Comment on:

The following comment refers to this/these guideline(s)

Guideline 4

Responsibility of the heads of research work units

The head of a research work unit is responsible for the entire unit. Collaboration within the unit is designed such that the group as a whole can perform its tasks, the necessary cooperation and coordination can be achieved, and all members understand their roles, rights and duties. The leadership role includes ensuring adequate individual supervision of early career researchers, integrated in the overall institutional policy, as well as career development for researchers and research support staff. Suitable organisational measures are in place at the level of the individual unit and of the leadership of the institution to prevent the abuse of power and exploitation of dependent relationships.

Explanations:

The size and the organisation of the unit are designed to allow leadership tasks, particularly skills training, research support and supervisory duties, to be performed appropriately. The performance of leadership tasks is associated with a corresponding responsibility. Researchers and research support staff benefit from a balance of support and personal responsibility appropriate to their career level. They are given adequate status with corresponding rights of participation. Through gradually increasing autonomy, they are empowered to shape their career.

Guideline 8

Stakeholders, responsibilities and roles

The roles and responsibilities of the researchers and research support staff participating in a research project must be clear at each stage of the project.

Explanations:

The participants in a research project engage in regular dialogue. They define their roles and responsibilities in a suitable way and adapt them where necessary. Adaptations are likely to be needed if the focus of a participant’s work changes.

Research support staff

Research support staff are non-academic personnel such as laboratory assistants. The term is often used in connection with the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (Wissenschaftzeitvertragsgesetz – WissZVG) as amended in 2015/2016: this stipulates that there is no substantive reason for fixed-term employment in the case of research support staff.

The comment belongs to the following categories:

GL4 (General) , GL8 (General)

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