HR excellence in research

Utrecht University supports researchers from The Netherlands and abroad in the further development of their academic careers, by pursuing the best possible HR policy.

European Commission acknowledgement

Utrecht University has been acknowledged by the European Commission as an institution having achieved ‘HR Excellence in Research’. The university gained this recognition for meeting most of the principles laid down in the ‘European Charter for Researchers’ as well as in the ‘Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers’ (jointly called ‘the Charter and Code’ in short).

Charter and code of conduct

The European Commission has approved the ‘Charter & Code’ to further an attractive, open and sustainable European job market for researchers. Utrecht University endorses the 40 chief principles laid down in the Charter & Code and therefore participates in the HR Strategy for Researchers project (HRS4R). Aim of this project is implementing the principles in the Charter & Code in our organisation.

• The European Charter for Researchers - The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (pdf)

Internal analysis and action plan

For the purpose of the HRS4R- project, an internal analysis of the HR policy of Utrecht University was carried out in 2013. The European Commission has rated both the internal analysis and the action plan as ‘Excellent’ and consequently awarded Utrecht University the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ logo.

• Action Plan Including Gap Analyses (pdf)

Self assessment report

In 2015, Utrecht University conducted a self-assessment in order to assess the state of affairs with respect to each individual action laid down in the plan of action.

• State of Affairs Implementation Plan of Action HRS4R (pdf)

External review in 2020

In the first week of November 2020, Utrecht University has undergone an external review for an extension of the HR Excellence in Research quality mark. In preparation, the university has drawn up an internal review report (pdf). This report contains an overview of the current status of our overall HR policy, including an overview of our transparent recruitment and selection procedures based on the principles of the new Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment (OTM-R) standard, and a gap analysis with regards to the actions proposed in the first Action Plan of 2013, and the self-assessment report submitted to the European Commission in 2015.

• Internal Review Report (pdf)

Based on this report and the visitation itself, the quality mark has been awarded. The committee has given some recommendations for improvement which the university will work on in the next three years. You can read about the recommendations in the final report (pdf).

Open Transparent and Merit based Recruitment

In accordance with the HRS4R guidelines Utrecht University provides an overview on policies and actions for Open Transparent and Merit based Recruitment. 

• The OTM Recruitment and Selection Policy (pdf) provides guidelines for OTM recruitment
• The Checklist (pdf) is a list with Utrecht University’s recent OTM-R practices and policies