This is the 1st webinar in a series of webinars regarding promotion of The European Charter and Code for Researchers and the HRS4R (Human Resources Strategy for Researchers). This webinar is organized as a part of the EURAXESS TOP IV project, in close collaboration with the European Commission representatives in charge of the HRS4R procedure. It is intended to serve as a support material for the already existing abundant content created by the European Commission. All webinars from this series will be later on available at the EURAXESS portal, as a supporting material for national networks and institutions in the HRS4R procedure. These webinars are envisaged as a ‘’hands-on’’ approach to complement the already existing material (guidelines, templates etc.). Presenter: Mary Kate O’Regan, University College Cork Topic: ''Institutional support & HRS4R: How to involve and engage stakeholders and researchers in the process'' The presentation provides an overview of: 1. Who are the stakeholders? 2. Advantages of HR Excellence in Research to your Organisation 3. Why seek Involvement in the process of HR Excellence in Research 4. Benefits of Involvement 5. How to engage stakeholders? What UCC did. Mary O’Regan is the HR Research Manager in University College Cork IRELAND (UCC). There are 980 research staff in UCC. She knows and understands the research landscape and has worked with researchers on the ground for many years supporting all aspects of their work. Mary is the designated HR point of contact for research staff within University College Cork and has designed and developed many bespoke training and career development initiatives for research staff in UCC. Mary is also a lead assessor for the European Commission and also trains many future assessors for the Commission. Mary has a Master’s in Government - Research Policy, (2014) University College Cork, Diploma in Paralegal Studies (1992) Philadelphia Institute for Legal Studies – USA, Post Graduate Diploma Computer Science (1987) University College Cork and BA English and Archaeology (1986) University College Cork. She lives in Carrigaline, Co. Cork, Ireland with her husband and daughter.

1. How to involve and
engage stakeholders
and researchers in the
HRS4R process.
MaryKate O’Regan
HR Research Manager UCC
@MarykateUCC

2. THANKS BEFORE WE START
• Lana Jerolimov Cetina - Department for Mobility of Researchers
Croatia
• Ana Ključarić - Department for Mobility of Researchers Croatia
• Mihaela-Elena Costache – European Commission
• Michele Rosa Clot - European Commission
• Ciara Murphy - UCC Human Resources Ireland
• All of you listening….Europe

3. My talk today will cover
1.What are the Advantages of HRS4R?
2.Who are the main HRS4R
stakeholders?
3.What are the benefits of involving
stakeholders in the HRS4R process?
4.How to engage your stakeholders?
5.What UCC did – real examples and
ideas

4. Beginnings…… where do I start?
•How do I approach this topic?
•For me the only way to start is by
thinking about the advantages
HRS4R brings to the organisation

5. Advantages of HRS4R
•Adds value to funding applications
•Demonstrates a commitment to good working
conditions and career development for
researchers
•It promotes this commitment to researchers
who might be considering moving to your
institution.
•If you advertise on EURAXESS jobs and have
the HR Excellence in Research Award the logo is
automatically profiled next to the job advert

6. Advantages of HRS4R
•It brings opportunities to share practice with
other award-holders and organisations working
towards the Award – e.g. today!
•It also increases the attractiveness of research
careers in Europe, through more attractive
working conditions and more open, more
transparent and more merit-based recruitment
processes
•Making Europe more competitive

7. Advantages of HRS4R
•Embedding enables the contribution to
strategic goals: including improving the
quality and impact of research in your
organisation
•OTM-R appoint, develop and retain the
best staff to pursue research excellence
•Preparation of researchers for wide
employability and economic contribution

8. Advantages of HRS4R
• Catalyst for change: supporting cultural change
internally
• Support for internal processes:
• e.g. the focus on developing an action plan from
the gap analysis leads to useful conversations
about implementation and process evaluation,
also recognising , refining and developing good
practice
•Raises the status of researcher development:
including a perception that this will mark out
the institution as 'being one of the best'

9. Real Example: Advantages for UCC
980
Research
Staff
Policy
Development
Post Doc
Development
Hub
Professional
Skills for
Research
Leaders
HR
Researcher
Conference
CV
assistance
and
advice
The
Odyssey
Program
First University on the Island
of Ireland to have our award
renewed
OTM-R Policy
Guidelines for Teaching for
Research Staff
Career Framework Policy
for Research Staff
Appointment Regulations for
Senior Research Staff
Uniform Job Descriptions and
Job Adverts

10. Presentation title again….
•How to involve and engage stakeholders
and researchers in the HRS4R process.

11. Who are the Stakeholders?
•Researchers
•Universities and Research Institutions
•Funding Providers
•The European Commission
•Industry and private enterprises are important
employers of researchers
•Supporting actors such as the national and
European EURAXESS networks

12. Benefits of Involving Stakeholders
•It offers those who will affect or be
affected by the outcomes of HRS4R a
chance to voice their opinions
•It ensures that your organisation has
greater clarity and a shared way
forward amongst its key stakeholders
•It enables your organisation to identify
and understand the relationship that
stakeholders have with the HRS4R action
plan

13. Benefits of Involving Stakeholders
•It brings people together to pool
knowledge, experience, and expertise to
co-create solutions for the HRS4R Plan
•It helps build collaborative
partnerships within your organisation
and new relationships that generate value
to the HRS4R process

14. •Provide clear consistent
communication to stakeholders
•Agree the engagement required
from stakeholders via discussion
and consultation
•Build the HRS4R actions around
this engagement action owners
and timelines
Things to remember about Stakeholders

15. Your stakeholders know the
strengths and weaknesses of
your organisation from the
ground up, and have first-
hand knowledge of what it
takes to deliver your HRS4R
initiatives
Don’t forget……

16. But…how to engage stakeholders?
OK, that
sounds
great… but
how do I
actually do
it?

17. For today I will concentrate on:
1.Researchers
2.The Hierarchy
3.European Commission

18. Research Staff can be…..
1.Difficult to engage…
2.Not too interested….
3.Always very busy….
4.Do they ignore my
emails….

19. Don’t give up…

20. What UCC did….Examples…..
1. Built a good website – made things easy for researchers to find
• It’s a platform that shows researchers all the supports that are
available to them
• It places all the forms they need to use in easy reach
• It showcases developments and is transparent – open to all
2. Began training and development programmes - actions
(Researchers)
• Met researchers one to one – never promised anything I
couldn’t deliver – explained why…..
• Provided training on a wide range of skills….
• These programmes are a mechanism for them to meet one
another – coffee and cakes too!

21. What UCC did...Examples
Researcher Conference (Researchers and Hierarchy)
Every year – on interesting topics
More researchers meeting each other
Constituted Working groups – lots of them for HRS4R
Provided Info Sessions on HRS4R and other
Initiatives(Researchers and Hierarchy)
Created email groups of all who have completed training.
If I need advise on anything new I turn to them first…..
Introduced Policy – e.g. OTM-R etc.

22. Example: Researcher Engagement
UCC Researcher Survey
63% of all researchers are willing to participate
on School and College Committees
So….
Researchers want more involvement with
decisions that affect them

23. Work your working group
Survey
Results
63%
Agenda
of HRS4R
working
Group
Discuss
the
Issue
Discuss
Possible
Solutions
and
Challenges
Action
1 Survey says…
2 Put it on the agenda of the HRS4R Working
Group
3 Discuss and consult with stakeholders –
possible solutions
4 Form an action with an owner and time
limit on the action plan

24. HR Excellence in Research WG minute
notes
• Researcher engagement on School and College
Committees – how do we enable that? (Agenda Item)
• Challenges Identified by HRS4R working group
• Who are School/Unit/Department researchers? Researchers may identify
with different schools due to the multidisciplinary nature of research
projects and research centres
• Action Arising
Strong statement of inclusion towards the research community from
the hierarchy. Jan 2020. It’s a start – its an opening conversation…
DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU ARE LISTENING
AND WORKING TO ADDRESS THEIR ISSUES

25. Example of Engagement: Researchers
1. Action on Action Plan re: Research
support staff training
2. Very short survey to Research
Assistants * just to be clear…
3. Digital Badge for Research
Assistants
4. HRS4R logo combined with the UCC
Logo for the programme
Survey results : Research
Support Staff wanted a
bespoke training programme
Example of
embedding

26. The Hierarchy and HRS4R
•They want HRS4R for your
organisation
•They need you to do the work
•They probably don’t have any
resources to support you
•They are very busy
•You are probably the real “leader”
for HRS4R

27. You and HRS4R
• You may feel frustrated
• You may feel that you are getting nowhere
• You may think that no one is listening
We all feel like
that
sometimes.. ☺
That’s why……

28. The Hierarchy are very important!
•Start with the big picture – don’t get too
specific
•Understand that they don't know it all. ...
•Make them look good ☺
•Small easy wins first
•Ask them to send out the email announcing
something….ownership…..

29. The Hierarchy
•Ask them to put the HRS4R logo on their
emails
•Keep them updated on progress
•Ensure HRS4R supports and is
included in your institutional strategy
•Include a member of the senior
management team in the HRS4R
advisory/working group

30. How this works in practice….
1. UCC was preparing for the Renewal Phase
2. Embedding and Ambition are key at this stage
3. I highlighted this to the HRS4R Working Group in terms of
risk to the University…what if we lost the award?
4. Working Group ensured that Research Careers and HRS4R
made it into UCC’s Strategic Plan

31. Example Hierarchy: UCC Strategic Plan
2017 to 2022
• In 2013, UCC was conferred with the European Commission’s
‘HR Excellence in Research Award’ accreditation. This
reflects the progress made by the university in supporting
researchers, including introducing structured PhD programmes
and the University Employment and Career Management
Structure for Researchers.
• improve the international profile of UCC as a centre of
excellence for research training and ensuring that UCC is a
location of choice for internationally competitive junior and
senior researchers.

32. • implementing career progression structures
that attract and retain high performing
researchers and by addressing gender
inequalities in research careers and gender
imbalances in research leadership
• provide a dynamic and supportive research
environment that will enhance our position as a
leading research university
• develop improved career structures, including
research career paths, in line with national policy
Example Hierarchy: UCC Strategic Plan
2017 to 2022

33. The Hierarchy
• Define the role your hierarchy has throughout the
project evolution (action owners, committee
member etc)
• Maintain close communication and (if necessary) flag
certain issues
• Demonstrate to them importance of HRS4R in the
context of the organisation
• Demonstrate the impact (e.g. Return on Investment)
of HRS4R
• The HRS4R action plan can be part of the organisation’s
strategy and the hierarchy are critical for institutional
“buy in”

34. Vice President for Research & Innovation

35. Example – Hierarchy & Researcher
Engagement
“Many researchers in UCC do not have anyone to
advise them on career development”
• UCC Odyssey Programme – Action - Introduced
• Buy in from the top  Researchers wanted it
• Close communication  Engaged researchers - focus groups
• Return on Investment  Delivered!
The Irish Times 12 November 2019 – Makes hierarchy look good ☺
“Few – if any – higher-education institutions have been brave enough to tell the truth about
the nearly insurmountable pathway between PhD and academic career.
But, at UCC, the whole institution, including the President and the Vice-President
for Research, have supported Odyssey.

36. The Hierarchy…if in doubt…..
Use the advantages I
included in the earlier part
of this presentation to
persuade them how critical
HRS4R is!

37. The European Commission
•Get involved – go to training and
workshops
•Meet like minded colleagues at training
sessions and events
•Reach out and share best practice
•Get to know the EC HRS4R team
•Become an Assessor
•Keep the HR Excellence in Research
Flag Flying….

38. EC: Example of UCC Engagement
• Lead Assessor for European Commission
• Present on behalf of the European Commission
• Train other Assessors for the Commission
• Visit different countries to enable individual universities and
organisations
• Develop Best Practice to enable other organisations to succeed
• Run an annual HRS4R Master Class in UCC
UCC Gives Back
ACTION on UCC Action Plan

39. Really….with HRS4R you are building …….

40. What's important to Me?
• Charter & Code and all HR Excellence in Research Policy
• Working closely with the EC and other member states
• HR Excellence in Research Working Group(s) – Action Plans
• Terms of Reference for the Working Group
RESEARCHERS
ARE MOST
IMPORTANT TO
ME!IF THAT IS THE
CASE AND, THEY
KNOW IT, THEN
THEY WILL ENGAGE

41. Don’t forget….Be kind to yourself…..
Its an evolving process!

43. Mary O'Regan HR Research UCC December 2019

44. References
• Https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/career-development
• https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/hrs4r
• http://www.crowe.ie/importance-stakeholder-engagement
• https://www.ucc.ie/en/hr/research/theodysseyprogrammeucc/
• https://www.ucc.ie/en/hr/research/devhub/