Working conditions and career development included in latest H2020 grant agreement

The agreement relates to grants for research and innovation actions (RIA), innovation actions (IA) and coordination and support actions (CSA).

Vitae welcomes the inclusion of a new Article 32 on ‘Recruitment and Working Conditions for Researchers’ which sets out that the beneficiary of Horizon 2020 funding ‘must take all measures to implement the principles set out in the Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers’.  The article requires institutions to be proactive in taking and documenting specific measures, and ensure that researchers are aware of these measures.

The HR Excellence in Research Award process, which is part of the European Commission’s HRS4R (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers) initiative, is also directly referenced in the Grant Agreement as demonstrating an organisation’s alignment with the European Charter and Code principles.

 Article 33 covers gender, requiring funded research groups to have a gender balance.

Specifically, the H2020 criteria now address: working conditions, open recruitment and career development.

You can read more on page 140 of the H2020 Annotated Model Grant Agreement: General MGA: March 2014