Editorial by Valérie Verdier, Chairman and CEO
Together, mobilised and united, we are pursuing our activities and the missions of our institute. The representatives and correspondents appointed this year have now returned to their new posts. Similarly, since September, the resumption of assignments, long-term missions and short missions wherever possible is a particularly important signal for our partners in the South. Our presence and commitment alongside them are particularly important in co-constructing common research questions, which find their source first and foremost in confronting real problems and interacting with the societies with which we work.
I would like to pay tribute to the heads of the scientific departments, whose new appointments were approved by the IRD's Scientific Council last week. With the appointment of a Scientific Adviser for Overseas France, the scientific department heads are an asset and a strength in working with you to conduct high-level research that is firmly rooted in the South and in sustainability science, research that is commensurate with the challenges we have to meet, and commensurate with the trust placed in us by our supervisory bodies and our partners. Olivier Dangles, appointed on 1 September as Deputy D2S in charge of sustainability science, will present the first elements of the roadmap he has been given at the IRD's Board of Directors meeting on 16 October. These were discussed with the IRD's Scientific Council at its meeting from 22 to 25 September.
Sharing our questions, our progress and our results is a major challenge for the IRD today. The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated this, if proof were needed. Mobilising scientific partnerships, taking an interdisciplinary approach, integrating scientific culture upstream: the work on the usefulness of insects in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals has been the subject of publications, and has given rise to an IRD exhibition that has already met with great success, and is a fine illustration of this.
We have considerable strengths in promoting this ambitious model. As a recent example, two of our researchers have been awarded Starting Grants 2020 from the ERC, which funds pioneering research: Cédric Chesnais, a doctor and epidemiologist in the TransVIHMI unit, who is working on loasis, a parasitic disease that is widespread in the forest regions of Central Africa, and Quentin Bletery, a geophysicist in the GÉOAZUR joint research unit, whose project aims to use artificial intelligence in seismology.
The health situation in France is evolving, the crisis is not over and we need to redouble our vigilance. I have decided to continue with the work organisation system we introduced on 1 September, which allows you to work remotely for up to three days a week, with the authorisation of your manager and if this is compatible with your activity. Each site, each unit, in conjunction with the regional delegates, can adapt its working conditions in consultation with our local partners.
In order to keep track of days worked on site, a new function was introduced in the test phase on 1 October on the information system portal, with the aim of replacing the sending of Excel spreadsheets and facilitating the HR processing of each of your situations. Many of you have made a number of observations. I share some of the observations made about the tool, and have therefore asked the Human Resources department to suspend the functionality during this exceptional period of teleworking. This initial feedback will enable the departments concerned to improve the tool for its future use in so-called 'normal' teleworking. This means that everyone's working positions will continue to be monitored by means of an Excel file, which may mean a longer processing time for certain administrative operations (issue of personal luncheon vouchers for the sites concerned, for example).
Above all, I'm counting on you to continue to work together to tackle the health crisis we're facing. Everyone's health depends on us. That's why it's so important for us to remain mobilised and attentive, both in terms of managing the health crisis and in terms of respecting our values, achieving our objectives and everything that gives meaning to our actions.
Take good care of yourself and your loved ones,
Valérie Verdier