ANECA Meeting with Union Representatives to Discuss the Call for Six-Year Service Awards and Faculty Evaluations

On April 9, ANECA’s leadership met at its headquarters with representatives from the CCOO, CSIF, and UGT unions. The main objective of this meeting was to discuss, with the utmost cooperation and transparency, all aspects related to faculty evaluation that are of mutual interest.

Call for 2025 Six-Year Research Grants

One of the topics that generated the most interest was the status of the call for 2025 six-year research grants. In this regard, the Agency reported that the process has been proceeding smoothly since its inception, thanks, on the one hand, to improvements made to the online portal that have made the application process more user-friendly (an improvement already initiated in the previous call) and, on the other hand, to the attention given to addressing questions through the Frequently Asked Questions document and the ANECA Responde help portal set up for this purpose.

Among the most well-received changes in this edition, the separation of application deadlines between civil servants and contract staff was highlighted positively, as was the requirement for prior authorization from universities for the evaluation of contract staff.

Likewise, attention was drawn to the increase in applications submitted by women, which now account for 45% of the total—a figure that confirms the positive impact of the change in criteria effective  as of the 2023 call for proposals, as well as the measures aimed at ensuring effective equality, work-life balance, and inclusion in research activities (Resolution of the Director of ANECA dated February 28, 2024).

Another significant and entirely new measure highlighted during the meeting was the decision to move up the review of applications for the recognition of six-year service periods granted as contract staff in past calls to those who were already civil servants to December 31, 2025. This decision will allow for the notification of these validations next May, along with the resolution of six-year service period applications from the regular call for civil servants.

Regarding timelines, the Agency confirmed to the unions that the evaluation of six-year service periods for contract staff is already being conducted by the committees of the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity (CNEAI) so that the results can be communicated to the universities one month after the publication of the decisions regarding civil servants.

Regarding future calls for six-year research evaluations, ANECA’s leadership placed special emphasis on the fact that all civil servants at universities and research centers will be evaluated by the CNEAI, as will contract staff at institutions within the so-called “ANECA Territory”: universities under state jurisdiction and universities located in Autonomous Communities without their own quality assurance agency.

In this context, ANECA noted that six-year research evaluations of contract staff conducted by regional quality agencies, such as AQU or Unibasq, will already be recognized by the Agency in this 2025 call for applications, within the framework of the agreements currently being developed to comply with the provisions of Organic Law 2/2023 of March 22 on the University System (LOSU).

Finally, in response to questions raised by some labor unions regarding the evaluation of research activity, ANECA reaffirmed that substitute contributions are optional, not mandatory, and that, if submitted, they are taken into consideration by the evaluation committees when necessary.

Accreditation of Permanent Contract Faculty (PPL)

Regarding the accreditation of tenured faculty, the Agency has recently published an informational note on the Draft Royal Decree regulating the procedure for the accreditation of tenured faculty by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation, which is currently in the public consultation phase.

Accreditation of Tenured Faculty

The new procedure and accreditation criteria have already reduced the average processing time for submitted applications to less than 6 months in virtually all accreditation committees, with very reasonable success rates regarding the accreditation of tenured university faculty.

Specific issues that may require clarification or improvement are being reviewed by ANECA’s leadership, in constant communication with the accreditation committees.