1.1 Mission
A. Background & Definitions
According to the EQIPD Quality System's Implementation Strategy, the first thing that the Process owner does is to prepare an answer to the questions why she / he has decided to implement a Quality System. It is expected that this question will be asked not only by the members of her / his research unit but also by other colleagues and collaborators. Thus, Process Owner should be prepared to have a convincing answer that justifies the efforts and time that will be invested in the implementation and maintenance of the Quality System.
In EQIPD terms, mission statement is a concise summary of why quality matters for the research unit. Please visit the EQIPD Framework page for information on how EQIPD defines quality and examples of how different types of scientists answer the question "why quality matters".
EQIPD emphasizes not the length of the mission statement but its ability to be understood and followed by all members of the research unit.
This Toolbox item refers to one of the Core Requirements (Core Requirement 3 - "The research unit must have defined quality objectives").
B. Guidance & Expectations
The mission statement may have the following sections: General statement about research data quality List what quality means in your environment or context. Prioritize where quality does matter the most. Define the goal of your research unit or parent organization with regard to research quality. What is at stake when research quality is not maintained Analyze the consequences of non-compliance or inferior quality for your research unit and/or parent organization. Describe the biggest risks for non-compliance or inferior quality in your environment. List specific measures to be taken to address these risks. Quality objectives Describe what exactly shall the Quality System improve in your research unit and/or parent organization. Define the specific, measurable and traceable goals that your research unit and/or parent organization wants to achieve with the EQIPD Quality System. Define indicators for each objective and describe how you will use them. More information can be found here Mission statement supporting information.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET
To make sure that an incentive and award/reward structure is aligned with the quality objectives (please refer to items 1.3.1-1.3.4 for more information). The following questions serve as example of how such alignment can be tested: Do we encourage / support publication of negative results? Do we recognize / reward high-quality results irrespective of the outcome (positive/negative)? Do we encourage people to develop and implement risk-mitigating strategies and procedures? Do we recognize these efforts? Do we encourage people not to rush experiments but to invest time and resources in developing/using robust methods, optimizing experimental set-ups and to conduct experiments properly according to high-quality standards (even if it takes more time than initially allocated)? Do we review internal processes to make sure that there is no pressure to generate positive results? If there is such pressure, do we have processes to mitigate the risks? When evaluating new job applications, do we pay attention to rigor of applicants’ research?
C. Resources
Template to create a Mission Statement based on the above guidance - 1.1 Mission.docx
Experiences from the pilot phase of implementing research assessment reforms for hiring professors at BIH/Charité - MERIT-PROF
Financial incentives to support re-use of open data, preregister and to publish negative (null) results - BIH QUEST examples
Next item: 1.2 Scope
