An Open and Dynamic Organization

A Model Adapted to the Current Research Conditions in France

As a result of the research program act and the act entitled “Universities’ freedoms and responsibilities”, the general organization of research in France has experienced accelerated changes, most notably through the creation of the ANR, competitiveness clusters, research and higher education clusters (PRES), thematic advanced research networks (RTRA), as well as other tools that are geared toward providing support for universities and bringing them to the best possible global level of training and research.

In the field of information and communication science and technology, INRIA is perfectly equipped to direct a national policy established with a European and international perspective, to create a training program with universities and lead a transfer and spin-off policy.

Indeed, its research model has established strong collaborations with the academic and socio-economic worlds. The INRIA project teams are spread across eight research centers throughout the territory. Each of these centers interacts with the universities and organizations in their region, thus also impacting the local economic fabric. With its strong scientific policy, INRIA is positioned as the crucial link between research financing structures (ANR, European Commission, etc.) and the regional university clusters.

The Institute has committed to establishing local agreements with each of its regional partners in order to specify the support conditions for common INRIA project teams, and to lead, together with these partners, a dynamic scientific policy. Each team will continue to be evaluated by the best international experts in the fields.

Increasing the Institute’s International Attractiveness

Recruiting the best researchers, by offering the best possible job opportunities, will continue on all levels, both for existing employees as well as contractual employees, with widespread international openings. The proportion of foreigners among the scientists recruited will remain at approximately one-third; contest notifications will continue to be distributed internationally, thus affirming INRIA’s presence on the global scientific job market.

As for students, INRIA will continue to develop its intern and PhD hosting programs. It will work alongside universities and large schools to implement bilingual English-French training programs on both the Master’s and Doctorate levels. The scientific cooperation programs – Sabbaticals (long-term periods) and Explorers (short-term periods), will also be reinforced. The Institute will encourage its scientists to be mobile, working more closely with universities and businesses.

The policies for hosting secondment employees, as well as the temporary hosting of young engineers and specialists, will be maintained and developed.

Special attention will be paid to the progression of their careers and improving compensation.

This policy will only be able to be furthered if there are external communication actions designed to improve the image of computer research in the minds of two different aspects of the public. On the one hand, the youth whose disinterest in the sciences has become a real concern; and on the other hand – more generally – the average citizen who is directly affected by the deep transformations that computer science has brought about in society – right to the very core of daily life. The communication will focus on explaining the issues and nature of computer research, which today remains largely ignored by the general public. INRIA will increase its popularization of science by having a greater presence of its researchers in the media, by adapting its website, and by organizing and participating in events dedicated to the ICST. It will also ensure that the decision-makers remain informed concerning the results of its research.

Research, Development and Transfer

Organizing the research into project teams with well-identified objectives, solid reactivity, presence on the technological knowledge production, development and transfer fronts, and regular evaluations are all aspects that meet societal expectations and ICST research needs. The Institute will reinforce the coordination between various project teams through scientific animation actions, lateral research or development actions, and national-scale actions. It will encourage young researchers to become autonomous, directing them toward the options of mobility, coaching, leading collaborative research or exploratory actions, in line with the well-established themes. These missions will be led by scientific management under the coordination of the executive innovation research and transfer officer.

Technological Development

Often necessary for the creation of knowledge, it is the essential interface between scientific knowledge and transferring it to businesses. The complexity of the research subjects require large-scale experiments and development platforms.

The Institute will strengthen its experiment and development services (SED), by increasing the number of permanent engineers and temporary “engineer associates”. It will implement technological development activities, led by numerous project teams and development services in conjunction with the partners. It will also expand the software development operations, whose purpose is to strengthen the development and distribution of software resulting from research. For its project teams, it will make available experimental development platforms, thus sharing infrastructure and operating costs. INRIA will continue to strengthen its presence within standard-setting organizations.

To evaluate and increase the relevance and quality of its development activities, the Institute will implement a method whereby technological contributions are evaluated by peers – most specifically in the field of software development – which will then be taken into account in the researchers’ and teams’ evaluations.

Technological Transfer and Innovation

In the society of knowledge, R&D is a key factor to businesses’ competitiveness. Largely constrained by very short industrial development cycles, transfer activities must begin very early in the research and development process.

INRIA will adopt a more proactive and sectorial strategy. It will consist of identifying at the outset, sector by sector and case by case, possible transfer channels and innovation objectives. Internally, this will translate into the identification of a portfolio of innovation actions geared toward elaborating an “INRIA offer” that is legible and coherent, and toward facilitating direct transfer.

The Institute will concentrate a larger portion of its efforts toward a smaller number of strategic partners, with whom it will share its vision and objectives for transfer, and implement programmatic activities, at the very outset. Among the various collaborations, the Institute will favor, most specifically, that with research-industry common laboratories.

Business development will remain a very strong aspect of transferring, with the definition of a process that enables spin-off projects to emerge, adding to the traditional support provided for the business’ incubation period. The Institute will also offer training for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Finally, transfer through free software will be examined within the framework of this proactive strategy, by identifying what the effect would be of the expected amplification of distribution through communities of developers and users.

INRIA will strengthen its position within competitiveness clusters alongside major industrial players, but also with the SMEs, and will also develop its policy to transfer on the international level, most notably through joint academic laboratories. Along the same lines, the Institute will have to turn to new industrial partners in the fields of health, energy, the environment or services.

This type of policy will not come into play without strengthening the protection and valuation of intellectual property. A patent application support system will be implemented to complement the existing system for software applications, and the Institute will also define a clear course of action for free software, within the framework of CECILL licenses.

Training through Research

Over the next few years, INRIA aims at increasing its mission to train young PhD graduates in all of its aspects. The number of PhD graduates hosted in the Centers is equivalent to the number of researchers and researcher-teachers, vigilance with regard to the quality of the theses prepared and quality of training given to PhD graduates, training that will be complemented by internships within businesses, seminars, summer school, etc. In conjunction with its partners, the Institute will pursue the policy of the revalorization and compensation of PhD graduates, and increasing thesis financing, most notably through “INRIA doctoral research contracts through subsidies” (CORDI-S), and within the framework of partnerships with businesses or collectivities. INRIA will implement actions to raise awareness among high school and college students – most specifically among young women, of whom there are far too few in the field of ICST. It will expand its partnership policy with doctoral schools.

Dissemination of Scientific Information and Knowledge

Over the last few years, the Internet has completely revolutionized researchers’ publication practices by granting open and free access to all readers. This movement – enacted in October 2003 with the “Berlin Declaration”, of which INRIA is a signatory – helped to increase the impact of the publications as soon as they are rendered available in an “open archive”. INRIA joined with its partners in forming the HAL open archive – a common platform for uploading scientific production – with the purpose of providing one location for all of its researchers’ publications.

For the average citizen, for the youth, as well as those that assimilate informatics with its uses or that reduce it to a tool, it is urgent that everyone understand the context and key issues of research, and to explain to them the scientific aspect of this field.

INRIA has a scientific culture site – named Interstices – whose content will be enriched and made accessible to high school students. The Institute will also expand its relationships with the National Education by developing student-oriented actions with teachers.

For the students, INRIA will participate with higher education establishments in developing “digital, themed universities”. A network with European scientific culture sites will be established, enabling content and images to be exchanged.

Evaluation of Research and Transfer

The quality and thoroughness of the process whereby project teams and researchers are evaluated, are two aspects at the very core of the Institute’s scientific being.

Each project team is evaluated every four years through a thematic seminar, and by a commission composed of a dozen or so academic, industrial, French and foreign evaluators. This commission assesses scientific contributions, technological developments (software), transfer activities, contributions to teaching and training through research, as well as coaching tasks. The commission then produces an evaluation report containing recommendations for continuing or terminating each project team. This process, which is especially revitalizing and efficient, will be maintained in addition to the one that the AERES has in place for research centers.

INRIA’s European Commitment

One of INRIA’s priorities is its commitment to the European research area. Participation in the framework program is one of the major stakes on this level. The Institute’s researchers have participated in 119 6th FP projects, of which 93 are still active through 2010. On the 7th FP that has just been launched, the success rate for INRIA’s proposals is already very high.

The Institute will continue to strongly encourage its researchers to candidate for openings with the European Research Council (ERC). The cross-border exchanges will be developed and common project teams will be formed with teaching and research establishments in neighboring countries.

By relying mainly on the ERCIM consortium, of which it is one of the founders, INRIA will continue to be heavily involved in exchanges with the scientific community and European technology by increasing the European post-doctoral grant program, by developing its relationships with major European industries, by actively participating in the Euréka ITEA programs dedicated to embedded and distributed software. It will especially work on European technology platforms for which it participated in the management structures.

Cooperation with Asia, North and South America

The Institute’s international strategy outlines its priorities for each geographical area. Strong cooperation will be pursued with the United States and developed in South America (Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina). Exchanges with Asia – most particularly, China, where the LIAMA laboratory is already a significant player, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and India – will be broadened, including increasing the relationships with the youth in these countries. Finally, African countries, such as the Maghreb countries, will remain a favored collaborative area; there will be an increase in training support through research and common research projects.

Administration and Services

The research support and coaching priorities focus on improving the quality and efficiency of services. They are structured around six major aspects: the human resource policy, increasing decentralization, implementing quality processes, rolling out a higher performance information system, effectiveness of shared management structures supporting project teams, and the sharing of a management culture.

Human resources management based on the development of competencies is one of the Institute’s key points to success, within a context of intense worldwide competition to attract the best in jobs and skills, most particularly in the scientific trades. Follow-up of professional development will be improved and strengthened through individual evaluation processes, but also through training and coaching. The professionalization process for the Institute’s managers will continue. The Institute will pay special attention to promoting women in the research trades and to positions of responsibility.

Financial and administrative management will be simplified and made more reliable, within the context of the financial and accounting modernization protocol signed in 2006, and within the perspective of certifying the Institute’s accounts, planned as of 2009. The renewal of numerous internal processes, the formalization of audit and management control systems, the dematerialization of administrative and accounting documents, and better control of budget and costs through the implementation of a computer-based coaching system are among the priorities. An improved professionalization process for the major players will complete this system.

Having a more comprehensive, more efficient and more “urbanized” information system, is the condition for successful operation of a very de-centralized organization like INRIA. The information system diagram anticipates developing a service logic, systematizing a global approach for these services, and generalizing the quality approaches that improve reliability and availability. Among these priorities is rolling out a high-performance HRM tool, developing networks, renewing the scientific and technical information system, and implementing a computer security policy.

The mission of internal communication is to relay and make these changes with the Institute’s collaborators. It will consist of explaining the stakes, giving direction, ensuring cohesion among staff, and developing the sense of belonging around shared values. This mission will be for the entire Institute and throughout all the research centers, which involves increasing coordination on the national and local levels. The existing support and methods will be adapted to better service these objectives.