Fewer rules – more time for core tasks

SDU aims to abolish or simplify rules and workflows that take time but do not create equivalent value. Rule simplification is about removing unnecessary documentation requirements, avoiding parallel checks and getting rid of formalities that no longer help us solve the core tasks.

The purpose is simple. More time for the core tasks and less time spent on administrative detours.

Why rule simplification is in focus right now

The Government’s work plan for the public sector aims to reprioritise DKK 5.5 billion from administration to welfare by 2030. The university sector will also be affected – DKK 500 million will have to be reprioritised from research administration to research. The money will stay in the sector, but it means we have to take a look at our administrative tasks and services.

University Director Thomas Buchvald Vind points out that the effort is both about government requirements and about what we have introduced ourselves.

- We must continuously assess whether our workflow provides value for society – for research, education and innovation. For universities, it’s important that the work plan leads to rule simplification in the state because government regulations (e.g. reporting requirements) often drive costs in terms of time and resources, he says.

- But it’s not just about simplifying government rules. We also have to look at the rules and procedures that we ourselves have implemented at the University and assess whether they create value. Maybe they did once – but that may no longer be the case, he emphasises.

How SDU works with rule simplification

The work is anchored in the Administrative Leaders’ Team (ALT), a forum in which the faculties’ heads of secretariat, the Central Administration’s heads of division and the University Director meet on an ongoing basis.

This autumn, the heads of secretariat and of division identified SDU rules that could be abolished or simplified. They were compiled into a list of specific rules, which were discussed in the ALT in January. Each rule has been assigned to a responsible area and it has been decided that a number of rules will be abolished during Q1 2026.

The ambition is clear

- We have decided to simplify at least ten rules by the end of Q1 2026. In addition, we have an ambition to abolish 60 rules during 2026, which is the year of the University’s 60th anniversary, explains Thomas Buchvald Vind.

What rule simplification can be in practice

Rule simplification can take many forms. In some cases, it is about approvals. In other cases, it is about documentation and checks that are repeated without leading to higher quality.

The list of rules that can be abolished in Q1 includes requirements for director approval of senior days, the rule that students must be enrolled at SDU and not just at another higher education institution to be employed as a student assistant at SDU, and a relaxation of information requirements for SDU participants in connection with internal catering at SDU.

Other suggestions concern cutting back on documentation and formalities that take time but do not make a difference. This includes requirements to obtain material that does not change a decision, or processes in which the same task is checked several times along the way. The aim is to shorten administrative procedures and cut down on extra administrative work.

More value-based, less rule-based

Part of the effort concerns culture and moving responsibility closer to the task.

- In some areas, it’s also about taking more risks. Simplifying rules involves more than making operational and instrumental changes. It’s also a matter of what culture we would like to have at the University. And what we want is a culture that is more value-based than rule-based – just like the new Staff Policy, says Thomas Buchvald Vind.

This does not mean that all rules must be abolished. Some rules provide a common framework and make it easier to work uniformly across SDU.

- It’s a balance – because some rules make sense and create value. Some rules allow us to work more efficiently with common processes and approaches rather than having many different ways of working, which can also increase costs in terms of time and resources, he says.

The next step

After the first rule simplifications have been carried out in Q1 2026, the list will be expanded with several proposals that will be evaluated in the relevant forums. The ambition is that the simplification of rules will make a noticeable difference in our everyday working lives – and that it will free up time for the tasks that create the most value.