Charter and Code enhancing researchers` careers

Charter and Code (C/C) is the European Commission's recommendation the responsibilities and obligations of researchers, employers and funders as regards working conditions, knowledge development and the sharing of knowledge, career planning for researchers and researcher mobility.

The Research Council of Norway endorsed the C/C in 2005 wishes the principles to be followed up in projects funded by the Council. In 2011 the Council implements Charter and Code in calls of proposals, contracts and policy documents.

The aim is to stimulate research institutions to make active efforts to improve working conditions and career development opportunities for researchers and for women in particular, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and Code. In this way, the responsibility for following up the Charter and Code principles is placed in the institution and not in the single research project. Attractive working conditions are important means in the competition for the best researchers.

Institutions implementing the C/C are acknowledged with the EU logo "HR excellence in research", which shows that the institution work to improve researchers` working conditions. More than 1000 research institutions and funders in Europe have endorsed C/C.

Charter og Code are central means in achieving ”Better Careers and More Mobility – a European Partnership for Researchers”, which is one out of five focus areas to increase recruitment of researchers and to achieve an attractive. The The Ministry of Research and Education (KD) has given The Research Council the responsibility to follow up the work in Norway.

The Research Council as a driving force

Most of the items in the Charter and Code require follow-up by the research institutions as the employers of researchers. In 2008, the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions carried out a national gap analysis that showed that Norwegian research institutions largely satisfy the principles, among other things as a result of the Norwegian regulations. On certain points, there is nevertheless a potential for improvement, and the self-assessment endeavours to shed light on how the Research Council can best support efforts in that connection. Recruitment of researchers and career possibilities, for women in particular, is the main focus area.

Other actions taken are:

• act as a driving force in relation to raising these challenges to funding, salaries and social security and pension rights with relevant parties.
• Support to the research institutions` work with career advice and development for researchers and with the development of evaluation and appraisal systems. 
• Act as a driving force in developing offers of dual careers (career opportunities for mobile researchers’ accompanying partners)
• Support the establishment of Service Centres for Foreign Workers in Bergen and Trondheim 
• support the actions taken to recruiting and retaining women in leading and professorial positions to work against ”the leaky pipeline (women are employed in 50% of recruitment positions, but only a small share of project management/leadership positions)
• support initiatives as the Industrial-PhD and “portability of grants” (exEUROHORCs agreement ”Money Follows Researchers”)
• use EURAXESS to assist mobile researchers and their employers, including mobility between disiplines, sectors and countries.
• study the different categories of positions and the laws that apply to researchers in order to identify which issues affect them

A Common implementation process

The European Commission had developed a procedure to implement C/C; the “HR-Strategy for Researchers”, which consist of doing a self-assessment to compare the C/C principles with existing national laws and the institution’s own practices.

“The EU HR Strategy Group” consisting of European institutions which implement C/C, is established to facilitate the implementation process. Representatives from rectorat/management level exchanges experiences and discuss implementation strategies. University of Tromsø and University of Bergen are Norwegian representatives in this group. Former members are University of Oslo, NTNU and the Research Council.

The Research Council has established a corresponding National Group mirroring the EU HR Strategy Group. University of Oslo, University of Bergen, University of Tromsø, NTNU, the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions and the Research Council take part in this group with representatives from prorector/R&D director level and advisory level. The group has a dialogue with the EU HR-Strategy Group