INTERNAL GAP ANALYSIS and ACTION PLAN

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The European Charter for Researchers and

The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

INTERNAL GAP ANALYSIS and

ACTION PLAN

for The Systems Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences

11^th May, 2016 Warsaw

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CONTENT

I. Introduction – The Systems Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences... 3

II. Methodology ... 4

• Schedule of undertaken activities ... 4

• Composition of the commission for the assessment of the c&c related issues ... 4

• Short characterisation of the respondents ... 5

• General outcome from the questionnaire-based survey... 7

• C&C analysis and detailed results from the questionnaire ... 8

III. Analysis of application of the C&C principles at the institute ... 38

• Strong points – the current state ... 38

• Areas requiring improvement – the desired state ... 39

IV. Action plan ... 40

Acceptance ... 47

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I. INTRODUCTION – THE SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The Systems Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences was established in 1976 as a successor to several other institutions, which date back to the early 1950s. The scientists employed at the Institute have been active primarily in the domain of methodological foundations for systems analysis. Wide recognition has been gained by the Institute's contributions to the development of optimization methods, algorithms of control and identification of systems, theory and applications of fuzzy logic, computational and artificial intelligence, knowledge-based systems, decision support systems, theory of games for interactive decision making, negotiation and conflict resolution, financial analysis, new and more effective algorithms of mathematical programming and also mathematical foundations of the reliability theory.

Besides theoretical research, the Institute is engaged in applied work. In particular, problems related to management, financial analysis, environmental systems, applied operational research, computerized decision support systems and expert systems are among the most popular application domains.

Systems Research Institute is well positioned within the broad world network of the research institutions dealing with problems of systems analysis, control, operations research and computer science. This is expressed through a significant number of agreements and contracts on scientific cooperation with the leading scientific institutes and universities, the publications in foreign journals, participation of scientists from the Institute in foreign research projects and their lectures and courses at foreign universities, visits of scholars from abroad, as well as organization of scientific conferences at home and abroad.

The Institute, being a public non-profit research organization, functions as an independent legal entity, although it is a unit of the Polish Academy of Sciences and in many respects is subordinated in both administrative and formal manner to the Presidium of the Academy, as well as the Division of Technical sciences, to which it belongs. The entire Academy functions according to a special law, defining its structure and organization. At a higher level, there are also laws that govern various aspects of functioning of science and research in Poland, pertaining to scientific degrees and titles, funding of research, reporting, etc. The Institute is also obliged, in a natural manner, to observe the national and European regulations in domains such as public procurement, labor laws, recruitment of research staff, taxation, social security, and many other.

Internally, the Institute is run according to its Statute and the organizational structure, which are approved by the Academy, as well as regulations, pertaining to the particular domains of functioning of the Institute.

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II. METHODOLOGY

SCHEDULE OF UNDERTAKEN ACTIVITIES

05.2015: Sending of the declaration of support for the principles of The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

01.2016: Analysis of the C&C stipulations and the methods of their implementation in other research organizations in Poland, along with getting in contact with some of these organizations.

02.2016: Presentation of the concept of implementing the C&C concept to the management of the Institute. Acceptance of the planned schedule of activities.

16.02.2016: Formal establishment of the Commission for the assessment of the conditions for and implementation of The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (director’s ordinance DN/1/2016).

04.2016: Development of the questionnaire and carrying out of the Questionnaire-based survey among the researchers.

05.2016: Analysis of the responses to the Questionnaire and of the actual application of the stipulations, formulated in The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, as well as preparation of the plan for the necessary future undertakings.

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE C&C RELATED ISSUES

On February 16^th, 2016, the Commission was formally established by the director of the Institute for the assessment of the state of affairs and the implementation of The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The Commission, composed of five persons, included both the representatives of the research areas and the supporting units (Department of Research Analyses and Planning, Project management, HR).

The work on the assessment of the state of things from the point of view of the C&C stipulations, on design and conduct of the Questionnaire and the survey, analysis of results, etc., was carried out by a five-person team, headed by the deputy director for research of the Institute.

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Gender parity in the Commission

SHORT CHARACTERISATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

The Institute employs 56 persons of the proper research staff (17 women and 39 men).

The structure of the research staff employed at the Institute.

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The anonymous Questionnaire was distributed to all of them, and 39 responses were obtained within the predefined deadline, i.e. the response rate was 70%.

The responses were obtained from 12 women and 27 men. This sort of proportion is a direct reflection of the gender rate at the Institute, quite typical in Poland for technical and exact sciences. It ought to be emphasised that this proportion at the Institute is still – relatively – to the advantage of the female participation.

Other characteristics of the respondents, shown here on the diagrams, constitute also quite adequate reflections of the staff composition at the Institute.

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GENERAL OUTCOME FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE-BASED SURVEY

The anonymous Questionnaire was addressed at 56 persons, performing research work at the Institute,

39 respondents filled in the survey,

It contained 25 questions, directly related to the recommendations of The European Charter for Researchers,

Five-degree response scale was applied (Yes, Rather yes, No opinion, Rather no, No) In general, the positive responses would indicate that either the recommendations from the The European Charter for Researchers are already implemented at the Institute, or that the existing plans for their fulfilment (made explicit in the respective questions) are approved by the respondents.

There were altogether 84.9% of the positive answers,

The negative responses accounted for only 3.8% of all of them.

Note: the above percentages pertain to the total of the 39 x 25 = 975 answers obtained.

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C&C ANALYSIS AND DETAILED RESULTS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE C&C Principle:

Research Freedom

Researchers should focus their research for the good of mankind and for expanding the frontiers of scientific knowledge, while enjoying the freedom of thought and expression, and the freedom to identify methods by which problems are solved, according to recognised ethical principles and practices.

Researchers should, however, recognise the limitations to this freedom that could arise as a result of particular research circumstances (including supervision/guidance/management) or operational constraints, e.g. for budgetary or infrastructural reasons or, especially in the industrial sector, for reasons of intellectual property protection. Such limitations should not, however, contravene recognised ethical principles and practices, to which researchers have to adhere.

Existing Institutional practice and solutions:

The Systems Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences observes the principle of freedom of research, leaving to the researchers both the choice of the subject matter of their research and the applications thereof. Although research is carried out according to the plans, formulated as official documents every year, first, any scientist employed by the Institute can actively participate in the shaping of this research plan (actually, such initiatives can take place at almost any instant, provided they are found to be sufficiently substantively sound by the superiors and the Institute’s management), second, there is usually quite a wide margin of choice within the subjects, included in the plan, and concerning a given research group, and third, fully free choice is left to the researchers concerning such important aspect of study as the domain of application. These choices are subject, in a natural manner, to the scrutiny of scientific quality and perspective for a given direction of research work.

C&C Principle:

Ethical principles

Researchers should adhere to the recognised ethical practices and fundamental ethical principles appropriate to their discipline(s) as well as to ethical standards as documented in the different national, sectoral or institutional Codes of Ethics.

The ethical aspects of the various activities, undertaken in connection with research, are the subject of consideration at the level of the Polish Academy of Sciences as a whole, and even more generally, of Polish science. There are special bodies, which deal with the ethical issues, primarily the Commission for Ethics of the Academy, as well as documents, which constitute the respective guidelines for ethical conduct in the domain of science (the Code of Ethics of the Research Employee, and Principles of Fair Conduct in Science). All these apply at the level of the Institute where, in addition, a special Commission is functioning, the Disciplinary Commission, whose competence includes the ethical issues.

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C&C Principle:

Professional responsibility

Researchers should make every effort to ensure that their research is relevant to society and does not duplicate research previously carried out elsewhere.

They must avoid plagiarism of any kind and abide by the principle of intellectual property and joint data ownership in the case of research carried out in collaboration with a supervisor(s) and/or other researchers. The need to validate new observations by showing that experiments are reproducible should not be interpreted as plagiarism, provided that the data to be confirmed are explicitly quoted.

Researchers should ensure, if any aspect of their work is delegated, that the person to whom it is delegated has the competence to carry it out.

The questions of potential duplication of work and of plagiarism, as well as ghost writing etc., are the subject of concern of both the ethical standards and bodies, functioning at the level of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and of the Commission, functioning at the Institute.

A separate issue is constituted by the relevance and significance of the results aimed at and obtained. These are being judged both a priori, when the particular direction of study is being accepted for inclusion in the plan, and post factum, when the output from research is subject to annual evaluation procedure. The relevance and the significance constitute important aspects in both these assessments.

C&C Principle:

Professional attitude

Researchers should be familiar with the strategic goals governing their research environment and funding mechanisms, and should seek all necessary approvals before starting their research or accessing the resources provided.

They should inform their employers, funders or supervisor when their research project is delayed, redefined or completed, or give notice if it is to be terminated earlier or suspended for whatever reason.

Research at the Institute is carried out in teams, in which the roles are well defined and the participants are well informed of the course and requirements, applicable to a given study, project or another scientific undertaking. In conditions of work of the Institute these teams are usually quite small and so the appropriate exchange of information and verification of progress does not constitute a true problem.

C&C Principle:

Contractual and legal obligations

Researchers at all levels must be familiar with the national, sectoral or institutional

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regulations governing training and/or working conditions.

This includes Intellectual Property Rights regulations, and the requirements and conditions of any sponsor or funders, independently of the nature of their contract. Researchers should adhere to such regulations by delivering the required results (e.g. thesis, publications, patents, reports, new products development, etc) as set out in the terms and conditions of the contract or equivalent document.

The work, conducted at the Institute, is frequently carried out according to different principles, governing a given undertaking (e.g. various kinds of projects). Thus, there may be quite different legal and administrative regulations, concerning various undertakings, related to intellectual property rights, reporting, confidentiality etc. This leads to definite complications, which ought to be resolved by the respective Institute’s staff and the project leader or head of unit, while preserving possibly high level of transparency and quality of the delivered research outcomes.

C&C Principle:

Accountability

Researchers need to be aware that they are accountable towards their employers, funders or other related public or private bodies as well as, on more ethical grounds, towards society as a whole. In particular, researchers funded by public funds are also accountable for the efficient use of taxpayers’ money. Consequently, they should adhere to the principles of sound, transparent and efficient financial management and co-operate with any authorised audits of their research, whether undertaken by their employers/funders or by ethics committees.

Methods of collection and analysis, the outputs and, where applicable, details of the data should be open to internal and external scrutiny, whenever necessary and as requested by the appropriate authorities.

The requirements, related to accountability, are quite strongly associated with the nature of the scientific undertaking, as this was presented in the context of contractual and legal obligations. More general aspects thereof are the subject of considerations, associated with ethical conduct. On the other hand, both the project leaders and the employees are fully aware of the responsibilities, associated with financial discipline and the adequacy of results with respect to the claimed products, as well as the mechanisms of inspection, audit, and evaluation.

C&C Principle:

Good practice in research

Researchers should at all times adopt safe working practices, in line with national legislation, including taking the necessary precautions for health and safety and for recovery

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from information technology disasters, e.g. by preparing proper back-up strategies. They should also be familiar with the current national legal requirements regarding data protection and confidentiality protection requirements, and undertake the necessary steps to fulfil them at all times.

In the case of research, carried out at the Institute, the considerations, related to health and safety do not, generally, apply. Concerning information recovery, protection and confidentiality, even though these questions are not of crucial importance for the Institute’s work, the Institute follows the respective general regulations and, whenever applicable, the stipulations of the particular projects and programs it participates in.

C&C Principle:

Dissemination, exploitation of results

All researchers should ensure, in compliance with their contractual arrangements, that the results of their research are disseminated and exploited, e.g. communicated, transferred into other research settings or, if appropriate, commercialised. Senior researchers, in particular, are expected to take a lead in ensuring that research is fruitful and that results are either exploited commercially or made accessible to the public (or both) whenever the opportunity arises.

The Institute’s mechanisms, related to (a) establishment of research directions, (b) supervision of research work by the superiors and the management, and (c) evaluation of the research output, which have been also the subject of the Questionnaire, are geared towards securing that the results be significant, valuable, useful, and appropriately disseminated.

C&C Principle:

Public engagement

Researchers should ensure that their research activities are made known to society at large in such a way that they can be understood by non-specialists, thereby improving the public’s understanding of science. Direct engagement with the public will help researchers to better understand public interest in priorities for science and technology and also the public’s concerns.

The management of the Institute encourages the employees to make their research and results known to the public, and to gain insights from the public on the expected research directions. This, however, is not an easy task, given the existing separation between science

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and everyday life on the one hand, and the highly utilitarian perception of science on the other.

C&C Principle:

Relation with supervisors

Researchers in their training phase should establish a structured and regular relationship with their supervisor(s) and faculty/departmental representative(s) so as to take full advantage of their relationship with them.

This includes keeping records of all work progress and research findings, obtaining feedback by means of reports and seminars, applying such feedback and working in accordance with agreed schedules, milestones, deliverables and/or research outputs.

The aspect of supervision, guidance, and tutorship was taken up in the Questionnaire, with the responses indicating clearly that both the formal and informal mechanisms, functioning at the Institute, are quite effective in this regard. This applies, in particular, to the personal relations and guidance, but also to the functioning of the seminars and team meetings.

C&C Principle:

Supervision and managerial duties

Senior researchers should devote particular attention to their multi-faceted role as supervisors, mentors, career advisors, leaders, project coordinators, managers or science communicators. They should perform these tasks to the highest professional standards.

With regard to their role as supervisors or mentors of researchers, senior researchers should build up a constructive and positive relationship with the early-stage researchers, in order to set the conditions for efficient transfer of knowledge and for the further successful development of the researchers’ careers.

In the light of responses obtained to the respective questions of the Questionnaire, closely associated also with the issue of relation with supervisors, care is appropriately taken at the Institute for the maintenance of adequate standards concerning supervision, guidance, verification etc. by the superiors and the management, as well as other senior specialists, knowledgeable in the respective domains. This is also confirmed by the research results of the younger members of the staff, cooperating tightly with the leading scientists of the Institute.

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C&C Principle:

Continuing Professional Development

Researchers at all career stages should seek to continually improve themselves by regularly updating and expanding their skills and competencies.

This may be achieved by a variety of means including, but not restricted to, formal training, workshops, conferences and e-learning.

The subject of on-going personal and professional development has also been addressed in the Questionnaire, with the responses showing that the respective opportunities are kept open for the employees, and that the progress of each member of the staff is indeed important for the management of the Institute.

C&C Principle:

Recognition of the profession

All researchers engaged in a research career should be recognised as professionals and be treated accordingly. This should commence at the beginning of their careers, namely at postgraduate level, and should include all levels, regardless of their classification at national level (e.g. employee, postgraduate student, doctoral candidate, postdoctoral fellow, civil servants).

Question No. 1 in the survey of the Institute

Recognition of the profession: the employees of the Institute, who decided to take up the scientific career, are treated correspondingly.

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The observation of this principle – positively illustrated by the responses obtained – results not so much from the formal regulations (which exist, concerning, in particular, the scientific and professional titles and degrees, scientific positions, career rules, etc.) as from the everyday practice, which places emphasis on the adequate treatment of research employees from the point of view of their independence, recognition of abilities, and support for their research effort.

C&C Principle:

Non-discrimination

Employers and/or funders of researchers will not discriminate against researchers in any way on the basis of gender, age, ethnic, national or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language, disability, political opinion, social or economic condition.

The equal treatment principle: the Institute observes the principle of equal treatment of all employees, without any distinction.

The responses to the respective question point out clearly that this principle is sufficiently well implemented in everyday practice of the Institute’s functioning. Even though there are no internal regulations, which would require application of corresponding rules of non- discrimination (which would anyway be quite difficult with respect to different aspects of functioning of the Institute and the actual situation on the respective labour market), there is general consent to a rather strict application of such rules. Some of these are also stipulated by the more general prerequisites, reaching upwards to the Constitution.

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C&C Principle:

Research environment

Employers and/or funders of researchers should ensure that the most stimulating research or research training environment is created which offers appropriate equipment, facilities and opportunities, including for remote collaboration over research networks, and that the national or sectoral regulations concerning health and safety in research are observed.

Funders should ensure that adequate resources are provided in support of the agreed work programme.

The environment of scientific research: care is taken at the Institute of securing the possibly stimulating work environment, including equipment, networking and work-at-a-distance, and safety.

Safety is definitely rather a minor problem at the Institute, and there are respective general regulations, which have to be observed by any entity, and which are correspondingly implemented at the Institute (fire & hazard safety, quality of working environment, working conditions, building safety rules, etc.), with concrete members of the staff playing the roles of responsible officers. Work at a distance can be realized in Poland either through formal tele-work contract, or in a more informal manner, through appropriate decisions of the management (fulfilment of research tasks while away from the Institute, “work-at-home”, etc.). It is usual practice that the employees apply for a definite decision, and in virtually all cases obtain a consent from the management of the Institute. It is also attempted to secure adequate equipment to all the employees, ensuring also the capacity of networking, within the financial constraints of the Institute’s budget.

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C&C Principle:

Working conditions

Employers and/or funders should ensure that the working conditions for researchers, including for disabled researchers, provide where appropriate the flexibility deemed essential for successful research performance in accordance with existing national legislation and with national or sectoral collective-bargaining agreements. They should aim to provide working conditions which allow both women and men researchers to combine family and work, children and career. Particular attention should be paid, inter alia, to flexible working hours, part-time working, tele-working and sabbatical leave, as well as to the necessary financial and administrative provisions governing such arrangements.

Conditions of work: the Institute ensures sufficiently flexible work conditions, enabling the employees to work effectively and to achieve high quality results, in conformity with the respective regulations.

The Institute ensures the work conditions allowing for conciliating the family life and the professional activity, including various forms of flexible work and observation of the respective regulations.

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As mentioned before with respect to the preceding item, the general work contract and work conditions regulations, which are a part of the Polish legal system, are duly implemented at the Institute. The particular situations of the individual employees are treated case by case on the basis of demands and applications from the respective employees. While the Institute implements flexible rules concerning formal employment (e.g. full time employment and part time employment, unpaid leaves, etc.), it also applies a range of mechanisms, facilitating the adequate contribution from persons, needing special work patterns and circumstances.

C&C Principle:

Stability and permanence of employment

Employers and/or funders should ensure that the performance of researchers is not undermined by instability of employment contracts, and should therefore commit themselves as far as possible to improving the stability of employment conditions for researchers, thus implementing and abiding by the principles and terms laid down in the EU Directive on Fixed-Term Work.

Stabilisation and permanent employment: the Institute ensures stable employment conditions so as to motivate to the research work over a longer time perspective.

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Most of the employees of the Institute work on the basis of permanent employment contracts. The group of those, whose work contracts specifies definite duration of employment is minor. Yet, it must be kept in mind that both the formal requirements, concerning the scientific career, and the requests for more flexible treatment, as well as securing of adequate mobility, make the issue of stability and permanency quite precarious.

The Institute tries to find an effective middle way between the satisfaction of the formal requirements, feeling of safety, and requirements of increased effectiveness and efficiency, which, judging from the responses obtained, it does quite successfully.

C&C Principle:

Funding and salaries

Employers and/or funders of researchers should ensure that researchers enjoy fair and attractive conditions of funding and/or salaries with adequate and equitable social security provisions (including sickness and parental benefits, pension rights and unemployment benefits) in accordance with existing national legislation and with national or sectoral collective bargaining agreements. This must include researchers at all career stages including early-stage researchers, commensurate with their legal status, performance and level of qualifications and/or responsibilities.

Financing and remuneration: the Institute attempts to secure fair and possibly attractive remuneration conditions. All the formal requirements, applying to the payment of remuneration and benefits are observed by the Institute.

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Remuneration levels in the Polish research sector constitute generally a truly painful problem. This fact is due both to a low share of science and research in the national budget, and to relatively low intensity of flows of commissions and money from business and from administration to science. The possibility of guaranteeing higher remuneration is closely associated with the capacity of acquiring funds from grants, business-oriented projects, etc.

This, in turn, gives rise to problems of fairness and equality, which have to be solved in an effective and just manner. Luckily, the Institute has in this domain quite a wide margin of freedom in resolving the problems that may arise. As can be seen from the responses, despite the difficulties mentioned, the Institute manages to maintain a decent level of both attractiveness and fairness of remuneration.

C&C Principle:

Gender balance

Employers and/or funders should aim for a representative gender balance at all levels of staff, including at supervisory and managerial level. This should be achieved on the basis of an equal opportunity policy at recruitment and at the subsequent career stages without, however, taking precedence over quality and competence criteria. To ensure equal treatment, selection and evaluation committees should have an adequate gender balance.

Gender balance: care is taken at the Institute for the maintenance of an adequate gender balance, through application of equal opportunity and adequate representation policy, without lowering of the standards.

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The Institute functions in the area, where, on the one hand, male domination continues on the global scale (technical and exact sciences), and, on the other hand, imposition of any strict quota rules would result in lowering of quality standards, either way. This is especially sharply visible in the recruitment procedures. Notwithstanding these obvious issues, the Institute succeeds in maintaining an adequate balance regarding the composition of the bodies, functioning within the Institute, both in purely scientific and organizational matters.

C&C Principle:

Career development

Employers and/or funders of researchers should draw up, preferably within the framework of their human resource s management, a specific career development strategy for researchers at all stages of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, including for researchers on fixed-term contracts. It should include the availability of mentors involved in providing support and guidance for the personal and professional development of researchers, thus motivating them and contributing to reducing any insecurity in their professional future. All researchers should be made familiar with such provisions and arrangements.

Development of the professional career: the structure and the manner of functioning of the Institute ensure the possibility of having direct support from the senior staff concerning the development of personal and professional careers and the adequate motivation to work.

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Irrespective of the easy and direct access to the senior staff, efforts ought to be made to codify the principles of support for the development of the professional careers.

As this can be concluded from the responses to the two pertinent questions, the system of supervision, support and tutorship, which actually functions at the Institute, based on the organizational structure and the subject-related more informal team organization, is quite effective in providing career guidance and assistance. Even though the responses to question no. 9 may point out a certain degree of doubt with this respect, the responses to question no. 10 indicate that an improvement through formal codification may not be easy nor clearly helpful. This, indeed, is a point for further analysis.

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C&C Principle:

Value of mobility

Employers and/or funders must recognise the value of geographical, inter-sectoral, inter- and trans-disciplinary and virtual mobility as well as mobility between the public and private sector as an important means of enhancing scientific knowledge and professional development at any stage of a researcher’s career. Consequently, they should build such options into the specific career development strategy and fully value and acknowledge any mobility experience within their career progression/appraisal system.

This also requires that the necessary administrative instruments be put in place to allow the portability of both grants and social security provisions, in accordance with national legislation.

The value of mobility: the Institute acknowledges the value, attributed to various kinds of mobility, and takes into account the mobility-related aspects in its strategy of professional development.

The flexible employment policy, implemented at the Institute, is advantageous for the mobility of the employees.

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As indicated with regard to the previously considered principles and the questions of the Questionnaire, the Institute tries to reconcile the requirements of the stable and safe employment for its researchers with the stipulations, related to the notions of flexibility and mobility. The existing regulations of general character are used in a selective manner in order to possibly satisfy the needs of the particular persons and their scientific careers.

Thereby, attempt is made to secure the balance between the interests of individual researchers, concerning their development, and the effectiveness of functioning of the Institute as a whole. It appears that these attempts are sufficiently successful, as of this date.

C&C Principle:

Access to research training and continuous development

Employers and/or funders should ensure that all researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given the opportunity for professional development and for improving their employability through access to measures for the continuing development of skills and competencies.

Such measures should be regularly assessed for their accessibility, take-up and effectiveness in improving competencies, skills and employability.

Access to scientific training and capacity of permanent professional development: the Institute takes care of ensuring the possibility of continuous enhancement of the professional competences of the employees.

The Institute follows, in general, the policy of allowing and facilitating to its researchers the improvement of their scientific competences through participation in various kinds of

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appropriate schemes. This, however, often encounters the barrier of costs – mentioned already in the context of remuneration – which are often prohibitive in terms of cost / benefit analysis. Hence, there occur occasional negative decisions of the superiors or the Institute’s management, concerning the participation in a course or training. In the opinion of the senior staff and the management, though, this brings no detriment to the quality of development of the junior staff, as seen in the cost / benefit perspective.

C&C Principle:

Access to career advice

Employers and/or funders should ensure that career advice and job placement assistance, either in the institutions concerned, or through collaboration with other structures, is offered to researchers at all stages of their careers, regardless of their contractual situation.

The Institute ensures that career advice and relevant advice is available to all employees, provided it is a no-cost service. This is, first of all, an in-house or Academy-wide service, while all the opportunities, offered by current virtual services, are normally available to the employees of the Institute. There is a deliberate policy of not taking advantage of the paid services, which tend to obscure both their offer and the principles of functioning.

C&C Principle:

Intellectual Property Rights

Employers and/or funders should ensure that researchers at all career stages reap the benefits of the exploitation (if any) of their R&D results through legal protection and, in particular, through appropriate protection of Intellectual Property Rights, including copyrights.

Policies and practices should specify what rights belong to researchers and/or, where applicable, to their employers or other parties, including external commercial or industrial organisations, as possibly provided for under specific collaboration agreements or other types of agreement.

Intellectual property rights and their protection: the Institute ensures the possibility of taking advantage from the intellectual property rights, whenever applicable, for its employees, according to the internal and universal regulations.

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The Institute has an internal regulation, concerning intellectual rights, which complements the respective national and international legal infrastructure. The regulations in force apply to work contracts, commissions, projects, grants, etc., as well as particular cases of publications, reports, inventions, and so on. The researchers, employed at the Institute, enjoy all the rights, ascribable to them, associated with their results of work, made public or otherwise announced. As of this time, the Institute has not encountered any legal problem in this domain.

C&C Principle:

Co-authorship

Co-authorship should be viewed positively by institutions when evaluating staff, as evidence of a constructive approach to the conduct of research.

Employers and/or funders should therefore develop strategies, practices and procedures to provide researchers, including those at the beginning of their research careers, with the necessary framework conditions so that they can enjoy the right to be recognised and listed and/or quoted, in the context of their actual contributions, as co-authors of papers, patents, etc, or to publish their own research results independently from their supervisor(s).

Co-authorship: the Institute supports the teamwork and the co-authorship of the research work, as enhancing the synergy of scientific research.

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The Institute tries to establish conditions, in which all the employees, and especially those at the early stages of their career, get adequately acknowledged for their true contribution to all forms of scientific output of the Institute.

The system of evaluation of the scientific output of the Institute’s employees gives clear indications as to the manner, in which co-authorship is assessed. In general terms, co-

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authorship is advantageous for the individual authors, especially if the authors are affiliated with different institutions (see the notes on mobility and cooperation). Although the Institute does not require specific declarations on the contributions of individual co-authors, it is assumed that no seniorship privileges are applied to the composition and sequencing of authors. The management of the Institute is prepared to intervene in any case of neglect or contravention with respect to the rights of the proper authors of the research work.

C&C Principle:

Supervision

Employers and/or funders should ensure that a person is clearly identified to whom early- stage researchers can refer for the performance of their professional duties, and should inform the researchers accordingly.

Such arrangements should clearly define that the proposed supervisors are sufficiently expert in supervising research, have the time, knowledge, experience, expertise and commitment to be able to offer the research trainee appropriate support and provide for the necessary progress and review procedures, as well as the necessary feedback mechanisms.

Scientific tutorship: care is taken at the Institute of having the researchers at the start of their career appropriately supported in their contacts with senior staff, who might be helpful in the fulfillment of their tasks and in guiding their scientific career.

The stipulations, concerning the scientific tutorship and development of the scientific career, ought to the contained in a unified strategy document for the whole of the Institute.

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Existing Institutional solutions:

The Institute’s management takes care to ensure that any newly employed junior member of the staff get adequate support and supervision from a senior researcher or a supervisor. This is implemented through the formal structure of the Institute’s departments and placing of the employees in definite teams, having respective leaders, whether formal or informal.

These mechanisms seem to function effectively, as can be judged from the responses to the question no. 17, while the proposal of a more formal codification of the corresponding relations appears to be more problematic (responses to question no. 18).

C&C Principle:

Teaching

Teaching is an essential means for the structuring and dissemination of knowledge and should therefore be considered a valuable option within the researchers’ career paths.

However, teaching responsibilities should not be excessive and should not prevent researchers, particularly at the beginning of their careers, from carrying out their research activities.

Employers and/or funders should ensure that teaching duties are adequately remunerated and taken into account in the evaluation/appraisal systems, and that time devoted by senior members of staff to the training of early stage researchers should be counted as part of their teaching commitment. Suitable training should be provided for teaching and coaching activities as part of the professional development of researchers.

The Institute has, in principle, no teaching duties in terms of its formal statute. However, in reality, it conducts the PhD study of extramural character, and its employees are in their majority involved in university-level, as well as doctoral level teaching at various schools. In this manner, the staff of the Institute is participating in the teaching activities to the extent that results from individual needs and capacities, while the remuneration thereof is largely

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outside of the Institute’s competence, and is mainly regulated by the rules and rates applied in a generally accepted manner.

C&C Principle:

Evaluation/appraisal systems

Employers and/or funders should introduce for all researchers, including senior researchers, evaluation/appraisal systems for assessing their professional performance on a regular basis and in a transparent manner by an independent (and, in the case of senior researchers, preferably international) committee.

Such evaluation and appraisal procedures should take due account of their overall research creativity and research results, e.g. publications, patents, management of research, teaching/lecturing, supervision, mentoring, national or international collaboration, administrative duties, public awareness activities and mobility, and should be taken into consideration in the context of career progression.

Evaluation of the employees: the systematic evaluation of the employees, carried out at the Institute according to the adopted regulations, refers to the proper basis for evaluating the output from the research work.

This evaluation not only enables the conduct of an appropriate human resource policy at the Institute, but also allows the employees to better plan their own scientific career.

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The evaluation system ought to be more transparent and ought to account in an adequate manner for various kinds of scientific activity.

The issue of evaluation is very pronounced in the scientific institutions. It may be crucial for the course of career of a person, for the participation in various projects and other undertakings, as well as for the resulting remuneration. At the same time, it encounters the well known difficulties of measurement. That is why the Questionnaire contained as many as three questions, devoted to this issue, and, quite expectedly, the responses are distinctly more diversified than in the case of most of the other questions. The evaluation of the individual research employees is carried out in accordance with the regulations that are well

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known, and the instruments that are clear for the employees. On the other hand, there are different systems, of a higher level, which serve to assess the output of the Institute as a whole, and the employees are also evaluated in terms of their contribution to these assessments. All this calls for a more comprehensive evaluation system of the individual research workers. Even though it is obvious that such a system shall be more complex than the present one, it may turn out to be a necessity.

C&C Principle:

Complaints/appeals

Employers and/or funders of researchers should establish, in compliance with national rules and regulations, appropriate procedures, possibly in the form of an impartial (ombudsman- type) person to deal with complaints/appeals of researchers, including those concerning conflicts between supervisor(s) and early-stage researchers. Such procedures should provide all research staff with confidential and informal assistance in resolving work-related conflicts, disputes and grievances, with the aim of promoting fair and equitable treatment within the institution and improving the overall quality of the working environment.

and

Participation in decision-making bodies

Employers and/or funders of researchers should recognise it as wholly legitimate, and indeed desirable, that researchers be represented in the relevant information, consultation and decision-making bodies of the institutions for which they work, so as to protect and promote their individual and collective interests as professionals and to actively contribute to the workings of the institution.

Influence on the decision making bodies, appeals and complaints: care is taken at the Institute to secure the participation of the employees in the existing respective bodies, for protecting and representing the individual and collective interests of the employees.

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The “open door” policy, realized by the management of the Institute, allows for the facile and non-bureaucratic communication of the reservations and remarks concerning the activity of the Institute.

Existing Institutional solutions:

The present internal regulations of the Institute, concerning various bodies, which function within it, and which have an influence on the activity of the Institute as a whole and on particular employees, account for the representation of various groups of employees. This applies, e.g., to the Scientific Council of the Institute, where, side by side with senior researchers, also junior staff have their representatives, to the meetings of the Institute’s

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Collegium, where employees are represented through the intermediary of the legally based Employee Council, the Doctoral Studies with their student self-government, etc. Quite apart from these formal mechanisms, there is a high facility of and informality in addressing directly the management of the Institute with various issues, concerning the employees.

Although the responses to questions 22 and 23 indicate that these formal and informal mechanisms actually function, the fact of appearance of single negative answers gives rise to the need of at least making the present situation more clear to the employees.

C&C Practices:

Recruitment

Employers and/or funders should ensure that the entry and admission standards for researchers, particularly at the beginning at their careers, are clearly specified and should also facilitate access for disadvantaged groups or for researchers returning to a research career, including teachers (of any level) returning to a research career.

Employers and/or funders of researchers should adhere to the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers when appointing or recruiting researchers.

Recruitment: the standards and the procedures of recruitment of the employees, especially at the early stages of the career, are well defined, and special allowances are provided for those returning to the scientific career and in difficult situations.

The Institute observes the principles, established through respective regulations, valid for the recruitment procedure and for the advancement, as well as changes in working conditions.

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The Institute is obliged by a number of regulations (e.g. labour law, recruitment of research employees, advancement of the research employees, etc.), to observe definite legal requirements, concerning employment and recruitment procedures. These procedures are indeed kept to by the Institute, although, as indicated before, in conditions of multiplicity of pertinent regulations and the opposing needs (e.g. stability and long-term perspective vs.

mobility, flexibility and efficiency), an additional attempt has to be made in order to reconcile all the various criteria for good practice in this domain. Hence, also, some marginal negative opinions, which arise in a natural way in this situation. It is planned to take care of these opinions in the framework of the employee evaluation and principles of scientific career.

C&C Principle:

Recruitment

Employers and/or funders should establish recruitment procedures which are open, efficient, transparent, supportive and internationally comparable, as well as tailored to the type of positions advertised.

Advertisements should give a broad description of knowledge and competencies required, and should not be so specialised as to discourage suitable applicants. Employers should include a description of the working conditions and entitlements, including career development prospects.

Moreover, the time allowed between the advertisement of the vacancy or the call for applications and the deadline for reply should be realistic.

The Institute follows the regulations in force, which define the framework for the recruitment of the research staff, and which provide for the adequate formulation of the job

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specifications, as well as the course of the procedure. The Institute operates in this context appropriate internal regulations and forms ad hoc bodies, having substantive and formal competences, corresponding to the recruitment cases at hand. The correct functioning of these processes at the Institute is confirmed by the responses to the respective question of the Questionnaire.

C&C Principle:

Selection

Selection committees should bring together diverse expertise and competences and should have an adequate gender balance and, where appropriate and feasible, include members from different sectors (public and private) and disciplines, including from other countries and with relevant experience to assess the candidate. Whenever possible, a wide range of selection practices should be used, such as external expert assessment and face-to-face interviews. Members of selection panels should be adequately trained.

Given the conditions of functioning and the scale of the Institute, the adequate balance, implied by the context of a given recruitment case, is maintained, although aspects such as drawing from different sectors or countries are well beyond the capacity and need of the Institute’s recruitment procedures (see also respective responses to the Questionnaire).

C&C Principle:

Transparency

Candidates should be informed, prior to the selection, about the recruitment process and the selection criteria, the number of available positions and the career development prospects. They should also be informed after the selection process about the strengths and weaknesses of their applications.

Most of the required information is contained in the documents, announced in the recruitment process to all potential candidates. It can be indicated, perhaps, that the information, provided after the closing of the procedure to the candidates, who were not accepted, could be ampler. This aspect shall, therefore, be treated more carefully in the future.

C&C Principle:

Judging merit

The selection process should take into consideration the whole range of experience of the candidates. While focusing on their overall potential as researchers, their creativity and level of independence should also be considered.

This means that merit should be judged qualitatively as well as quantitatively, focusing on outstanding results within a diversified career path and not only on the number of

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publications. Consequently, the importance of bibliometric indices should be properly balanced within a wider range of evaluation criteria, such as teaching, supervision, teamwork, knowledge transfer, management of research and innovation and public awareness activities. For candidates from an industrial background, particular attention should be paid to any contribution s to patents, development or inventions.

Conform to the regulations in force, the set of documents, required from the candidates, allows for the comprehensive evaluation of the candidatures (in many cases the documentation is composed of more than 10 pages of text). Given that the respective evaluation committee is composed of persons with different competences, and that the job specification is usually quite detailed and concrete, this ensures that the evaluation can be truly sound, taking into account various aspects of the candidature.

C&C Principle:

Variations in the chronological order of CVs

Career breaks or variations in the chronological order of CVs should not be penalised, but regarded as an evolution of a career, and consequently, as a potentially valuable contribution to the professional development of researchers towards a multidimensional career track. Candidates should therefore be allowed to submit evidence-based CVs, reflecting a representative array of achievements and qualifications appropriate to the post for which application is being made.

The richness and the diversity of career paths are never considered in a negative light, yet, the most important point is the principle of assessing the ‘net capacity’ of the candidate, meaning that the achievements and records are compared to the job requirements on the one hand, and to the length of the career on the other, thus not leading to mechanical elimination of the junior candidates, who could not yet present neither a rich professional record nor an impressive list of publications.

C&C Principle:

Recognition of mobility experience

Any mobility experience, e.g. a stay in another country/region or in another research setting (public or private) or a change from one discipline or sector to another, whether as part of the initial research training or at a later stage of the research career, or virtual mobility experience, should be considered as a valuable contribution to the professional development of a researcher.

The aspect of mobility – again addressed in the Questionnaire – is duly recognized at the Institute, even though there are no formal regulations nor procedures that deal with it. The

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fact of actual recognition of the value, attached to the mobility is well illustrated by the responses to the respective questions of the Questionnaire.

C&C Principle:

Recognition of qualifications

Employers and/or funders should provide for appropriate assessment and evaluation of the academic and professional qualifications, including non-formal qualifications, of all researchers, in particular within the context of international and professional mobility. They should inform themselves and gain a full understanding of rules, procedures and standards governing the recognition of such qualifications and, consequently, explore existing national law, conventions and specific rules on the recognition of these qualifications through all available channels.

The practice with this respect follows the general rules, associated with the titles and degrees, as well as the recruitment procedure, with its universal and also internal regulations. Some of the aspects, related to professional experience, though, seem to be relatively poorly reflected and ought perhaps to be accounted for in a more formal and/or explicit manner.

C&C Principle:

Seniority

The levels of qualifications required should be in line with the needs of the position and not be set as a barrier to entry. Recognition and evaluation of qualifications should focus on judging the achievements of the person rather than his/her circumstances or the reputation of the institution where the qualifications were gained. As professional qualifications may be gained at an early stage of a long career, the pattern of lifelong professional development should also be recognised.

As in the case of the recruitment procedure and respective evaluation practice, both the formal requirements and the professional experience are taken into account in conformity with the general standards, the remark, formulated with respect to the recognition of qualifications holding.

C&C Principle:

Postdoctoral appointments

Clear rules and explicit guidelines for the recruitment and appointment of postdoctoral researchers, including the maximum duration and the objectives of such appointments, should be established by the institutions appointing postdoctoral researchers. Such guidelines should take into account time spent in prior postdoctoral appointments at other institutions and take into consideration that the postdoctoral status should be transitional,

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with the primary purpose of providing additional professional development opportunities for a research career in the context of long-term career prospects.

The respective rules and guidelines are currently informal or are a part of other mechanisms, existing at the Institute (recruitment, seconding, evaluation of results etc.). The activity of the Institute in this domain is not very intensive, and so the need for formalization of such rules has not been felt very distinctly until now. It is, however, quite plausible that some kind of formalization might be useful in the context of new projects, in which postdoctoral fellows might participate to a bigger extent.

III. ANALYSIS OF APPLICATION OF THE C&C PRINCIPLES AT THE INSTITUTE

STRONG POINTS – THE CURRENT STATE

The Institute treats its employees as true to life professionals in their respective domains.

There is very strict observation of the principles of equality and non-discrimination, as expressed also through the results from the Questionnaire.

Care for the workplace, equipment, and general conditions of work is adequate at the Institute.

The Institute tries to ensure the feeling of stability and safety of the employees and their employment, and extends support for conciliating the personal life requirements with professional work.

There is full awareness on the side of the management of the Institute that the public financial means, disbursed for science, are meagre. Yet, the initiatives, both from the side of the management of the Institute and from the employees, aiming at gaining additional funds through grants and other kinds of projects, as well as subsidies for special purposes, result in a capacity to somewhat alleviate the difficult situation, while maintaining a possibly fair distribution of the additional funds.

Gender-wise, the Institute conducts the policy of equal treatment and non- discrimination, efforts being made to secure adequate balance, whenever this is applicable. Support is extended to those, women and men, who seek additional flexibility and assistance in linking their family life with professional activity at a high level of quality. The situation is similar regarding the persons, having health problems.

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In its functioning, the Institute developed an effective environment and atmosphere for the facile, informal and effective contact between the junior staff, seeking guidance and support, and the senior researchers.

Mobility, cooperation with outside entities, scientific or not, co-authorship and teamwork are all both recognized positively and supported from the side of the Institute. Side by side with individual achievements of the researchers, their joint successes with other persons and teams, as well as capacity of effectively participating in teamwork, especially of multidisciplinary character, is highly valued at the Institute.

There are no barriers to personal development of the employees in terms of their participation in outside courses, training programs etc., especially when they correspond to the domains of activity of the respective team and/or the Institute, except for those, associated with financial limitations, mentioned already.

The Institute boasts a friendly atmosphere also with respect to the contacts with the top management, this allowing to avoid the undue stresses, conflicts and excess bureaucracy, while creating a good working atmosphere, conducive to improved effectiveness and efficiency of work.

AREAS REQUIRING IMPROVEMENT – THE DESIRED STATE

Enhanced clarity with respect the various aspects of evaluation of the employees, against the background of evaluation of the Institute as a whole. This may involve changes in the present internal regulations, as well providing for a better connection with the financial situation.

Possible codification of the principles of support for the scientific career, especially regarding the researchers at the earlier stages of their career, their guidance and perspectives. The need for and the potential shape of such codification ought to be subject to discussion at the Institute.

Enhancement of the process of interaction with the business sector. This interaction has been intensifying very fast of late, due to the efforts of the Institute’s management and some leading researchers, but the effectiveness thereof ought to be improved, also through a better involvement of the broader group of employees.

Respective mechanisms ought to be elaborated for this purpose.

Complementing the internal research employee recruitment procedure, based on the valid regulations, with additional information to the persons, who would not qualify for the posts announced for vacancy. This may also constitute an opportunity to review and improve this entire procedure.

Information and support in the domain of advice on and choice of outside trainings for the particular employees, due consideration being made concerning the financial aspect thereof.