On 4 February, the university director decided on a new organisation and mission for the communication activities of the Central Administration. The communication operations of faculties, departments and centres are not affected by the organisational change.
Responsibility for communication issues is currently distributed across several divisions of the Central Administration. In the new organisation, the communication resources of the Central Administration will be largely co-located in Corporate Communication, which will also have a new and broader remit.
“The development work is being carried out because it is currently difficult to take an overall approach to communication matters and offer a coordinated communication service to the organisation. The diffuse responsibility for communication makes it more difficult to communicate the activities of Lund University as a whole,” says Susanne Kristensson, university director.
In the new organisation, responsibility for research communication and communication and marketing of programmes at university-wide level will be transferred to Corporate Communication.
Better support for core activities
“The current organisational structure contributes to things being seen from a sender’s perspective and focus on individual channels. We need to put recipients and users front and centre in order to better support the University’s core activities in education, research and research utilisation. Their needs should be what guides our communication,” says Susanne Kristensson.
“The faculties currently need to coordinate their communication activities with several different divisions. In the new organisation, this will be done through one division, Corporate Communication,” says Johanna Sandahl, director of communications and head of Corporate Communication.
“Due to the University’s financial situation and demands for cost-savings within the Central Administration, there is an expectation that Corporate Communication in its new form will meet new requirements and increased ambitions in certain areas using its existing budget. New requirements will be addressed without increasing the cost to the university. This leads to a reprioritisation of the division’s current activities.”
The proposal to discontinue LUM has provoked reactions from staff expressing their appreciation for LUM, and a petition carrying almost 900 names has been submitted in support of LUM.
“The long-term goal is to achieve more efficient and effective communication activities for the whole University. Such work requires a comprehensive approach. This always involves prioritisation, and sometimes difficult trade-offs need to be made. It is not an easy decision," says Pro Vice-Chancellor Jimmie Kristensson, explaining the University Management's priorities.
“Today, our internal communication is confusing, with a plethora of channels that make it difficult for employees to find their way around, and getting information to the right people is complicated, which became clear not least during the pandemic. In internal communication, the focus in the future will be on building a solid and functional base for internal communication,” says Jimmie Kristensson.
“There are also other needs within communication that need to be addressed. For example, the University has an overall goal for the coming years of increasing its international impact. To do this, our communication activities need to increase their international presence, capacity and intelligence capabilities,” says Jimmie Kristensson.
“Rapid technical development and digitalisation are driving the need for change and adaptation, as are changing demands and expectations both from the wider world and within our own organisation. We want to be better able to meet this need in the new organisation,” says Johanna Sandahl.