Changing process to strengthen SLU

SLU develops the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural resources

Why is change needed?• The world around us is changing; other universities are increasingly

competing in "our" core scientific fields, for funding and for students. In addition, the number of potential applicants will fall over the next 10 years, which will further increase competition for students.

• SLU has unique and important missions that need to be clarified both within and outside the university. An integrated SLU is needed to meet the major national and global challenges we face.

• Our priorities should always be set on the basis of SLU's collective interest, particularly in times of financial constraint.

• We have internal structure and procedures that can be improved so as to achieve more efficient collaboration within the university.

What do we want to achieve?• Create better conditions for gathering our strengths and setting

priorities – thereby becoming more competitive – in key strategic areas, not least degree programmes

• Create clarity within and outside SLU about what SLU stands for

• More efficient use of resources

• Facilitate and increase intra-university collaboration across organisational and geographical boundaries, by further developing university-wide principles and procedures, among other things

• Develop collegial leadership (in which heads of department and deans are nominated by staff) to make it a more effective decision maker and capable of making well-founded decisions on difficult issues

Four sub-projects• Faculty Structure• Management Structure• Education and Organisation• Harmonisation of Administrative Procedures

Faculty structure: premises• Each faculty should be able to make overall decisions throughout its

field of activities

• Provide more scope for strategic management within the faculty

• Provide scope for greater cost-effectiveness and increased collaboration between applied and basic research

• Improve SLU's ability to compete for students, research funding and increase the scope for collaboration with the surrounding community and the relevant sectors

• SLU should be a single organisation without harmful internal competition

• Develop intellectual closeness between SLU's geographical locations

Faculty structure: premises (Contd.)

• No reassignment of staff between locations

• In principle no change in departmental structure

• Deans at Alnarp, Ultuna, Umeå

• Clearer operational profiles for the faculties

• Collaborative centres, centres of excellence, interdisciplinary research and collaborative platforms, etc. are important and will remain

• Multi-faculty departments will be given resources to stimulate activities within the growth areas shared by the facultieso In general, the entire Management Group considers that the departments/

activities doing work for more than one faculty will constitute key centres in SLU's future development

Management structure

Faculty 1 Faculty 2 Faculty 3 Faculty 4

Veterinary medicine

Animals

ForestAgriculture Landscape

Horticulture

Health Life quality Food Environment Production Water

"SLU develops the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural

resources"

Plant protection and plant breeding in horticulture and agriculture

LTJ S

NL VH

LTJ S

NL VH

Biosystems andTechnology

Landscape Architecture, Planning and ManagementPlant Protection Biology

Plant Breeding

Work Science, Bus. Econ. and Env. Psychology

Forest Genetics and Plant PhysiologyForest Ecology and Management

Biomass Technology and

Chemistry

Field Research Unit

School for Forest Management

Forest Products

South. Swedish Forest Research

Forest Economics

Biomed. Science andVeterinary Public Health

Animal Environmentand Health

Animal Breeding and Genetics

Animal Nutrition andManagement

Anatomy, Physiologyand Biochemistry

Clinical SciencesSpecies Information Centre

Economics

Urban and Rural Development

Plant Biology andForest Genetics

Plant Production Ecology

Microbiology

Energy and Technology

Soil and Environment

Aquatic Resources

Aquatic Sciences and Assessment

MolecularBiology

Agricultural Researchfor North.Sweden

Chemistry

Food Science

BiodiversityCentre

Movium

Forest Resource Management

Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies

Forest Mycologyand Pathology

Ecology

Wildlife, Fish and Environmental

Studies

Soil and Environment

Forest Resource Management

Biosystem och teknologi

Biosystems andTechnology

Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management

Plant Protection Biology

Plant Breeding

Work Science, Bus. Econ. and Env. Psychology

.

Forest Genetics and Plant PhysiologyForest Ecology and Management

Biomass Technology and Chemistry

Field Research Unit

School for Forest Management

Forest Products

South. Swedish Forest Research

Forest Economics

Biomed. Science andVeterinary Public Health

Animal Environmentand Health

Animal Breeding and Genetics

Animal Nutrition andManagement

Anatomy, Physiologyand Biochemistry

Clinical SciencesSpecies Information Centre

Plant Biology andForest Genetics

Plant Production Ecology

Microbiology

Energy and Technology

Aquatic Resources

Aquatic Sciences and Assessment

MolecularBiology

Chemistry

Food Science

BiodiversityCentre

Movium

Forest Mycologyand Pathology

EcologyAgricultural Research

for North.Sweden

Economics

Urban and Rural Development

Responsibility and mandates in the line organisation• Continued collegial leadership• Management team at each managerial level with a

contracto Vice-Chancellor – Universityo Dean – faculty o Head of department – department

• How will the future educational organisation be incorporated in the line management?

Principles for management models• Responsibility for content and finance in first and second-cycle

education will be centralised

• The whole of SLU must benefit

• Decision-making channels from the Ministry for Rural Affairs to department must be clear

• Models based on vision and trust

• Models must increase openness and promote collaboration within SLU

• Frameworks for missions and resource allocation must- be matrices- be transparent- be long-term- favour development- be capable of being systematically followed up

Proposed standpoints• Education is part of the university's core activities, and

should be included in the same line as research for the purposes of planning, decision making, implementation and follow-up.

• Decision-making levels should be few and clear; preparation is organised pragmatically.

• Resources for education are allocated in line with multi-year missions.

• Degree programmes must be the basis for planning; teaching and examination take place within courses.

Board/V-C

Faculty Board

Departmental management

Central Educational

Board

PNPN

PNEducational Board

Decision on missiond and frameworks (black)

Preparation of documentation for cost classification (blue)

Areas of responsibility of Educational Boards, proposals based on the professional qualifications that SLU may award under the Higher Education Ordinance

Agricultural SciencesAgricultural and Rural ManagementMaster'setc.

HorticultureHortcultural Management - DesignMaster'setc.

ForestryForest ManagementMaster's etc.

Landscape ArchitectureLandscape Management, Design and ConstructionMaster'setc.

Veterinary MedicineVeterinary NursingDomestic Animal ScienceEquine Scienceetc.

A single Educational Board

Educational offerings• Revised timetable Sub-project C – proposed decision to be

considered by the Board

• Joint activities:o 26/4 Workshop on joint principles for education programmes; directors

of studies, administrators, student representatives

o 15/5 Education conference on future educational offering; external stakeholders, teaching staff, students

• Web debate forum on education

• Working groups led by assistant deans in various fields: animals, forest, agriculture, as well as landscape architecture and horticulture

Reasons

To facilitate collaboration within the university

To allow multi-faculty departments

To increase transparency of allocation of funding and costs

Harmonisation – nothing new

Process survey – administrative roles: uniform approachesUniform regulations (e.g. third-cycle education, docent admissions, etc.)The "SUHF" (Association of Swedish Higher Education) modelOverall processes for construction and investmentIT – e.g. joint e-mail system

Document and matter managementReview of service organisation (SLU Service, supplies units)

Funding allocation

Uniform principles for allocation of funding from faculty to department, focusing on research and third-cycle education. Allocation of funding for first and second-cycle education falls under Sub-project B.

Aim: Fewer and more general principles for calculating a budget framework for each department – linked to an operational mission.

Heads of department: desire a model supporting a long-term approach and predictability, as well as the ability to manage funding within the department.

The allocation is split into1. Basic allocation 70 – 80% (mainly subject grants)2. Performance 10 – 20% (publishing and external grants)3. Limited-time initiatives, approximately 10%

Overhead costs

BackgroundWide variations in overheads when departments collaborate on projects

AimTo develop uniform rules on what should and should not be included in various overhead costs, to create uniform practice at the universityTo develop procedures for purchase/sale of services within the universityA comparison with other higher education institutions is in progress

Recruitment to senior positions

BackgroundThe process of recruiting professors and senior lecturers – a series of formal decisions involving many parties. Varies somewhat from faculty to faculty.

AimTo agree on a uniform processSimplify the process using a good IT tool supporting the work flow – digitalisation

Analysis:

How can the best use be made of the advantages of multi-faculty departments?

How will multi-faculty departments be managed in practice – consequences?

Questions

Consultation and discussion on proposed faculty structure

w17w16w15w14 w18 w19 w20 w21 w22 w23 w24 w25

2/4-19/4Individual meetings

with heads of department

15/4Org.cttee

22/4Large-scale meeting for all

staffAfter the meeting:

Staff web article on faculty structure and feedback

process

24/4Board

23/4-13/5 Joint consultation and discussion procedure

13/5Feedback on

proposal sent to project team

20/5 LRModify proposal

based on feedback

20/5MG

20/6Board

Unions

27/5Org.cttee

20/6 Faculty

structure decision

Impact analysis

23/4-13/5 Joint consultation and discussion procedureAim: To enable all staff to express their views on the proposed faculty

structure

• The proposal is discussed at the department

• The head of department will be responsible for ensuring that comments are documented and sent to the project team, preferably via the deans

• Feedback must be sent in by 12.00pm Monday, 13 May to louise.winkler@slu.se

Consultation on management structure, education and organisation

24/4Board

20/5MG

20/6Board

27/5Org. cttee

18/6 GUR reporting from

working groups

20/6 Decision

Management structure

15/5Educ. conf.

Future educational offerings, external

stakeholders, teachers, students

MayWorking group meetings Management structure

Implementation: The organisation for educational planning and decisions will be established as of 1 January 2014. Final decisions on educational offerings and resource allocation for 2015 will be made by the organisation

25/9Decisions guidelines

educational offerings,

implementation plan

25/9Board

w20w19w18w17 w21 w22 w23 w24 w25 w39

26/4 Workshop

Principles in education

programmes; directors of

studies, administrators, student reps.

Consultation on harmonisation of administrative procedures

w17w16w15w14 w18 w19 w20 w21 w22 w23 w24 w25

15/4Org. cttee

24/4Board

25/4Reference group

meeting

28/5Reference group

meeting

20/5MG

20/6Board

27/5Org. cttee

Feedback with heads of department:

9/4 VH, 10/4 NL, 18/4 LTJ, 23/4 S

20/6 Decisions funding

allocation models,

calculation of overhead costs, recruitment to

senior positions

Working group meetings: Funding allocation models, Overhead costs, Recruitment to senior

positions

Staff web• Project site for Future SLU• One page per sub-project with participants in different

groups• Meeting calendar• News, articles and contributions to the debate• Q&A• Discussion forum for education• Questionnaire

https://internt.slu.se/framtidens-slu/

Changing process to strengthen SLU