The quality management programme aims to define the organisational structure, each individual’s responsibilities, and the procedures and resources required to implement an effective quality policy in line with the organisation’s strategy and to drive user satisfaction. It helps to standardise practices, ensure the traceability of operations, capitalise on the organisation’s knowledge, and increase the understanding of its context and evolution (Open Science, the Nagoya Protocol, the General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR, etc.).
As a public-sector player at the heart of the French research funding ecosystem, the ANR began developing its quality management programme in 2007. Its quality policy is based on 4 priorities:
As part of its quality programme, the ANR is certified ISO 9001, the international standard benchmark, for its project selection processes. Awarded in 2008 by Afnor, this certification covers every stage of the Agency’s project selection and monitoring processes, from receipt of proposals in response to calls launched by the ANR, to the conclusion of the projects funded. Based on efficiency and performance indicators, it ensures the quality of its project selection process under optimum timescales and with respect to accepted international principles: impartiality, equal treatment, confidentiality, ethics, scientific integrity and transparency.
In order to guarantee the reliability of its procedures and strengthen its risk management, ANR works to identify, analyse and prioritise the major risks, their causes and their potential impact on all its activities. It defines associated action plans that bring the quality and internal control programmes together to identify corrective actions and reinforce their effectiveness.
The ANR quality management programme is part of a broader continuous improvement approach to respond to the needs and expectations of all the stakeholders (research institutions, funding bodies etc.) with which it interacts. In this context, the Agency has launched several measures to simplify its procedures and documents, including its Work Programme and its financial regulations, to improve their legibility and relieve the administrative burden on scientific teams. It also draws on regular exchanges with scientific stakeholders and research institutions, such as the discussions during the ANR Tour, to better identify their needs and adapt its processes.
