Guidelines for centres at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy
Introduction
What is a research centre? Basically, a research centre or centre is a long-term investment and initiative that cannot be implemented within the framework of the University’s departments, and thus requires a separate organisational form to achieve its purpose. Therefore, a centre is established when this organisational form will provide the best conditions for a certain activity.
Centres at the University are regulated by the Rules of Procedure for Uppsala University (UFV 2017/95) and by Riktlinjer för centrumbildningar vid Uppsala universitet (UFV 2020/716).[1]
The purpose of this document is to regulate in detail work with centres at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, including:
- the process for establishing centres;
- systematising issues related to the accrual of Disciplinary Domain funding and the evaluation of established centres; and
- the process for phasing out centres.
[1] The latter document is available in Swedish only, but a rough translation of its title is Guidelines for centres at Uppsala University.
Definitions
The Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy views centres as an important tool for making strategic investments. At the Disciplinary Domain, there are a number of organisational units that differ greatly from each other but are all called centres. This is because they were established at different times, based on different sets of rules, and with widely diverging purposes.
These Rules apply primarily to centres that are newly established at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy. These Rules apply in full to those centres.
For older centres, these Rules must be applied where appropriate and as far as possible, in particular when it comes to strategic considerations related to re-financing, evaluation, and phasing out.
These Rules do not apply to centres established within other disciplinary domains or external organisations, but where the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy is a partner: those centres must follow the usual practice of the principal. These Rules are not either the primary rules governing those activities that are called centres and resemble centres, such as strategic research areas (SFO), infrastructures, the Centres for Clinical Research (CKF), the Centre for Animal Research (CFVUU), etc., but do not satisfy the conditions for being centres according to the University-level Guidelines. However, these Rules should be applied even in such cases as the starting point for considerations that concern strategic value, financing, and evaluation.
Definition according to the Riktlinjer för centrumbildningar vid Uppsala universitet
Section 2 of Riktlinjer för centrumbildningar vid Uppsala universitet (UFV 2020/716) includes a definition of what is required for a centre to be called a centre. A centre must:
- be a long-term investment that concerns either
- interdisciplinary efforts across multiple established academic disciplines, or
- an investment in a narrow, delimited field of research that requires an aggregation of expertise.
In addition, there must be an Instruction that regulates the centre, as well as an appointed director and centre board.
The name of a centre should normally include the word centre. The management functions of a centre must be called the centre board and the Director and, where applicable, the Deputy Director.
Centres at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy
Centres at the Disciplinary Domain must be regarded as initiatives from the activity and investments of the Disciplinary Domain that have been given a specific, but temporary, organisational form. By their very nature, centres should be limited in time, even if their end date is unknown. They are started up and established, they are operated according to their specified purposes, and finally, they are phased out.
Since centres are to be viewed as strategic investments, as a rule they should also receive some financial support from the Disciplinary Domain during their initial period of operation. Centres must also be regularly and systematically evaluated during their life cycles. This also applies in cases where the centre is an activity that is carried out collaboratively with an external party.
Centres at the Disciplinary Domain should normally:
- be established as centres, without their own staff;
- be placed administratively within a host department; and
- pursue their activities within more than one disciplinary domain, or be related to strategic research investments based on agreements with a third party.
Centres should normally be established for a period of five years.[2] The Disciplinary Domain undertakes to contribute part of the centre’s financing during that period. Centres can then be extended for five years at a time, with or without additional financing from the Disciplinary Domain, following a decision in the Disciplinary Domain Board.
Centres must submit an annual report on their activities to the Disciplinary Domain Board in the first quarter of each year in an appropriate manner. During the fourth year of the five-year period, centres must be evaluated by at least one independent external reviewer.[3]
After the evaluation has been completed, the Disciplinary Domain Board, in consultation with the centre and any external third parties, decides whether the centre should:
- be granted renewed co-financing for a further five-year period;
- continue to operate with solely its own financing; or
- be phased out.
A centre can normally be given finance from the Disciplinary Domain for a maximum of two five-year periods. Normally, the level of the financing should be reduced in the second five-year period. Exceptional reasons[4] are required for additional financing after 10 years.
[1] Exceptions can be made to this rule if there are special reasons, such as agreements with external third parties.
[2] Individuals working in parts of Uppsala University other than the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy can be used as external reviewers, but at least one reviewer should normally be external to the University.
[3] Exceptional reasons could be, for example, that the centre is regarded as still having high strategic value, or that the centre is receiving targeted grants from external funding bodies that are conditional on the Disciplinary Domain co-financing its activities.
Life cycle of a centre
Although individual research centres will have different life spans, they will all go through certain stages in their life cycles: they are established, they pursue their activities, and they are phased out.
During these three stages, they have different needs for help and support from the Disciplinary Domain and the Faculty Office for Medicine and Pharmacy.
Figure 1. Example of the life cycle of a centre. Note that this is meant to illustrate a typical case only. If necessary, the feasibility study stage can be either longer or shorter, and a centre can continue to operate for additional five-year periods as long as the Disciplinary Domain Board sees a need for it.
Feasibility study preceding the establishment of a centre
The establishment of a centre at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy must always be based on a concrete and pressing need at the Disciplinary Domain. These Rules aim to systematise and clarify the process and support that can be anticipated if the establishment of a centre has been prioritised.
Request for feasibility study
Centres should be based on and operated by interested researchers who see a concrete need or opportunity to promote the research they are pursuing through the establishment of a centre. Interested researchers who see a need for establishing a centre, and an opportunity in doing so, may therefore submit a request to carry out a feasibility study for the establishment of a centre.
The request must be thoroughly prepared and sent to the Faculty Office for Medicine and Pharmacy by e-mail to medfarm@medfarm.uu.se. The request must include the following documentation:
- a description of the purpose of the proposed centre;
- a statement of the reasons why a centre needs to be established in order to achieve the stated purpose;
- a proposed name for the centre;
- a description of the relevant research fields to be included;
- a list of people at the Disciplinary Domain who are anticipated to be involved in the centre;
- a list of contacts with other disciplinary domains or external third parties, if relevant, who will be involved in the centre;
- a general description of how the centre will be financed, including a draft budget;
- a list of the individuals and other resources needed to carry out the feasibility study; and
- a letter of support from the head of the intended host department. If there are several potential host departments, the letter of support must be signed by all of the heads of department concerned.
This documentation forms the basis for a possible feasibility study, and if a feasibility study is carried out, this documentation will be developed into the basis for a decision on the establishment of the centre.
Preparation of the request and decision
The request for a feasibility study must be prepared in both the Pharmaceutical and Medical Faculty Committees, regardless of whether at first sight the proposed centre seems to concern only one of these faculties.
The Faculty Committees then assess the request based on the strategic value of the proposed centre to both their own faculty and the Disciplinary Domain as a whole. The Faculty Committees then approve or reject the request.
The Disciplinary Domain Board makes its decision on whether to allocate funding to a feasibility study, based on the overall assessment of the Faculty Committees.
A request to carry out a feasibility study is approved only if:
- the proposed centre is deemed to have great strategic value for the Disciplinary Domain; and
- the resources required to carry out a feasibility study can be prioritised for the study in relation to other needs.
Feasibility study
The feasibility study is carried out in project form. The project has the following organisation:
- The Faculty Office for Medicine and Pharmacy provides a project manager.
- The project manager leads a project group consisting of the stakeholders who submitted the request for a feasibility study.
- The project group regularly reports on progress to a project owner. The project owner is an elected individual from management at the Faculty or Disciplinary Domain level, i.e., Vice-Rector, Deputy Vice-Rector, Dean or Vice-Dean.
The purpose of the feasibility study is to prepare for the establishment of a new centre. The project must therefore produce the following documentation:
- the aim, overall objectives and annual targets for the research centre;
- strategies, including key activities, to achieve these objectives;
- a summary life cycle plan for the centre;
- an external environment analysis demonstrating the need for the centre;
- proposal for the centre’s Instruction;
- proposals for the centre’s director and the centre board, but also for other positions of trust that may need to be filled in the centre;
- a financial plan for a five-year period, and a detailed budget for the first three years;
- signed approval, with a description of the planned administrative support, from the head of the department intended to be administratively responsible for the centre;
- signed letter of intent, including funding commitments where relevant, from stakeholders external to the Disciplinary Domain;
- a process and timetable for the establishment of the centre; and
- an account of any other issues noted and dealt with related to the specific centre.
The feasibility study is to result in a final report.
Decision-making process after submission of the final report
After the feasibility study is completed, the final report is submitted to the Faculty Committees for re-assessment. The Faculty Committees then approve or reject the establishment of the centre based on its strategic value and on the prioritisation of resources.
Based on the feasibility study’s final report and the Faculty Committees’ assessments, the Disciplinary Domain Board decides whether the proposed centre should be established.
Since centres are seen as strategic investments, decisions on them are made as part of the regular operational planning process. So that the Disciplinary Domain’s planning can accommodate preparation for a centre, the feasibility study should be completed and decided on by 28 February at the latest.
The project manager for the feasibility study is responsible for the administration of the decisions required to establish the centre, including the Vice-Chancellor’s decision where applicable.
Start-up and operational stage
Once the centre has been established, the appointed officers become responsible for its operation, including the start-up of its activities. The Disciplinary Domain hands over the responsibility, and does not offer any further administrative support from the Faculty Office for the centre’s activities.[5]
The host department is responsible for providing basic administrative support. However, the centre should recruit a project coordinator or equivalent where necessary.
Figure 2. Illustration of a five-year cycle during the operational stage of a centre. Each five-year cycle begins and ends with decisions in the Disciplinary Domain Board. These decisions may concern its operation with co-financing from the Disciplinary Domain, its operation with full financing from the centre’s own funds, or phasing out.
Responsibilities of the centre
The centre’s activities are part of the University’s activities and are thus covered by the University’s internal governance. The centre board must report annually to the Disciplinary Domain Board on the centre’s activities, economic development and the achievement of its objectives.
The centre board must notify the Faculty Office well in advance of the need:
- to appoint a new director or the by-election of centre board directors (at least three months before the end of the term of office);
- for revision of the centre’s Instruction (at least six months before the expiry of the current Instruction);
- for renewed agreements with external third parties (at least six months before the expiry of the agreement); and
- for any other interventions in accordance with the centre’s Instruction.
Communication concerning the above matters is by e-mail to medfarm@medfarm.uu.se.
Evaluation of centres
Centres should normally be established for five years at a time. During the fourth year of each five-year period, an evaluation of the centre must be carried out.
The director and the centre board are responsible for preparing, financing and administering the evaluation. This means planning the evaluation’s:
- structure
- schedule
The director must submit a request to the Disciplinary Domain Board to appoint an evaluation panel.
The Disciplinary Domain Board is the client and decision-maker. This means that the Disciplinary Domain Board:
- establishes the evaluation assignment; and
- appoints one or more evaluators, who must be independent of, and have no links to, the centre being evaluated. An evaluator should normally be an external third party, but if several evaluators are used, people working within other parts of Uppsala University may also be appointed as evaluators.
The evaluator’s assignment should include the following[6]:
- an evaluation of the development of the centre in relation to the objectives set;
- assessing the degree of interdisciplinarity and collaboration across departmental boundaries in the activities of the centre;
- assessing the importance of the centre’s activities to the University and to the community at large;
- assessing the importance of the centre’s activities internationally; and
- analysing the overall consequences of phasing out, or of continuing to operate the centre.
If continuing to operate the centre is recommended, the evaluator(s) must also:
- assess the overall resource needs; and
- assess the conditions for its staffing.
The Disciplinary Domain Board is the recipient of the evaluation report.
Decision to continue operating, continue financing, or to phase out the centre
After the evaluation has been carried out, no later than 28 February of the fifth year of the current five-year period, the centre board must submit a request to the Disciplinary Domain Board to either continue operating the centre or to phase it out. A request to continue operating the centre may be associated with a request for continued support from the Disciplinary Domain, or concern full financing from the centre’s own resources. The request to continue operating or to phase out the centre is sent by e-mail to medfarm@medfarm.uu.se.
A centre can normally be given finance from the Disciplinary Domain for a maximum of two five-year periods. Normally, the level of the financing should be reduced in the second five-year period. Exceptional reasons[7] are required for additional financing after 10 years.
Request to continue operating the centre
A request to continue operating the centre must include:
- a reflection on the activities of the centre in the past five-year period and the results of the evaluation carried out;
- the purpose, overall objectives and annual targets for the centre;
- strategies, including key activities, to achieve these objectives;
- a summary life cycle plan for the centre;
- a financial plan for a five-year period, and a detailed budget for the first three years;
- signed approval, with a description of the planned administrative support, from the head of the department intended to be administratively responsible for the centre; and
- a signed letter of intent, including funding commitments where relevant, from stakeholders external to the Disciplinary Domain.
After a request to continue operating has been received, the Disciplinary Domain Board is responsible for assessing whether the centre still serves a purpose, and where applicable, whether to prioritise its continued financing.
Request to phase out a centre
A request to phase out a centre must be accompanied by a phase-out plan. The phase-out plan should include:
- a report on the centre’s activities;
- the reasons for phasing it out, including a comprehensive risk and impact assessment;
- an account of the communications and negotiations carried out with unions under Sweden’s Co-Determination in the Workplace Act (minutes to be attached); and
- an account of how the staff, facilities, surpluses and deficits in the centre’s financial resources and other assets, and any agreements with external parties, will be managed, as well as who is responsible for archived material.
- If parts of the centre are to continue in some form, an account of this form, and the responsibilities for it, must also be included.
Phasing out
The body that established the centre decides on whether to phase it out. When deciding to phase out a centre, the Faculty Office appoints a responsible administrator, who handles the phasing out of the centre as an organisational unit.
If an established centre has not been active for a period of more than six months, or has ceased its activities altogether, the director must notify this by e-mail to medfarm@medfarm.uu.se.
The director and the centre board are responsible for phasing out the centre’s activities. The cost of this must be covered by the centre.
The host department is responsible for any relocations or redundancies, as well as for handling any other inventory and research infrastructure.
Moving a centre
Moving a centre involves both phasing it out and a new establishment. Thus, moving a centre is effectively the same as phasing it out and establishing it anew.
When moving a centre within or to the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, these Rules must be applied in full.
[5] However, the Faculty Office processes matters that require a decision in the Disciplinary Domain Board and its working party. These matters include the appointment of a new director and centre board, revising the research centre’s Instruction, etc.
[6] The assignment should normally be developed in dialogue with the centre board, and aspects that the centre board wishes to evaluate should be taken into account.
[7] Exceptional reasons could be, for example, that the centre is regarded as still having high strategic value, or that the centre is receiving targeted grants from external funding bodies that are conditional on the Disciplinary Domain co-financing its activities.