RESEARCH RESOURCES
50
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
RESEARCH RESOURCES
RESEARCH
RESOURCES
52
Human resources
54
Social responsibility,
an institutional commitment
56
Financial resources
58
The quality approach to research The Information System
The year 2014 built on the different roadmaps
approved by the board of directors since 2011:
the telecommunications and information systems
masterplan (SDSIT), multi-annual real estate strategy
outline (SPSI), the multi-annual strategy for optimising
support functions and management processes,
IRD's CSR policy and the purchasing action plan.
2014 was also marked by the national professional
elections held at the end of the year, to renew
the bodies for social dialogue.
59
Platforms open to our partners
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
51
RESEARCH RESOURCES
HUMAN RESOURCES
HUMAN RESOURCES
IRD is present in nearly 50 countries where it rolls out its
activities in a very wide variety of working cultures. It endeavours
to improve knowledge of its agents' work and their working
conditions in the North and the South, in order to provide better
support for their careers.
Hydrologists
in the field/Cameroon
FLOW OF MISSIONS
in number of days
NORTH/NORTH: 25,215
(15%)
NORTH/SOUTH:
46,613
(27%)
SOUTH/NORTH:
33,662
(19%)
SOUTH/SOUTH: 68,210
(39%)
On 31 December 2014, the Institute employed 2,062 agents, all statuses
combined, including 835 researchers, 935 engineers and technicians and
451 people recruited in countries of the South (292 permanent staff and
159 temporary workers).
The Human Resources department endeavours to improve knowledge of
IRD agents' work and their working conditions in the North and the South,
in order to provide better support for their careers.
In the North, a review of the activities of engineers
and technicians (ET)
As part of the work to renew the review of ET activities (provided for in the
decree dated 02 October 1985 on the special status of public servants), a pilot
phase began during the second half of 2014 with the research management
commissions and the related applications (CGRA1 and CGRA2). Intended to
improve working conditions for ET staff in their professional environment,
this review should result in reinforced capacities for everyone by calling on
personal and group knowledge. Compliant with the conclusions of the CTEP
52
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
(public establishment technical committee) from 11 June 2013, the review of
activities is scheduled for each structure, once every five years. The review
covers the working conditions of the various functions within the structure.
In the South, the human resources planning project
Included in the performance contract in place since 2012, in liaison with
the Senior Management Team for Science, this project will enable IRD to
better anticipate its requirements in terms of organisation, staff numbers
and skills. The priority is to focus work on activities in the South. The
reflection process addressed resources available outside Mainland France:
418 expatriates (research staff plus technical and administrative support
staff) and 292 people employed under local law in our 26 representations.
In 2014, work was done to map all the functions in place in representations
and concerning research activities with our partners. This gave us better
knowledge of all issues faced by our agents in the South, regardless of their
status.
RESEARCH RESOURCES
HUMAN RESOURCES
PYRAMID OF AGES1
Age
3
129
159
171
South Pacific
5.2% (107 staff members)
Latin America
and Caribbean
5.8% (119 staff members)
West Africa
and Central Africa
13% (269 staff members)
1
[40-44]
122
[35-39]
180
[25-29]
8
130
80
102
89
[30-34]
Total male
1,126
230
134
145
157
143
[45-49]
46
South-East Asia
4.6 % (94 staff members)
104
[50-54]
74
Mediterranean
2.6% (53 staff members)
37
[55-59]
In % number of agents. Total 2,0 62 agents
South Africa, East Africa
and Indian Ocean
3.2% (67 staff members)
3
[60-64]
210
204
DISTRIBUTION OF STAFF BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA1
[65-69]
[20-24]
Total female
926
12
20
30
70
Male staff
Metropolitan
France
65.6%
(1,352 staff
members)
Europe - North
America
0% (1 staff
member)
170
Female staff
Figures as on 31/12/14
Research
into rice resistance
in Montpellier
THE STAFF
TENURED
AND HOSTED
Excluding locally recruited temporary staff.
RESEARCHERS
ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS
TOTAL
For all staff, actions to strengthen professional
expertise
In 2014, ongoing training focused on the design and implementation of new,
innovative group training actions.
As such, the "partnership practices" course was delivered to 37 researchers,
recruited over 2012 and 2013, with eight days of training split into four
modules. This annual course will be run again in 2015.
Other key actions were implemented for the scientific community aiming to
develop skills upstream and downstream of their core profession, namely:
"Supervising a PhD student from the South" and "Managing a project team."
120
CONTRACTUAL
WORKERS GOVERNED BY
FRENCH PUBLIC LAW
CONTRACTUAL
WORKERS GOVERNED
BY LOCAL LAW
"CHAIRES MIXTES"
PROGRAM
TOTAL
759
694
69
241
292
7
-
835
1,227
1,453
310
292
7
2,062
DISTRIBUTION OF STAFF BY SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENT AND GEOGRAPHICAL
AREA SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENTS
SCIENTIFIC
DEPARTMENTS
METROPOLITAN
FRANCE
ENVIRONMENT
AND RESOURCES
HEALTH
COMMUNITIES
TOTAL
WESTERN AND
CENTRAL AFRICA
LATIN
AMERICA AND
CARIBBEAN
ASIA
PACIFC
MEDITERRANEAN
EAST AFRICA AND
INDIAN OCEAN
EUROPE - NORTH
AMERICA
TOTAL
606
78
50
43
55
25
26
-
883
157
162
59
18
4
7
16
4
1
3
10
3
8
1
-
241
212
925
155
61
63
59
35
37
1
1,336
Figures as on 31/12/14
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
53
RESEARCH RESOURCES
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AN INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY,
AN INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT
In 2013, IRD's board of directors adopted the institution's CSR policy.
Sustainable development: compliance with
regulatory requirements when producing reports
According to the regulations, under the terms of the French "Grenelle II"
law, IRD is required to produce a report on greenhouse gas emissions
related to its activities. In accordance with regulations, this report only
considers direct emissions (from buildings and vehicles managed by
IRD) and indirect emissions related to electricity consumption (buildings
managed only) on French territory. Produced for the first time in 2013 using
data for 2012, greenhouse gas emissions came to 4,027 t CO2eq (partial
report covering the regulatory scope).
Within the framework of its social responsibility approach, IRD has chosen
to gradually go beyond its regulatory requirements and to expand its carbon
footprint report to cover emissions for all its activities and sites, in France
and abroad (greenhouse gas emissions related to staff travel, purchases
and waste management).
In 2014, the full report on greenhouse gas emissions for the activities
of research units and support activities reporting to the France-South
representation was produced: greenhouse gas emissions came to
7,610 t CO2eq (on the basis of activity data for 2012).
The production of this carbon footprint report will be gradually rolled out
to all IRD sites.
Analysing seawater
samples/Vietnam
54
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
RESEARCH RESOURCES
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AN INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENTX
Employer's social responsibility:
greater attention
In 2014, the organisation and procedures of the medical committee and the
IRD reform commission were updated.
Within the framework of the first IRD agreement with the Funds for the
employment of people with disabilities in the public sector (FIPHFP), the
Institute has continued with its ambitious policy to employ workers with
disabilities and adapt their working conditions. Six people were integrated
via this scheme.
IRD continued its efforts to reconcile private and professional life over 2014.
In addition to the subsidiary to the association for social action, e.g. social
rehabilitation, the CESU service voucher scheme was expanded to include
childcare for children aged from 2 months to 6 years. With a budget of
€1,450,000, around €900,000 were devoted to social benefits.
An action plan to implement and consolidate
the commitment to parity
Professional equality is an important issue for the Institute, in particular
in terms of partnerships with developing countries. It is part of a national
policy where the public sector has a duty to set an example.
To pursue with awareness-raising actions and contribute to the
dissemination of a spirit of gender equality within IRD, the actions
initiated at the outset of the Parity mission in 2011 were strengthened and
diversified in 2014, most notably with the organisation of meetings in our
representations, the sending out of a questionnaire on the perception of
parity by staff, action on request from the Institute's various bodies and the
distribution of the film "l’une est l’autre" via the social networks.
Relations with other networks in the field of professional equality
were developed and strengthened in France and abroad.
Following the signature of a charter for gender equality at IRD by the
prefect of the PACA region and IRD's president in 2013, an action plan
for professional gender equality was discussed by the parity committee
and is now being finalised. More than sixty tangible measures have been
identified. It now remains to establish a dialogue with the various bodies
and finalise this plan through negotiations with the different stakeholders
at the Institute. The plan should be implemented some time in 2015.
Finally, the charter for gender equality was translated into Malagasy, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and English and distributed to all our partners
in the South via the Institute's representations.
Analysis of the effects
of carbon in Halong bay/Vietnam
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
55
RESEARCH RESOURCES
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Effective management control was applied during the financial year. The Institute's net
income amounts to €237.194 million for €234.453 million of expenditure.
The funds received correspond to a €202.720M Government subsidy (SCSP)
(i.e. 85.5% of total income), research contracts (€28.687M, i.e. 12.1%), services
provided and other income (€5.787 million, i.e. 2.4%). The payroll represents
€168.745 million, €24.64 million of which is expatriation or away-from-home
allowances, i.e. 71.97% of expenses (down by 1.76% compared to 2013).
Research unit expenses amount to €150.453 million (up €500K compared to
the previous year), i.e. 64.2% of the resources used in 2014.
Funding for partnership instruments and
programmes
The restricted national financial and budgetary context resulted in a
€2.3 million reduction of the Institute' SCSP subsidiary compared to 2013
(a fall of 1.12%). However, the resources allocated to partnership structuring
mechanisms in the South actually rose under the combined effect of ringfencing of resources attributed through State subsidies and a rise in the
portion of expenses funded by contractual resources.
Allocations to the 8 PPRs and 26 ICLs active in 2014 come to an overall
total of €1.626 million (versus €1.600 million in 2013). North-South interestablishment programmes recorded expenses of more than €1 million, with
the rising impact of projects such as STDF, Agrobiosphere, Guayamazon and
Erafrica. Expenses covered by contractual revenues rose by €3.4 million
(14%) to stand at €27.597 million; the future investment programmes
(PIA) contribute to this growth, mostly through the Labex Parafrap and the
Idex Picurs. All in all, these contracts take the total commitments received
by IRD for PIA to more than €13 million.
Alis, the oceanographic research ship/
French Polynesia
56
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
An active investment policy on behalf of the research
environment
In terms of scientific investments stricto sensu, the operational and
technical capacities of IRD's two deep-sea vessels, the Alis and the Antea,
increased significantly due to the substantial rise in the allowance for the
TGIR major research infrastructure fleet (€5.3 million versus €4 million in
2013). The scientific equipment programmes were rolled out in line with the
initial funding schedule. Several large-scale projects should also be pointed
ORIGINS OF THE ALLOCATED RESOURCES
Total €30.56M
Foreign private partners
(including international
organisations)
12.85% (€3.92M)
Other foreign
public partners
11.46% (€3.50M)
European funds
7.51% (€2.29M)
Agence nationale de
la recherche (ANR)
24.62 % (€7.52M)
French private
partners
8.18% (€2.49M)
Other French public
organisations
14.74% (€4.50M)
French public
establishments
2.69% (€0.82M)
French Ministries
9.49% (€2.90M)
Local
governments
8.46% (€2.58M)
out: the construction of the insectarium at the Montpellier centre (work
done in 2014: €1.472 million), the Bondy digital campus project (€183K),
and IRD's participation in the Oceanomed project at the Luminy campus
in Marseille (€400K).
The multi-annual real estate strategy outline (SPSI) 2012- 2015 continues
to be applied. With an authorised €3 million commitment in 2014, the fund
enabled the completion of work to resolve issues at sites where there were
high risks for personal safety and the security of property (including the
launch of asbestos removal work at the Guyana centre for an overall amount
of €2.483 million).
The telecommunications and information systems masterplan
(SDSIT) saw the commitment of €1.2 million, enabling the launch of the
necessary modernisation work in all IRD strategic fields, namely research,
partnerships and management, with a view to pooling and modernising
the UMRs' tools.
The plan to renew and modernise the vehicle fleet, launched in 2013,
recoded expenses of €770K in 2014. This plan was drafted to comply with
ministerial recommendations and, beyond that, with a goal to improve
and secure the conditions of scientific research in countries in the South.
In 2014, with a view to rationalising costs and improving service quality, a
contract was signed with an authorised representative for procurement in
the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa.
RESEARCH RESOURCES
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
EXPENSES OF THE UNITS (IN €M)
THE IRD ’S RESOURCES
STAFF
EXPENSES
OPERATIONS AND
INVESTMENT
ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
SOCIETIES DEPARTMENT
80.39
16.78
97.17
21.54
6.77
28.31
22.24
2.74
24.98
TOTAL
124.17
26.29
150.46
STAFF
EXPENSES
OPERATIONS AND
INVESTMENT
GRAND TOTAL
BY DESTINATION
RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
RESEARCH PROGRAM
CLIMATE AND NATURAL RISKS
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN ECOSYSTEMS
CONTINENTAL AND COASTAL WATERS
FOOD SECURITY IN THE SOUTH
HEALTH SECURITY AND HEALTH POLICY
DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBALISATION
TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL
BY DESTINATION
6.34
0.79
7.13
24.31
3.87
28.17
21.66
4.18
25.84
22.99
4.82
27.82
21.54
6.77
28.31
27.33
5.85
33.18
124.17
26.28
150.45
TOTAL
Value-added
products
1.3% (€3.14M)
Other subsidies
and incomes
1.1% (€2.65M)
Research agreements
and donations
12.1% (€28.69M)
Government subsidies
85.5% (€202.72M)
GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN OF EXPENSES
EXPENDITURE ON CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES (IN €M)
SOUTHERN RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMME
SOUTHERN PROMOTION
INFORMATION AND SCIENTIFI C CULTURE FOR THE SOUTH
GEOSTRATEGY & PARTNERSHIP
SCIENTIFI C COORDINATION
SCIENTIFI C ASSESSMENT. ETHICS
CONTINUOUS TRAINING
AIRD AGENCY
FI/IP NAVAL RESOURCES
LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFI C FACILITIES
Total €237.19M
STAFF
EXPENSES
OPERATIONS AND
INVESTMENT
GRAND TOTAL
BY DESTINATION
1.26
4.09
5.34
1.45
1.73
3.18
4.18
1.30
5.48
10.16
2.97
13.13
Total €234.45M
Metropolitan
France
Africa and Indian
Ocean
Overseas
territories
3.05
1.10
4.15
0.34
0.35
0.70
Latin America
0.19
1.14
1.33
0.29
0.91
1.20
Asia
-
4.86
4.86
Mediterranean
-
0.04
0.04
20.92
18.49
39.41
Other countries
STAFF
EXPENSES
OPERATIONS AND
INVESTMENT
GRAND TOTAL
BY DESTINATION
SUPPORT FUNCTION EXPENDITURE (IN €M)
SOCIAL ACTION
INFORMATION SYSTEM
MAINTENANCE
HEAVY WORK
CONSTRUCTION WORK
TERRITORIAL SERVICES
CENTRAL SERVICES
FINANCIAL OPERATIONS
OTHER GENERAL EXPENSES
0.09
1.49
1.58
3.45
5.57
9.02
-
0.08
0.08
-
2.93
2.93
-
0.40
0.40
9.29
4.13
13.43
9.17
6.05
15.22
-
0.23
0.23
1.64
0.04
1.68
TOTAL
23.64
20.92
44.57
GRAND TOTAL 2014
168.73
65.69
234.43
147.30
20.37
6.05
33.08
13.05
13.99
0.62
THE IRD ’S TOTAL EXPENSES BY TYPE
Total €234.45M
Unscheduled
operations
and investments
25.7% (€60.26M)
Scheduled investments
2.32% (€5.45M)
Staff
71.98% (€168.74M)
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
57
RESEARCH RESOURCES
THE QUALITY APPROACH TO RESEARCH - THE INFORMATION SYSTEM
THE QUALITY APPROACH TO RESEARCH
In 2014, the quality approach focused on improving research support
activities. This institute-wide project, initiated in 2013 within the framework
of the multi-annual strategy to optimise the support functions and
management processes, aims to establish more effective cross-departmental
management processes to the benefit of research. The project for a single
quality management system will put forward proposals for joint procedures
and coordination of activity to ensure better management, through the use
of monitoring indicators, failure management and work in networks with
the various stakeholders involved.
THE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Implementation of the telecommunications and information systems masterplan is 78% complete.
The resources of IRD's information system were principally mobilised to meet the demands of the
performance contract. The balance between the qualitative and quantitative costs and gains for
the Institute's various activities was quantified.
Innovating to cut costs and offer scientists
secure solutions
The introduction of an economic model based on the rental of infrastructure
services (private cloud) has helped cut recurring costs, released the investment budgets, enabled the establishment of an IT continuity plan in the event
of a major incident, and permitted more flexible management and greater
responsiveness to requests. This innovative, secure solution has helped
widen the response to scientific teams' expectations: the virtual working
environment, big volumes of data storage, website hosting, backing up the
workstation and mobile working.
Assisting research and partnerships
with the countries of the South
In the framework of the Spirales1 call for projects, support was provided to
11 units with regard to the IT aspect of scientific projects active in the South.
This was, for example, the case for the project to develop an open data portal
on fault lines in South America. The project was initiated in Peru but has now
been expanded to Ecuador.
Helping to reduce the digital divide in West
and Central Africa
The Tandem project was selected by the European Commission with funding
of €1.2 million. Over recent years, IRD has been working with Cirad and
Renater2 to support the development of dedicated computing networks for
higher education and research in West and Central Africa. These national
networks (NREN3) are interconnected at regional level (RREN4) then
internationally, creating the worldwide higher education and research
computing network. As West and Central Africa is the region where the digital
divide is the severest, Wacren, the region's network, is not very advanced.
With a view to reinforcing capacities, the goal of Tandem is to support the
development of Wacren, making it eligible for European Africa-Connect
funding and, in the long term, facilitating its integration into the worldwide
network.
Facilitating support functions and support for science
The project enabling IRD to comply with the main guidelines of the GBCP
(public budgetary and accounts management) reform as of 1 January 2016
and make this a driver of modernisation, has been initiated.
A website selling the 1,500 works published by IRD (own collections and
co-publishing) has been set up.
Better publicising the services available for users
The service offering has been restructured to make it more legible and easier
to access for all 5,000 users of the Institute's IS, IRD agents and partners from
the North and South.
Certain services have been improved or completed, and new services are
being developed. Requests may be submitted via the DSI-assistance portal.
Satellite dish/Guiana
1
2
58
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
SPIRALES provides direct support (financial, methodological and expertise) to research teams, in terms of research computing.
GIP RENATER: National telecommunications network for Technology, Education and Research. 3 NREN: National Research and Education Network. 4 RREN: Regional Research and Education Network.
RESEARCH RESOURCES
PLATFORMS OPEN TO OUR PARTNERS
PLATFORMS OPEN TO OUR
PARTNERS
The IRD is committed to a resource pooling strategy to make
cutting-edge equipment available, not only in Metropolitan France,
but also in Southern countries.
Several technological platforms for innovative research, such as Alyses,
dedicated to tropical soil and sediment research, or CapMédiTrop, which
focuses on the genetic analysis of cultivated tropical plants. In the health
sector, centres for research and monitoring (CRV – centres de recherche et
de veille) have been created. The CRV-OI on emerging diseases in the Indian
Ocean, established in 2007 in response to the Chikungunya epidemic that
occurred in the region.
The multi-disciplinary observatory in Niakhar, Senegal, offers another
example of the interest of pooling resources to improve research quality. It
is one of the oldest health and demographic monitoring systems in Africa.
Vast resources have also been dedicated to ecosystem observation and
research: the networks of satellite branches (SEAS), the environmental
research observatories (ORE), and the tropical herbaria in Nouméa and
Cayenne.
The ocean station vessels Alis and Antea also cruise the Pacific and tropical
Atlantic, enabling researchers to conduct oceanographic campaigns
through partnerships.
THE JOINT
INTERNATIONAL
LABORATORY TREMA
DEALING WITH "REMOTE
SENSING OF WATER
RESOURCES IN THE SEMI-ARID
MEDITERRANEAN AREA”
LMI Trema was created in 2011 within the
framework of the program Sudmed. It is based
on a collaboration, built for more than 10 years
between the IRD and its partners in Marrakech.
The objective is to lead a research finalized in
connection with the public policies on the general
theme of the sustainable management of the
water in the South Mediterranean by associating
hydroecological modelling, spatial observation
and in situ measures. The zone of study is the pond
of Tensift situated near Marrakech. These works
allow to improve the understanding of processes of
redistribution of water and to establish scenarios
of evolution of this resource in a context of climate
change. The team also developed operational tools
of decision-making support regarding management
of irrigation water (Samir software).
For more information: http://trema.ucam.ac.ma/
Herbarium in Nouméa/
New Caledonia
Weather station (ICL Trema)/
Morocco
IRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014
59