English version below
I begynnelsen av februar arrangerte fakultetet styreoppl?ring for representanter i instituttstyrer, senterstyrer og fakultetsstyret. UiO har lenge arrangert styreoppl?ringskurs, men dette var f?rste gang fakultetet arrangerte en egen felles styreoppl?ring for alle v?re styremedlemmer. Deltakelsen var frivillig, og rundt 30 personer fulgte det digitale m?tet. Temaene var blant annet styrets mandat og ansvar, avklaring av rollen og ansvar som styremedlem, politiske styringssignaler og akademisk frihet. Vi vet at mange nye styremedlemmer synes ?konomisakene kan v?re krevende ? forst?, og leder av fakultetets ?konomiseksjon, Geir Toft, gikk derfor blant annet gjennom ?konomistyringen ved UiO, fakultetet og grunnenhetene, relevant regelverk, fakultetets gjeldende fordelingsmodell, budsjett og langtidsprognose, samt ?konomirapportering.
Fakultetets styrer har definerte oppgaver. Fakultetsstyret har ansvar for ? fastlegge overordnede m?l, prioriteringer og strategier for virksomheten, innenfor rammen av gjeldende lover, forskrifter og regler, samt vedtak fattet av universitetsstyret. Og institutt- og senterstyrene har ansvar ? fastlegge overordnede m?l, prioriteringer og strategier for virksomheten, innenfor rammen av gjeldende lover, forskrifter og regler, samt vedtak fattet av universitets- eller fakultetsstyret. Styrene ut?ver den myndigheten de har gjennom blant annet ? vedta strategier og ?rsplaner, og det er ogs? styrets oppgave ? vedta budsjett, slik at den aktuelle enhetenes ?konomiske midler disponeres p? m?ter som st?tter opp under m?lene. Styrene avgj?r ogs? intern organisering og spiller en viktig rolle i ansettelsessaker.
Styrene v?re har med andre ord ikke veldig mange oppgaver. Men alle de oppgavene styrene har, er sv?rt viktige og av stor strategisk betydning. Styrenes beslutninger griper rett inn i v?r evne til ? n? faglige m?lsettinger. Grunnenhetene ved v?rt fakultet har stor grad av autonomi. Institutt- og senterstyrene har for eksempel stor grad av autonomi n?r de vedtar budsjettene. Fakultetet praktiserer rammestyring og lar det i stor grad v?re opp til grunnenhetenes styrer ? avgj?re hvordan midler best skal disponeres for ? n? faglige m?l. Evne og vilje til ? orientere seg i v?re strategiske omgivelser er derfor en viktig del av styrearbeid p? alle niv?er.
Det samme er bevisstheten om at man som styremedlem alltid har ansvar for helheten i virksomheten. Ogs? dette temaet ble ber?rt p? styreoppl?ringen. Fakultetsstyret har to eksterne representanter. Senterstyrene v?re har ogs? eksterne representanter. Det er ikke noe formelt i veien for at ogs? instituttstyrene kan ha eksterne representanter, men s? langt har ingen av v?re institutter ?pnet for eksterne styrerepresentanter. Det betyr at nesten alle v?re styrerepresentanter er valgt. Ved styrevalg velges representantene fra ulike valgkretser. Dette sikrer at styrene er bredt sammensatt og at vi har ulike stemmer og ulike perspektiver i styrene og i diskusjonene der. Det er bra. Men det at man velges fra en spesiell valgkrets kan ogs? p?virke forst?elsen av rollen som styremedlem p? en m?te som kan svekke styrenes muligheter til ? ta helhetlige hensyn. For riktignok er man valgt fra en bestemt valgkrets, men som styremedlem er man ikke en ?representant? for den valgkretsen man er valgt fra i den forstand at man legitimt kan fremme valgkretsens eventuelle s?rinteresser i styret. Motsatt vil press p? styrerepresentanter fra valgkretsen i retning av ? tale for eksempel de faste vitenskapelig ansattes eller studentenes sak i styret sette styrerepresentanten, som skal ta helhetlige hensyn, i en vanskelig situasjon.
Styremedlemmene v?re gj?r en viktig jobb. De fortjener en takk for den jobben de gj?r. Og de fortjener at vi alle opptrer p? en m?te som gj?r det enkelt for styrene v?re ? ta gode beslutninger til beste for hele virksomheten.
Editorial: Board Training
Our board members do an important job. They deserve a thank you for the work they do. And they deserve that we all act in a way that makes it easy for our boards to make good decisions for the benefit of the entire enterprise, writes the Dean in the editorial for February.
At the beginning of February, the faculty organized board training for representatives of departmental boards, center boards, and the faculty board. The University of Oslo has long conducted board training courses, but this was the first time the faculty organized a joint training session for all our board members. Participation was voluntary, and around 30 people followed the digital meeting. Topics included the board's mandate and responsibilities, clarification of the role and responsibilities as a board member, political governance signals, and academic freedom. We know that many new board members find financial matters challenging to understand, and therefore, the head of the faculty's finance section, Geir Toft, went through, among other things, financial management at UiO, the faculty, and the basic units, relevant regulations, the faculty's current distribution model, budget and long-term forecast, as well as financial reporting.
The faculty's boards have defined tasks. The faculty board is responsible for establishing overarching goals, priorities, and strategies, within the framework of applicable laws, regulations and rules, as well as decisions made by the university board. Department and center boards are responsible for establishing overarching goals, priorities, and strategies, within the framework of applicable laws, regulations and rules, as well as decisions made by the university or faculty board. The boards exercise their authority by, for example, adopting strategies and annual plans, and it is also the boards' task to adopt the budget, so that the financial resources of the relevant units are allocated in ways that support the goals. The boards also decide on internal organization and play a significant role in employment matters.
In other words, our boards do not have very many tasks. But all the tasks they do have are extremely important and of great strategic significance. The board's decisions directly affect our ability to achieve academic objectives. The basic units at our faculty have a high degree of autonomy. For instance, department and center boards have a high degree of autonomy when they adopt their budgets. The faculty practices management by objectives and largely leaves it up to the basic units' boards to decide how funds are best allocated to achieve academic goals. The ability and willingness to navigate our strategic environment is therefore an important part of board work at all levels.
The same is true for the awareness that as a board member, one always has responsibility for the entirety of the operation. This topic was also addressed in the board training. The faculty board has two external representatives. Our center boards also have external representatives. There is nothing formally preventing department boards from having external representatives either, but so far, none of our departments have opened up for external board members. It means that almost all our board members are elected. In board elections, representatives are chosen from different electoral constituencies. This ensures that the boards are broadly composed and that we have various voices and perspectives in the boards and in their discussions. That's good. But the fact that one is elected from a particular constituency can also influence the understanding of the role as a board member in a way that might weaken the boards' capability to consider the whole picture. Indeed, one may be elected from a certain constituency, but as a board member, one is not a "representative" for that constituency in the sense that one can legitimately promote the constituency's potential special interests on the board. Conversely, pressure on board representatives from the constituency to advocate, for example, the case of permanent scientific staff or students in the board, would put the board member, who is supposed to take holistic considerations, in a difficult situation.
Our board members do an important job. They deserve a thank you for the work they do. And they deserve that we all act in a way that makes it easy for our boards to make good decisions for the benefit of the entire enterprise.