Michel Cosnard establishes the Hcéres Board, with Thierry Mandon in attendance.

In his address, Thierry Mandon recalled the importance of the role of Hcéres and his high regard for high-quality, independent evaluation, evidence of the credibility and continuous improvement of the French higher education and research system.  Strengthened by the Observatory of Science and Technologies, he said Hcéres has all the tools it needs to contribute to fostering public debate around subjects related to higher education and research.

To start the day, Michel Cosnard, President of Hcéres, presented the institution to the members of the Board and restated the goals on which their work will focus over the coming months:

• review the evaluation system in the context of the changes introduced by the French Act of 22 July 2013 and simplify it in line with what has already been undertaken;
• engage in dialogue with the institutions which Hcéres serves, and build renewed partnerships, while continuing to demand and ensure evaluation of the highest ethical and professional standards.

Major projects for the Hcéres Board in 2016 include:

• the Hcéres 2016-2020 strategic plan. Michel Cosnard introduced the key points of the plan during this first meeting and it should be adopted before the summer;
• revision of the evaluation charter, the founding document for Hcéres evaluation;
• development of the system for approving evaluation procedures when evaluation is carried by a body outside Hcéres.

Finally, 2016 will be an important year for the international recognition of Hcéres, as it will be evaluated by a committee of international experts in order to be included in the European Quality Assurance Register for higher education agencies (EQAR).