72 UK institutions have retained the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award

Today Vitae confirms that a further 11 UK universities have retained the HR Excellence in Research Award from the European Commission, taking the UK total to 72 universities who have successfully passed their two-year review.

The Award demonstrates a university's commitment to improving the working conditions and career development for research staff, which will in turn improve the quantity, quality and impact of research for the benefit of UK society and the economy. The two year review requires institutions to highlight the key achievements and progress they have made since they gained the Award and to outline the focus of their strategy, success measures and next steps for the following two years.

A total of 206 European organisations now hold the Award, of which 91 are UK organisations. 

The Open University Concordat Steering Group commented that:

"The Open University is committed to supporting, developing and valuing all of its research community in an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration. We are proud to participate in the HR Excellence in Research award process. This has helped us be more transparent and open, and has led to significant improvements to key recruitment and retention policies for research staff."

Since 2012 the EC have been exploring a 'stronger' implementation approach, including the potential for using quality standards and/or a more formal certification/accreditation process for HR management of researchers across Europe. Recently a new expert group has been appointed to further discussions and Vitae’s recent event, on 23 January, enabled Award holders to provide input into the current five-step process and moving towards a ‘quality assessment’. Detail and outcomes from the event can be found here.

Dr Janet Metcalfe, Chair and Head Vitae said:

"As the European Commission celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the launch of the European Charter and Code, it is great to see UK institutions clear commitment to providing excellent career development opportunities for researchers as encapsulated in the UK Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. These successful universities demonstrate the UK’s higher education sector’s commitment to attracting and retaining world class researchers to ensure the continued health of the UK research base.”    

The recent UK institutions institutions which have retained the HR Excellence in Research Award following their two-year review are:

Bournemouth University, Coventry University, Northumbria University, Nottingham Trent University, the Open University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Chester, University of East Anglia, University of Greenwich, University of Ulster and University of Warwick.

Congratulations!

More information about the Award can be found here.