Conducting research at a Swedish university

På svenska

Lund University is a public authority and is therefore governed by laws and ordinances decided by the Swedish parliament and Government. Each year, public authorities also receive a public service agreement from the Government regarding how much money the public authority will receive and how it is to be spent. In addition, Lund University has internal rules and regulations. As a public sector employee, you have both rights and obligations.

Short-cuts to content on this page:

Public sector core values
Due process in the exercise of public authority
Principle of public access to official documents
The Whistleblowing Act
Lund University’s Rules and Regulations and Swedish law

Public sector core values

The shared core values for the entire public sector are based on six principles: democracy, legality, objectivity, freedom of opinion, respect for individuals’ equal value and freedom, and efficiency and service.

Due process in the exercise of public authority

As a public sector employee, you are to be impartial in decisions and assessments and not favour or disadvantage the interests of yourself or someone else. All decisions are to be based on applicable laws.

You have an obligation to be familiar with and adhere to regulations regarding the following:

Secondary employment: refers to work you are involved in outside your employment. This is to be separate from your work at the University. Secondary employment is not to damage credibility, nor interfere with duties or represent competition. Teaching staff have more extensive possibilities for secondary employment in their subject area, but the work is not to damage confidence in the University and must be reported to the employer.

Purchasing and procurement: is to be carried out to ensure the right quality and total cost, and have advantageous conditions for the long term. Purchasing is to be conducted in accordance with the framework agreements signed with a supplier. All purchases are to be approved by the head of department.

Conflict of interest: may arise when there is a risk that you are biased and take into consideration something other than rules and objective circumstances in a decision-making process. You have an obligation to report if you suspect that you have a conflict of interest and therefore cannot participate in processing or decision-making.

Bribes: entail the taking, giving, demanding or receiving of an undue benefit in the conducting of your duties or assignment and are illegal. An undue benefit is one that could be suspected of influencing the conduct of your duties.

The principle of public access to official documents

The public and the mass media have the right to access public documents, with the exception of confidential information. Freedom of speech and freedom to communicate information also applies to individual researchers.

Freedom of speech and freedom to disclose information: means that a public sector employee has the right to talk about activities to journalists and others, with the exception of confidential information. Freedom to disclose information means that the employer may not investigate who provided the information.

Disclosure of public documents and confidentiality: are matters normally handled by the person who has access to the document in their everyday work. The Legal Division can provide assistance in the assessment of documents, if required.

The Whistleblowing Act

The Whistleblowing Act gives you as an employee the right to report work-related misconduct and receive protection when doing so. This primarily refers to criminal activities and serious misconduct. Circumstances that only relate to an individual’s work situation are not normally covered and are handled in another way.

Lund University’s rules and regulations and Swedish law

Lund University’s rules and regulations: refer to the searchable list of university-wide decisions regarding its regulatory framework.

Search for decisions in Rules and regulations

The Higher Education Act: regulates Swedish higher education. It was passed by the Swedish parliament and contains basic provisions for public sector higher education institutions in Sweden.

Higher Education Act on the Swedish parliament website (in Swedish)

The Higher Education Ordinance: is a supplement to the Higher Education Act. It contains, for example, admission requirements, qualitative targets, qualification requirements for teaching staff, and information on what can be appealed.

Higher Education Ordinance on the Swedish parliament website (in Swedish)

The Administrative Procedure Act: sets out certain general and basic administrative law principles such as legality, objectivity and proportionality, and generally applies in all processing of cases.

Administrative Procedure Act on the Swedish parliament website (in Swedish)