Process at UOC

 The HRS4R process at UOC has been carried out under an inclusive and active-participatory approach, involving the whole research community, the governing bodies, and all management departments and administrative and services staff.

The following committees and working group were appointed for the process:

  • Steering Committee (SC, responsible for leading the process)
  • UOC HRS4R Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC, responsible for implementing and monitoring the process)
  • UOC HRS4R Advisory and Working Group (AWG, responsible for providing advice and support in the implementation of the process)

The analysis of the HRS4R at UOC has been based on:

Above all, inclusion of the Research Community in the process has been a top priority from the start, regardless of position or seniority, with the objective to perform a 360° internal analysis and to better identify areas of improvement.

The community was involved through meetings and electronic communications, and participation was facilitated through at six workshops and via an on-line survey. With these actions, the research community became aware that the HRS4R is a strategic commitment that involves all stakeholders that take part in the research and innovation activities of the university. The results of the workshops and survey made it possible to develop the Gap Analysis, as well as to propose the actions included in the Action Plan and prioritize these actions according to both the previous analysis and the consultation of the research community.

The following phases and steps were carried out:



I.- Preliminary phase

  • July 2016. Preliminary analysis of the applicability of the process to the university, involving the Rectorate, the Research Support Office, and the Human Resources and People Development Office. The analysis concluded that HRS4R would be very positive for the university and, consequently, both the UOC Research & Innovation Committee and the Executive Board decided to implement the strategy.
  • September 2016. Appointment of the Steering Committee (SC) and the UOC HRS4R Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC).
  • September – December 2016. Preliminary analysis of the process and its calendar. Analysis of the actions and of the participants of the UOC HRS4R Advisory and Working Group (AWG). Call for the first four workshops.
  • December 2016. Communication of the process (email from the Rector and the General Manager to all the staff, internal release and dedicated page on the Intranet).


II. Gap Analysis phase

  • January – February 2017. Development of four workshops with participation of representatives of the whole research community, the governing bodies, all management departments and administrative and services staff. Open presentations for the community were given highlighting the main aspects and advantages of the implementation of the HRS4R strategy. The workshops included discussion with participants on the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance of the 40 principles of the C&C.
  • February – March 2017. Letter of endorsement to the C&C and reception by the EC.
  • March – April 2017. Internal gap analysis, managed by the IMC. Internal release with information about the process and updates on the intranet page.
  • April – May 2017. Preparation of the questionnaire and survey, managed by the IMC.
  • May – July 2017. Survey to the Research Community and analysis of results. The results were made accessible to the entire research community.


III. Action Plan phase

  • July 2017. Two workshops and meetings with the AWG for the analysis of the survey and development of the Action Plan, managed by the IMC. The actions were ranked depending on their impact on the university strategy, the C&C principles and the researchers.
  • September – December 2017. Prioritization of actions and review of the Action Plan by external experts.
  • January – March 2018. Approval of the Action Plan by both the UOC Research & Innovation Committee and the Executive Board. Publication of the Action Plan on the website. Internal release about the publication.
  • March 2018 onwards. Execution and monitoring of the Action Plan.