institutions to international organizations and researchers as those that provide the best working and development conditions for researchers.
The European Charter for Researchers establishes general principles and requirements defining the roles, responsibilities and rights of researchers, as well as their employers/grantors. The Charter aims to ensure that the nature of the relationship between researchers and their employers or funders is conducive to positive results in the creation, transfer, sharing and dissemination of knowledge, and to the career development of researchers. The Charter addresses all researchers in the European Union at all stages of their career and covers all fields of research in the public and private sectors, irrespective of the nature of their position and employment, the legal status of their employer or the type of organisation or institution in which the research is carried out. The Charter takes into account the diverse functions performed by researchers, who are appointed not only to conduct research and/or development, but also to perform tasks related to scientific supervision, consultancy, management or administration.
The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers covers the general principles and requirements that employers and/or funders should follow when appointing or recruiting researchers. These principles and requirements should ensure
observance of values such as transparency of the recruitment process and equal treatment of all applicants, in particular with a view to developing an attractive, open and sustainable European
labour market for researchers, and are complementary to those outlined in the European Charter for Researchers. These principles are implemented through an Open, Transparent and Merit-based
Recruitment Policy (OTM-R), which includes providing clear and transparent information on the entire recruitment process, publishing clear and concise job advertisements with links to detailed
information on e.g. required competences, duties, working conditions, entitlements, training opportunities, career development, gender policy and ensuring that the required level of qualifications
and competences is in line with the needs of the position and not a barrier to applying.
To earn the HR Excellence in Research logo, an institution must meet certain conditions and undergo a demanding evaluation procedure. The
institution must:
Then, based on the conclusions of the internal analysis, it must prepare an HR strategy and
a corrective action plan in the designated areas. The documents are sent
to the European Commission for evaluation.
Positive assessment and acceptance of the strategy results in awarding the HR Excellence in Research logo.
After 2 years, the Institute must carry out an assessment of the progress and effects of implementing the principles of the Charter and the Code, and after 4 years, an external analysis is carried out by experts appointed by the EC, the results of which determine the right to use the logo.