News from the works councils (December 2021)
The works councils have many subjects to consider during the last months of 2021. Sometimes extra meetings take place in which the GOR NWO-I, COR NWO and local works councils consult with their board representatives. At NWO-I, the programme Development operations NWO-I is one of the subjects that the NWO-I Foundation Board will decide about this month. In the run-up to this, the works councils are giving their opinion about the proposals for improvement from the perspective of the operations domains. The subjects on the agendas include the hybrid working policy and the development of the NWO strategy.
News from GOR NWO-I
Hybrid working policy NWO-I: GOR NWO-I sees room for improvement
During an extra meeting with the NWO-I Foundation Board representative on 5 October, GOR NWO-I discussed the request for consent concerning ‘NWO-I policy hybrid working’. GOR NWO-I indicated that the proposal under consideration was not innovative enough and that it mainly focused on agreements between the individual employee and the line manager. A policy for the entire organisation regarding this subject appears to be missing. In the opinion of GOR NWO-I, a policy for hybrid working needs to be formulated that covers NWO-I in its entirety and will include clear frameworks and starting points.
GOR NWO-I has discussed its objections with the NWO-I Foundation Board representative and now the ball is back in the representative’s court with regards to adapting the proposal. With this, we hope to realise a hybrid working policy from which both the employees and the organisation will benefit.
Development operations NWO-I: consequences for operational management not yet clear
As we reported in the last edition of Inside NWO-I, Rijnconsult was appointed to manage a part of the advisory trajectory concerning the development of operations at NWO-I. The consultants advise the steering group. Together, they have come up with ten proposals for improvement in eight different areas. GOR NWO-I has now received nine of the ten proposals for improvement and will study these. In the next consultative meeting, we will discuss all of these prior to the consideration of the proposals by the NWO-I Foundation Board. GOR NWO-I will acquire a formal role as well once it is clear which intended decisions will emerge from the proposals.
News from COR NWO
Update PCNI: COR as observer at conference with scientific field
The Permanent Committee Netherlands Institutes (PCNI) was appointed in June 2020 by the boards of KNAW and NWO and advises both boards about broad scientific and societal developments. National research institutes can respond to this in determining their portfolio. The PCNI organises a strategic conference once every two years to determine which recommendations it will make. The first conference was held on 11 November and was preceded by six consultations with the field. As the recommendations from PCNI can also have an influence on the entire NWO organisation, COR NWO believes it is important to be well informed about these. In addition to COR members who attend the consultations and conference as an observer, we are also kept up-to-date by the Executive Board representative during the consultative meetings. The first advisory report from the PCNI will be published at the start of 2022 and we are probably just as curious about the content as the boards of NWO and KNAW!
NWO strategy 2023-2026: COR NWO contributes to the future of NWO
The current NWO strategy runs until the end of next year and, meanwhile, COR NWO is already involved in the process of realising the NWO strategy 2023-2026. A steering group is leading the strategy-shaping process with support from a project team. The NWO institutes are well represented in the steering group. In addition, COR NWO has asked the Executive Board representative to ensure representation from the institutes in the project team too. The next step is to obtain input from NWO employees. The Executive Board representative is keeping COR NWO fully informed about the strategy-shaping process. Click here for more information.