Resources for research
Palaeoclimate research in the Pacific
Annual report • 2006
••• Scientific
••• Human
equipment: pooled resources
resources
••• Financial
resources
••• Information
systems
Bats are a reservoir for Ebola virus, Gabon
47
Scientific equipment: pooled
resources available to par tners
Observing, studying and modelling the planetary environment requires increasingly sophisticated hardware. The life sciences and clinical research also now
need facilities equipped with leading edge technology. To make the necessary tools available to the scientific community, the IRD has long applied the
principle of pooling resources with its partners. The institute invests in many major equipment items, observation stations and technology platforms,
applying the principle of open access for as many users as possible and training Southern researchers in the use of the technology. In 2006, thirteen shared
laboratories and joint science and technology platforms were in use with local partners.
••• Environmental observation platform in the Amazon
In French Guiana, the
technology platform for
monitoring the Amazonian
environment by satellite
offers researchers a fullyfledged observatory for
studying the ecosystems
of coast and forest
and for monitoring water
resources, fisheries and
epidemiological indicators.
••• Environmental research observatories (OREs)
The IRD is a partner in seven French national
environmental research observatories (OREs) set up to
monitor the environment and natural hazards. These
observation and experimentation systems enable the
scientific community to obtain regular, reliable data over
long periods. This way they can better understand and
model the functioning and dynamics of systems over the
long term.
www.ore.fr
••• Oceanographic survey ships
In 2006 the Antéa, which is widely available to the scientific community, set
sail for the Gulf of Guinea for the fourth EGEE survey (the oceanographic
strand of the AMMA programme). The Alis, based in Nouméa, conducted
nine physical, biological and geophysical oceanography missions in the New
Caledonian lagoon and the western Pacific, including the Santo biodiversity
survey in Vanuatu.
L’Antéa
••• Clinical AIDS research centre in Senegal
In Senegal, the regional centre for research and training in AIDS care at the Fann teaching hospital group in Dakar offers
teams from North and South an optimum environment for conducting clinical, epidemiological and social science
research. It is already providing long-term monitoring of a cohort of patients under treatment, and a trial by the French
AIDS research agency ANRS designed to make retroviral drugs easier to take.
••• Clinical biology research laboratory in Benin
In Benin, IRD research unit Mother and infant health in tropical
environnements has cutting edge clinical laboratory equipment in place at
the Institut des sciences biomédicales appliquées in the science faculty in
Cotonou. This equipment means that scientists in Benin can push ahead
with research on immunology, human genetics and the genetics of the
malaria parasite in pregnant women and young children.
••• The ASTER and Artemis mass spectrometers
An underwater glider is being used to study
the speed and nature of ocean currents. It
glides down in the currents to a depth of
1,000 m, takes water samples and transmits
the data via satellite. In partnership with the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA,
and the Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratory, USA, the glider has been used to
study currents flowing into the Coral Sea in
the western Pacific.
••• Seismometers on the ocean floor
Ocean bottom seismometers or OBSs are miniaturised seismometers with
waterproof casings that can be deployed on ocean floors down to depths of
7,000 m, to study local seismicity or to
characterise deep geological features. The
IRD has some thirty OBSs that are part of a
national network set up with INSU (Institut
national des sciences de l’univers) and Ifremer
(Institut français de recherche pour
l’exploitation de la mer). OBSs have been
deployed in the Red Sea as part of the Encens
survey, which is a joint project between Ifremer
and the CNRS (Centre national de la
recherche scientifique). Operations have also
been conducted in Martinique, where OBSs
are recording seismicity continuously. This latter
project is in cooperation with the Institut de
physique du globe.
••• Measuring seismic and volcanic hazards
The portable absolute gravimeter is used in
the field to take precise, absolute
measurements of the Earth’s gravity field.
The instrument was bought jointly with the
IGN (Institut géographique national) and the
Institut de physique du globe and is being
used for research into seismic and volcanic
hazards. At present it is helping to monitor
movements of the Earth’s crust in northern
Chile, one of the world’s most seismically
active regions, where it is detecting magma
transfers beneath active volcanoes.
Annual report • 2006
••• Underwater glider studies ocean currents
Inaugurated on the site of the Arbois Mediterranean Europole in 2006, the ASTER acceleration mass
spectrometer is used for measuring the cosmogenic isotope content of samples. It has many potential
applications. In tectonics it can be used to determine rates of fault movement, in palaeoclimatology to
date the retreat of glaciers and the polar ice caps, and in geomorphology to monitor the evolution of
river networks.
The Artemis mass spectrometer in Saclay, France, is used for measuring carbon 14 levels in samples.
Among other purposes, it is being used to analyse sediments deposited at the leading edges of
glaciers, so as to reconstitute their successive advances and retreats during the Holocene.
••• Tropical greenhouses
In Montpellier, 2,000 m2 of greenhouses with controlled environments
in terms of light, hygrometry, day length, temperature and confinement
are available to the scientific community for research into plants of
interest to Southern countries. Rice, coffee, palm species and casuarina
are among the species being studied there. Gene transfer methods are
employed by qualified teams.
••• Research and development information
centre, Burkina Faso
The CIRD (Centre d’information sur la recherche et le développement) in
Ouagadougou is based on a partnership between the IRD, Cirad (Centre
de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le
développement) and the French overseas development agency. It is
proving a wonderfully useful documentation centre, especially for those
needing access to electronic journals and the main international scientific
databases. Sixteen thousand visitors – teachers, researchers, students
and development professionals and partners – made use of its resources in 2006.
Three IRD laboratories have been designated WHO collaboration centres, on nutrition, vector-borne diseases
and retroviruses. The IRD has established health observatories in Niakhar and Dielmo in Senegal and at the
Organisation de coordination pour la lutte contre les endémies en Afrique centrale (OCEAC) in Cameroon.
49
Human Resources
The IRD employs 2,231 staff including 828 researchers,
1,013 engineers and technicians and 390 local staff. Their
average age (excluding local staff) is 44-40 for women
and 46 for men.
••• Parity
engineer and technician grades will be incorporated in the
2007 programme.
As regards internal promotion, 27 researchers and 34
engineers and technicians moved up a grade, and 10
engineers and technicians were promoted to researcher
category.
Nearly 40% of IRD staff are women. Few of them (23%)
are in the researcher categories, most (56%) being
engineers or technicians. The percentage of women
decreases in the higher grades – only 16% of unit
directors are women and the level of parity in the decision
bodies remains low.
Twenty-nine tenured staff retired in 2006, more than half of
them researchers. The average age of those retiring was 63,
for men and women alike.
••• Present on every continent
The introduction of the constitutional by-law on budget acts had a major impact on the IRD’s human resources, as it must
henceforth apply an official ceiling on job numbers and wage bill. The introduction of the Sorgho human resources
management software at the start of the year has made a big difference to the Institute’s administrative management of
staff, jobs, working hours and pay, speeding the management process and making it more flexible.
Forty-three per cent of staff work outside Metropolitan
France: 25% in Africa, 10% in the French overseas
territories, 6% in Latin America and 4% in Asia. The
strongest IRD presence in Africa is in Senegal and
Burkina Faso; Brazil, Bolivia and Peru are the main Latin
American countries for IRD research; and in the overseas
territories, French Guiana and New Caledonia are the
main focuses.
In 2006, IRD staff performed 117 long-term missions of
2 to 10 months. Africa was the main destination for these
(44%), while Latin America accounted for 34% and Asia
for 16%.
••• Recruitment, mobility and
retirements
Competitive entry exams were held for 40 researcher posts.
Thirty-seven researchers were recruited out of 506
candidates – 16 directors of research, 5 Grade 1 researchers
and 16 Grade 2 researchers – including 7 women.
There was a major internal mobility drive. In all, 94 engineers’
and technicians’ jobs were opened to internal applicants,
giving staff new career prospects. Thirty-three posts were
filled. The 2006 external competitive recruitment drive for
••• Modernising human resources
management
Teaching safety and hygiene awareness
Pay
New official regulations on “specific recompense for duties of collective value” allowed the Institute to pay this bonus to
more staff in jobs with particular responsibilities in management, coordination or facilitation, especially heads of research
or service units.
Improving the careers of tenured staff
To boost tenured staff careers and welfare provision, an agreement was signed between the civil service Minister and
three trade unions (Protocol Jacob, 25 January 2006). Class C staff are the first to benefit, in terms of grading, pay and
promotion. A compensatory bonus (€400 to €700) was introduced to award Class A and B staff for at least five years at
the top of the top grade in their category.
New system for temporary transfers
The maximum duration of missions was raised from 2 months to 12, so that what used to be a special arrangement for
long-term missions is now routine. The system of compensation for temporary transfers was improved and simplified,
with higher ceilings and a harmonisation of the systems for Metropolitan France, the overseas territories and other
countries.
••• In-service training
The IRD pursued its in-service training policy to help staff in setting up institutional projects. This includes training to use
the Sorgho software, apply the constitutional by-law on budget acts and implement quality management. A special effort
went into training in professional risk prevention, health and safety.
•••••• Contact: ddp@ird.fr
Annual report • 2006
Staff
Age pyramid
Tenured
staff
Men Age Women
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
Local staff
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
50
40
30
20
10
TOTAL
22%
Social sciences
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
Local staff
TOTAL
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
Universe sciences
1583
648
2231
%
Women
%
Total
633
445
270
76.4
43.9
69.2
195
568
120
23.6
56.1
30.8
828
1013
390
1348
60.4
883
39.6
2231
2002*
2003*
2004*
2005*
2006**
38.8%
32.2%
36.7%
30.7%
33.8%
28.8%
35.14%
24.45%
37%
26%
Long-term missions 2002-2006
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Africa
América
Asia/Pacific
Europe
15
16
4
1
38
33
8
2
42
45
20
8
60
60
32
3
52
40
19
6
TOTAL
36
81
115
155
117
Source : data from the Sorgho software package at 31 December 2006
Staff by major region
Engineers and technicians, by activity branch
4%
1%
Chemistry and science
of materials
504
Mathematics
Africa (22.6%)
5%
Medicine
3%
1275
Metropolitan France
(57.1%)
142
America (6.4%)
23%
Life sciences
38%
Life sciences
Asia/Pacific (3.8%)
149
French overseas
territories (6.7%)
76
Europe (3.4%)
4%
Engineering sciences and
scientific instrumentation
6%
Human and social sciences
10%
Data processing and scientific
computing
85
Engineering sciences
24%
828
1013
390
*Up to 2006, percentage calculated from budgeted posts
** In 2006, percentage calculated for the staff of the Institute at 31 December 2006
2%
Human sciences
14
244
390
Staff on assignment outside metropolitan France
Physics
4%
814
769
Men
Researchers by discipline
1%
Total
Staff by gender
Staff
Chemistry
Non-tenured
staff
39%
Scientific and technical
management
9%
Documentation, publishing,
communication
5%
Property management, logistics
and prevention
51
Fi n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s
2006 was the first year in which finances were managed
by a fully integrated information system, operating costs
and pay being managed by a single software package,
Sorgho.
The Institute’s budget was €201.65 million, including
€169.81 million in government grants (84.2%), €12.7
million in contract income and €2.38 million in
miscellaneous income. The balance was covered by
€16.76 million from the Institute’s working capital. Staff
pay accounted for 71% of the budget (€135.32 million,
of which 22% were for expatriation expenses).
••• Spending focused on priorities in
research for development
Under its new 2006-2009 objectives contract, the IRD is
committed to an ambitious, coherent policy of matching
its resources to its priorities, which are to:
• support the Institute’s new mission as lead agency in
research for development;
• give more resources to the research and service units
and encourage them to reorganise and integrate into
the scientific community;
• continue to host expatriate researchers and provide
training and support for Southern scientific
communities;
• proactively open up to potential partners, particularly
by concentrating credits for property and capital
equipment on joint operations with universities and
other research bodies;
• ensure sufficient management resources for the
scientific fleet, in cooperation with the other research
institutions concerned.
••• Resources for the research and
service units
The units directly receive more than 60% of the Institute’s
financial resources. They account for 69.9% of staff costs
and 38.1% of the operating and investment budgets.
The IRD reaffirmed its priority focus on expatriation by devoting € 30.6 million to that budget item.
••• A major contribution to shared capital equipment
Investment in major capital equipment amounted to €3.53 million – an increase of 30%. The modernisation of the scientific
fleet began; this is now managed by a joint venture, GENAVIR. It includes refurbishment of the ocean-going survey vessel
Antéa at a cost of €2.11 million. The Institute’s self-financing capacity still allowed for other investments such as setting
up an “emerging diseases” platform on the Mahidol-Salaya university campus in Thailand, renovating the mobile
accelerometer network in partnership with Insu and jointly purchasing a mass spectrometer with the CNRS. The €1.23
million in contributions to partnerships illustrates the IRD’s commitment to its partners, both French research bodies and
international organisations.
••• Major investment in the property asset base
Amounts spent on maintenance and building work doubled in 2006, to a total of €2.54 million:
• completion of the centre for biology and population management (CBGP) in Montpellier;
• construction of a soil confinement laboratory on the Ensam campus;
• participation in the creation of an oceanography cluster of European scope, under the fourth State-Region development
plan for Brittany;
• extension of the Île-de-France centre’s reception wing.
••• Contract income on the rise
The IRD’s success rate in proposals submitted under National Research Agency (ANR) bid processes confirmed its
leading position in a number of fields. Contracts obtained by IRD teams in 2006 represented a financial envelope of more
than € 6million*.
The IRD’s mission of stimulating the French scientific community to work on issues important for development was
strengthened when it was given lead agency status in that connection. The Institute has already acted as coordinator or
manager for 20 scientific projects conducted by (non-European) international partnerships and costing more than
€1 million over the project’s lifetime.
* Contracts for an average of three years.
Information systems
The first phase of the information systems master plan was completed in 2006 with the successful launch of payroll management
by the Sorgho software package and the introduction of a new mission management system. Now the 2006-2009 phase begins.
A key aim is to use software to ensure compliance with the objectives contract. Part of the cost (€ 7.5 million) will be covered from
working capital. Of the seven goals in the information systems master plan, the considerable increase in the use of scientific software is well under way and is well received by staff.
Expenditure of research and services units (€M)
0.37%
0.69
Expenditure of the IRD, by type (€M)
Income from applications
of research
6.88%
2.04%
12.70
3.91
Research
contracts
Programmed investment
By research department
Staff
Operating costs
and investment
Total
Earth and Environment Department
Living Resources Department
Societies and Health Department
30.47
31.50
33.12
6.27
6.91
6.68
36.74
38.41
39.80
TOTAL
95.09
19.86
114.95
Staff
Operating costs
and investment
Total
0.68%
1.26
Other income
and subsidies
92.06%
169.81
27.24%
By research department
52.12
Operating costs
and
non-programmed
investments
State grant
70.72%
135.32
184.46 M€
Personnel
• Natural hazards, climate and
non-renewable resources
• Sustainable management
of Southern ecosystems
• Continental and coastal waters
• Food security in the South
• Public health and health policy
• Globalisation and development
9.03
1.49
10.52
17.66
19.38
16.32
15.20
17.50
3.49
4.05
3.82
4.28
2.73
21.15
23.43
20.14
19.48
20.23
TOTAL
95.09
19.86
114.95
191.35 M€
Income from research contracts,
by origin (€M)
Expenditure of cross-cutting functions (€M)
28.50%
7.64%
0.97
International
institutions
3.62
Expenditure by major region (€M)
Other partners
(public and private sectors)
21.34%
2.71
French Ministries
and territorial
authorities
8.36%
15.99
5.48%
10.49
Asia
Latin America
0.53 %
8.03 %
1.01
1.02
Other countries
18.70%
European
institutions
27.87 %
3.54
French public
establishments
6.61 %
0.84
National Research
Agency
Annual report • 2006
Resources of the IRD (€M)
35.78
Africa and
Indian Ocean
Capacity building support
Consulting and industrial liaison
Scientific information and communication
International relations
Outreach activities
Scientific evaluation
In-service training
Contributions to partnerships
Naval resources
Other major scientific equipment
TOTAL
Staff
Operating costs
and investment
Total
0.64
0.65
4.75
8.58
2.24
0.30
0.00
0.03
1.02
0.00
2.43
0.55
2.04
3.19
0.22
0.35
0.93
2.13
5.03
0.79
3.07
1.20
6.79
11.77
2.46
0.65
0.93
2.16
6.05
0.79
18.21
17.68
35.87
11.11%
21.26
12.70 M€
Income from research contracts,
by origin (€M)
Earth and Environment Department
Living resources Department
Societies and Health Department
Other
Partnerships, contracts managed by the IRD*
Total in budget
Transferred to partners off-budget
TOTAL
55.83 %
French overseas
territories
3,63
3,20
4,07
0,99
0,81
12,70
2,22
14,92
106.83
191.35 M€
Metropolitan
France
Expenditure of support functions (€M)
Staff
Operating costs
and investment
Total
1.08
7.21
2.22
12.79
14.05
3.16
Social action
Information systems
Real estate operations
Territorial representations *
Central services
Other
0.00
2.47
0.00
7.68
11.87
0.00
1.08
4.74
2.22
5.11
2.18
3.16
TOTAL
22.02
18.49
40.51
*France and overseas territories (representation abroad is classed under “international relations” in table 2, cross-cutting functions.
* As part mainly of Europe, ANR or GIS contracts
53