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Background process at SDU

In December 2019, the Rector of SDU set up the Committee on Co-determination and Involvement. The committee was tasked with making recommendations for how co-determination and involvement can be strengthened within the University’s organisational structure with its single-strand management hierarchy.

The committee was disbanded after submitting its report and a set of initiatives and recommendations in September 2020.

Following a broad consultation in the autumn of 2020 with SDU’s Liaison Committee, Health and Safety Committee, the student organisation ‘De Studerende i Centrum’, the University Council, academic councils, department councils, PhD committees and study boards, the Executive Board decided in March 2021 on who has special responsibility for implementing the initiatives and recommendations: SDU Human Resource Services and SDU Communications are working on initiatives for recommendations 1-4. The responsibility for implementing initiatives under recommendations 5-9 lies with SDU’s management team and the collegiate bodies.

However, the implementation of the initiatives and recommendations in 2021 was marked by the lockdown of the University due to COVID-19.

In March 2021, the Executive Board also decided that the implementation of initiatives under the recommendations will be evaluated mid-term in autumn 2022, with the final evaluation to follow in 2024.

SDU’s nine recommendations on co-determination and involvement:

Greater communication efforts are needed in connection with elections. This applies to three phases:

a) before the election, in order to raise awareness among staff and students of the election

b) during the election campaign period, where the various lists can announce their policies and engage in debate with other lists

c) announcement of the election result and a presentation of the elected candidates.

To ensure that staff and students have access to relevant information about university matters and can engage in open debate, a working group consisting of relevant representatives from management, SDU Communication, staff and students should be set up.
Steps should be taken to ensure that the management group is familiar with the code of practice in relation to the co-determination and involvement of staff and students. There must be regular updates in relation to rules and practices in this area. SDU’s leadership compass must provide the basis for regularly updating managers on co-determination and involvement.
Staff and student members of the Board, University Council, liaison committees, De Studerende i Centrum, study boards etc. will be offered courses in areas that are relevant to their function. Topics covered could include finances, accounting, legal matters, Student Administration, quality assurance systems, university law, statutes, freedom of expression and duty of confidentiality, as well as other relevant topics. The aim is to qualify their efforts and thereby help to ensure relevant co-determination and involvement. The courses should be run by people with special insight into the specific topics.
Effort should be made to discuss important decisions in the relevant forums as early as possible in the decision-making process.
To ensure co-determination and involvement, meetings for relevant bodies should be scheduled so that there is enough time for comments from the bodies to be included in the recommendations for important matters being considered by the Board, Executive Board and other bodies with decision-making authority.
To ensure expedient decision making at all organisational levels, it may be appropriate to state who has made a given decision. Decisions can be made at several levels, including government, specific ministry, Board, Executive Board, Rector, Pro-rector, University Director, Dean, liaison committee, Head of Secretariat, Head of Division, Head of Department, Head of Research Group, etc. For statements of claim, it should be stated where each claim was previously processed and what the subsequent process is.

Feedback should be given to collegiate bodies in relation to previously held hearings or discussions, in order to make any impact of these more visible. This will allow the members of the collegiate bodies to follow how the various cases pan out. This can be achieved in practice by making feedback on hearings a fixed item on the agenda, so that a report is given on the status of cases that have previously been on the agenda at each meeting.

In cases of particular importance, a system could be developed to make it clear which hearings have taken place in the relevant bodies and which comments have come from the various bodies. However, it is recommended that the use of such a system should take into account the significant use of resources associated with it.

A dialogue forum could be set up for the implementation of major changes in the organisation, where this is deemed appropriate. A dialogue forum can ensure transparency in the process and co-ownership of the changes. The work in such a dialogue forum must respect the activities of the liaison committees.

 

 

Last Updated 19.04.2023