Who decides what at AU?
Who has the decision-making authority to make what decisions at AU? And who can delegate what powers to whom? A new set of guidelines for AU managers clarifies these questions. The objective of the guidelines is to create transparency and consistency – to the benefit of both managers and employees.
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AU har fået et nyt sæt retningslinjer, som beskriver beslutningskompetencen på forskellige ledelsesniveauer på universitetet inden for områder som bl.a. økonomi, ansættelser, personaleledelse og samarbejdsaftaler. Retningslinjerne beskriver også, hvilke beføjelser man må overdrage fra ét ledelsesniveau til et andet og i særlige tilfælde til en betroet medarbejder. Denne såkaldte delegering har indtil for nyligt ikke været tydeligt beskrevet på Aarhus Universitet.
Delegeringsbestemmelserne, som er den officielle betegnelse for retningslinjerne, er godkendt i universitetsledelsen og gælder for både de faglige miljøer og administrationen. De er blevet til i en grundig og inddragende proces, hvor medarbejdere og ledere på forskellige niveauer har bidraget. Samtidig har retningslinjerne været i bred høring hos fakulteter, administration samt Erhverv og Innovation.
The delegation provisions:
- have been drafted within the framework of the University Act and AU’s by-laws; the delegation provisions are governed by the by-laws.
- describe the delegation levels for managers and the decision-making and signing authority of managers on each level.
- contains elements of choice and flexibility, and consists of both discretionary (can) and mandatory (must) provisions. The discretionary provisions allow for a degree of discretion or flexibility for the units in deciding whether to delegate from one level to the next.
Read about the different levels of delegation at AU and how the delegation provisions relate to each level on the delegation website.
AU now has a set of guidelines that specify precisely what kinds of decision-making powers university managers at different levels have in a number of areas, including financial decisions, hiring, people management and collaboration agreements. The guidelines also clarify what powers can be delegated from one level of management to another, and in special cases to selected authorised employees. Prior to the drafting of the guidelines, there was a lack of clarity about when and how authority can be delegated at Aarhus University.
The guidelines – or the delegation provisions, as they’re officially termed – have been approved by the senior management team and apply to both academic and technical/administrative managers. They are the result of a thorough, inclusive process to which employees and managers at different levels have contributed. The guidelines have also been subjected to a comprehensive internal consultation involving the faculties, the administration and Enterprise and Innovation.
An important leadership tool
Unni From, head of the School of Communication and Culture, is the chair of the steering committee that has overseen the drafting of the delegation provisions. She views the provisions as an important leadership tool to help managers navigate an often complex organisation:
" The new regulations are designed to help individual managers understand the precise nature of their own decision-making authority - and to enable decision-making to take place as close as possible to the university’s academic and administrative units within a clear framework and with a clear mandate. We also hope that the delegation provisions can give both managers and employees a clear understanding of where leadership decision-making authority lies and where decisions are made,” she said. She adds that the inclusivity of the process has been an asset, and that the next task is to implement the delegation provisions in the different levels of management and units at the university.
An opportunity to discuss what leadership means to us
University Director Kristian Thorn is pleased that the university now has a stronger foundation for the allocation of leadership responsibility:
"When the decision-making framework becomes transparent, it becomes easier for everyone to navigate a large organisation and for leaders to see where they can meaningfully delegate some management responsibilities. This in turn fosters more accessible management," he says, and encourages faculties, departments/schools and the administration to take the implementation of the provisions as an opportunity to discuss the organisation of management responsibilities.
At the same time, he acknowledges the hard work that has gone into the development and drafting of the provisions and highlights the high level of involvement:
"The delegation provisions that have now been adopted are the result of an extraordinary amount of work, and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to getting us to this point - and the inclusive process in particular deserves recognition.”
Plans for local implementation to be finalised by 1 February 2025
The faculty and administration leadership teams have until 1 February 2025 to finalise their plans for the implementation of the delegation provisions.
The delegation provisions are expected to be implemented throughout the university by 1 November 2025, when all managers - on the background of local discussions - will receive a delegation letter that specifies their decision-making authority.