At the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), we carry out research of excellence focused on improving people’s lives. This necessarily involves guaranteeing a working environment and optimal conditions.
In 2015 IDIBELL received the “HR Excellence in Research” award. This award identifies the institutions that generate and support a favorable and stimulating work environment, and therefore are committed to developing the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R).
The action plan for human resources management developed by IDIBELL is based on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers and is closely linked to the institution’s strategic plan. It includes researchers in all stages of their career, support, and management personnel. Ensuring good working conditions and understanding employee motivations will help create a better work environment, promote cross-department collaboration, and ultimately allow us to conduct a high-quality search. These are some of the concrete actions that we are carrying out so far at IDIBELL:
Hiring and selection
IDIBELL has implemented an open, transparent, and merit-based recruitment system. This system has allowed us to organize a selection free of discrimination, which encourages the diversity and mobility of its staff.
In addition, to help newcomers to settle in IDIBELL, and welcome them, we have created a manual and an onboarding plan. We want to improve the reception procedures for new members and make their arrival in the IDIBELL community comfortable and agile.
Ethical and professional aspects
To ensure ethical principles and responsible research, the Research Integrity Committee created a good practice guide. This document includes the guidelines of the national ethical standards and the institutional code of ethics to carry out animal and human research.
IDIBELL supports research results dissemination, promoting a green route for open access publications and offering numerous opportunities to interact with the local educational network, patient associations, and the general public.
Working conditions
In the last year, we reviewed the job categories defined in IDIBELL. The aim is to transparently show all the roles as well as the associated rights and duties.
The close relationship with our partners and neighbors of the Bellvitge campus allows close and fluid communication that promotes collaborations and bidirectional relationships. Additionally, recenlty we have reformulated internal communication in the IDIBELL community. We created new computer tools that permit agile and efficient information flows.
We created, and we are implementing, new HR data management systems and a new job vacancies portal. These tools will allow us to monitor and accelerate the recruitment process.
Training and development
At IDIBELL we offer continuous training to all our employees. For this reason, within the framework of the Arete Program, we provide technical training, as well as, personal and professional development to implement skills, promote the generation of new abilities and improve the employability of our staff.
IDIBELL’s professional development model considers promoting research staff with constant and committed careers.
Scientific seminars and events are organized throughout the year. These events offer researchers the opportunity to establish new collaborations and encourage discussion on relevant topics in the biomedical sciences.
You will find more information about the actions carried out and pending implementation in the context of HRS4R at the following link:
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).