New organisation for KTH support services

“Finally! Creating a coordinated support services organisation is something I have been working with since I stepped in as President six years ago and is a logical consequence of and in line with the schools merger in 2018,” says Sigbritt Karlsson, on her decision that support services should be joint and coordinated to the whole of KTH.

There are several reasons behind this merger, which is being led by the University Director:

“We want to make support services more competitive and cost-effective. We are going to do the same thing in the same way via uniform and equivalent processes in all parts of KTH and this will mean greater clarity and a simpler life for students, teachers, researchers, and well, for all of us actually.”

The decision goes hand in hand with the goals set out in the development plan for 2018-2023, the business plan for the year and the development oriented analysis of support services that was started in April last year.

“One KTH will also become a reality on an everyday basis and a way of using our funding in a smarter way, which will give KTH the opportunity to become even stronger within education and research.”

But won't support services become a colossus with feet of clay and more centralised?

“The opposite more like. It will give us greater flexibility and support services that are close to where they are needed.”

Will there be cutbacks?

“No, that is not on the agenda.”

You have less than a year left as President. Why have you made this decision now?

“This merger is something that is set out in the development plan. The plan is that it should be in place when the new president arrives so whoever this is, will not have to take over something that is half finished and we are going to tie up all the loose ends before then.”

How will I notice this as an employee?

“It is by no means certain that everyone will notice that much of a difference, but KTH as a whole will become more transparent and more efficient. Teachers and researchers will probably notice this in the sense that things will feel smoother, more uniform and equivalent. School management and the Heads of Department will have more time to spend on the strategic development of KTH and be able to spend less time on administration. More colleagues in larger contexts and additional career paths are other ways in which it will possibly be noticed. The interdisciplinary way of working within research will also be seen in increased collaborative work in the support services, I hope.”

But if everyone is going to do things in the same way. Is there not a risk of rigidity?

“When fundamental processes look the same, this makes for increased efficiency and creates more scope for flexibility and accommodation where necessary.”

What is the next step?

“This spring, Kerstin Jacobsson, University Director, is leading this work moving forwards and the Heads of Administration at the schools and Heads of Department at GVS are going to map out how we work today and how we should work in the future. I am convinced that this merger work will strengthen KTH in a number of different ways.”

Background

In both the AAE when KTH audited its support services from 2014 and in the RAE of 2020/21, research suggested that support services can and should be made more efficient. When the ten schools became five in 2018, the decision was also taken that support services should be coordinated and made more efficient. In 2021 an evaluation of support services was started and in early 2022, principles for IT development at KTH were resolved on that are, in turn, an important piece of the jigsaw in the development of support services as a whole.

Timeline

On 22 March, the President took the decision (in W3D3  with the registration number V-2022-0218 1.1 ) to call on the University Director to establish one organisation to provide joint and coordinated support services at KTH . After which, the various support areas such as education, buildings, HR, should be analysed and taken stock of. This work should result in a plan for the next steps that the President will resolve on in June. In October-November a new decision will then be taken on how the overall organisation for support services should de facto look like. The new organisation will be in place on 1 January 2023.

Jill Klackenberg