At the first University Board meeting of the year, largely devoted to the annual report, the annual internal audit report and other reviews of the past year, a first presentation was also made of the University’s forward-looking work with new strategies.
Writing strategic documents for the work of the University is necessary, given the expectations and demands placed on the University from outside, where, for example, the new model for quality-based resource reallocation based on profile areas presupposes that the latter are anchored in the University’s strategy. Traditional strategies, however, include clear goal management where movement is measured in relation to specified goals and measures. This is not an appropriate way to run a university.
Academic freedom gives researchers the right to choose the subjects and methods of their research. This can of course be combined with certain institutional priorities, either centrally or at the faculty/academic area level. The main way to manage this is through careful recruitment in well-chosen areas. In this way, new research lines can be initiated and strong new environments created.
What purpose will the strategy document serve? I believe that it can be a powerful instrument in defining the work of the University, both in creating and developing new knowledge and in educating new generations in the service of society. Our university strategy consolidates and communicates the University’s long-term vision, its core values and its overall priorities. It also establishes the principles that govern how the work is to be managed. Thus, in complete conformity with the nature of the strategies from recent years, it is such an overall document that we in the management team have in mind. Regularly reflecting on these issues, which you are all invited to do – via the head of each department – during the spring, is an excellent way to develop and strengthen Stockholm University.
This article is written by Astrid Söderbergh Widding, President of Stockholm University. It appears in the section ”Words from the University’s senior management team”, where different members take turns to write about topical issues. The section appears in every edition of News for staff which is distributed to the entirety of the University staff.