EFQM 400+ European Seal of Excellence to the Learning and Research Resources Centre of the University of Barcelona
The Learning and Research Resources Centre (CRAI) of the University of Barcelona has been awarded the EFQM 400+ European Seal of Excellence by the Management Excellence Club (Club Excelencia en Gestión), the Spanish official representative for the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). This recognition has been given to CRAI after having successfully passed an external evaluation by the certification entity SGS, following the criteria of EFQM Excellence model, the most important in Europe. It is the second highest level on seals these agencies grant. The CRAI of the UB understands this action as acknowledged due to its excellence and the efforts that have been made, and positions itself as the management reference at a national and European level.
The Learning and Research Resources Centre (CRAI) of the University of Barcelona has been awarded the EFQM 400+ European Seal of Excellence by the Management Excellence Club (Club Excelencia en Gestión), the Spanish official representative for the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). This recognition has been given to CRAI after having successfully passed an external evaluation by the certification entity SGS, following the criteria of EFQM Excellence model, the most important in Europe. It is the second highest level on seals these agencies grant. The CRAI of the UB understands this action as acknowledged due to its excellence and the efforts that have been made, and positions itself as the management reference at a national and European level.
The award ceremony was held today April 5, in the boardroom of the University of Barcelona, in the Rector's Office. A ceremony held by the Rector Dídac Ramírez, with the participation of the Vice-Rector of Academic Policy, Students and Quality, Gaspar Roselló; the Information and Documentation Systems Commissioner, Carina Rey; Director of CRAI, Adelaida Ferrer; the General Secretary of CEG, Ignacio Babé, and the Commercial Responsible of Catalonia SGS, Jordi Periz.
Receiving this seal is the result of a five yearsʼ work during which an intense revision process has been taken in the management model implemented in CRAI. This work has been materialized in the development and deployment of amounts of actions of improvement, which have been brought together since the 2011-16 Strategy Plan. In January 2016, together with the continuous advice from the Agency for Policy and Quality of the University, the management system evaluation was started with the European Excellence model (EFQM), a process which has ended up obtaining the mentioned award.
During the ceremony, Ignacio Babé, General Secretary of CEG, awarded the excellence seal, and told the attendants that the “evolution of CRAI, since 2000, on its way to excellence with the 400+ Seal, means entering the selective group of university libraries that are managed with the criteria of excellence”.
The Rector of the University of Barcelona, Dídac Ramírez, has confirmed that “this public recognition proves things are nicely done: an excellent management coming from the effort and involvement from all the people in CRAI”. The rector highlighted that the honor gives value to “one of the most important services this university has, in CRAI, which guarantees access to information with the best resources, both in quantity and quality, to a wide and satisfied community of users, according to what the surveys say”. Additionally, Ramírez pointed out that the concession of this label “helps to a structured management frame, an internal culture establishment and stimulates the continuous improvement, and it creates added value to the advances of the processes”.
The Commissioner of Information and Documentation Systems, Carina Rey, told that "quality is not a target, but a way to give a better answer to the users and, as Peter Brophy said, “the closest adjustment to the needs of the users, which allow the current resources”. CRAIʼs director, Adelaida Ferrer, highlighted that “this seal is the external recognition for CRAIʼs work in terms of quality and excellence given to our users”.
In 2004, with the need to fit the university libraries into the new European Higher Education Area (EEES) and the European Research Area (EER), the Library of the University of Barcelona made way for the Learning and Research Resources Centre (CRAI). CRAIʼs aim is to give support to teaching, learning, research and peopleʼs personal growth, easing and spreading the access to information resources, as well as collaborating in the knowledge creating processes with the aim to contribute to the achievement of the academic and scientific objectives in the University of Barcelona. With this aim, CRAI puts seventeen libraries and seven cross-sectional units at the disposal of all members of the university community and society in general. In a constantly changing world, it works with the capacity of adaptation, cooperation and development, and with a vocation for excellence and innovation to offer the best service. CRAI has one of the most important equity funds in Spain, specialized in the education given in this University, such as the Centre of Research on Plant Biodiversity. It is member of Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC), Cataloniaʼs university services consortium, and the Red de Bibliotecas Universitarias (REBIUN), Spanish library network.