The crisis response organisation at Uppsala university

1. Introduction

Uppsala University has extensive activities, which it pursues both in Sweden and abroad. A crisis generally arises with little or no forewarning. An effective crisis response organisation is an important tool for managing crises and minimising their negative impact on the University’s activities, staff and students.

The purpose of these guidelines is to describe the structure, procedures and functioning of the crisis response organisation. The University’s crisis response organisation needs to have clearly defined structures, leadership and responsibilities, and to be staffed by trained employees who have the necessary preparedness and knowledge to support the University’s activities during a crisis.

2. Crisis management

Crisis management at the University is based on three principles:

The principle of responsibility

This means that the person responsible for a certain activity under normal conditions continues to exercise that responsibility during a crisis.

The principle of parity

This means that as far as possible, an activity will take place in the same location and be organised in the same way during a crisis as under normal conditions.

The principle of proximity

This means that a crisis will preferably and as far as possible be dealt with where it has arisen and by the person or persons who have primary responsibility and are most directly affected.

3. Responsibility of managers

The responsibility of managers for activities, staff and students includes responsibility during a crisis. Managers are also responsible for alerting the crisis response directors in connection with a crisis situation. In certain cases the scale or nature of an incident may prompt a decision to transfer responsibility from the manager normally responsible to the crisis response directors. This decision will be taken in consultation with the part of the University affected.

In proactive crisis management activities, managers are responsible for ensuring that information about current guidelines and routines in connection with a crisis reaches staff and students. It is important that managers ensure that contact lists for employees and their next of kin are available so that employees and/or their next of kin can be contacted quickly if necessary.

4. What is a crisis?

Uppsala University’s crisis response organisation has been designed to support the University’s senior officials and managers in dealing with crises. Crises can vary in nature. They may affect individuals or groups, a part of the University or the University as a whole.

Typically, a crisis is a serious incident that:

• occurs suddenly, unexpectedly and unpredictably;
• is beyond the control of those affected and/or Uppsala University;
• can cause major life changes and/or human suffering;
• is felt to pose a serious threat to an individual, group and/or organisation;
• could undermine confidence in Uppsala University.

Incidents that may trigger a crisis include: accidents, deaths, threats and violence, damage to infrastructure, vandalism/sabotage, fires, serious work environment problems, IT incidents, brand damage or other similarly grave incidents.

Different types of crises:

• Sudden: A sudden incident might be an accident, a death, a fire or damage to infrastructure, etc. The alarm is generally raised directly in connection with the incident and the situation is then by definition a crisis.
• Gradual: A crisis may arise gradually due to a series of interconnected incidents. People in the organisation who are affected probably already have information about the incidents and, following an overall assessment of the course of events, a decision may be taken to convene the crisis response organisation.
• Crisis of confidence: In a crisis of confidence, the University’s credibility is called into question. An incident of this kind could be triggered by fraud, mismanagement of public resources, questionable decisions or cheating.

5. Raising the alarm

In the event of acute danger to life, health and property, the emergency number 112 must be contacted and the University’s crisis response directors informed. This can be done via the University’s emergency telephone number +46 18 471 25 00, via the duty officer or via your line manager. Information about incidents can also be passed on by directly contacting the Chief Security Officer, Human Resources Director, Director of Communications, Head of the Student Affairs and Academic Registry Division, Head of the Legal Affairs Division or IT Director.

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6. Reporting lines

To ensure that the crisis response directors have access to all information from all areas affected by an incident, it is important that the crisis response directors or crisis response organisation, if activated, are informed about what has happened and what measures have been taken in accordance with the principles of proximity, parity and responsibility. The crisis response directors, or the crisis response organisation, if activated, can only begin processing information for subsequent communication to the University management after obtaining all information from the different crisis areas.

7. Crisis response organisation

The crisis response organisation consists of the crisis response directors, crisis response support group and four crisis response teams: communications, HR, student affairs and IT. The crisis response directors lead the long-term strategic response to the crisis. The crisis response teams carry out real-time crisis management measures on the instructions of the crisis response directors. Alternates must be designated for all roles in the crisis response organisation.

The crisis response directors report to the University management (Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and University Director). The Vice-Chancellor reports to the University Board and the University Director reports to the Ministry.

If crisis response teams and crisis support need coordination when dealing with complex incidents, the chief of staff role can be activated.

The duty officer is an information reception point and an operational resource for the crisis response directors. The duty officer function is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The duty officer can be contacted via the University’s emergency number +46 18 471 25 00 or directly on +46 18 471 18 00.

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7.1 Crisis response directors

The role of the crisis response directors is to lead the long-term strategic response to the crisis on behalf of Uppsala University. This task includes keeping the management of Uppsala University informed about the course of events.

The crisis response directors include the following staff (other staff may be co-opted as crisis response directors if considered desirable):

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In the event of a crisis, the crisis response directors are convened. Depending on the nature of the crisis, selected crisis response directors may be called in to resolve the crisis. If necessary, experienced academic leaders can be co-opted as crisis response directors.

In a major crisis, the responsibilities of the crisis response directors include:

• making an initial assessment and calling in the members of staff in the crisis response organisation needed to manage the crisis;
• leading, planning and communicating information about the long-term strategic response to the crisis;
• instructing the crisis response teams to conduct the operational response to the crisis;
• keeping the University management continuously informed;
• deciding when the crisis is over;
• beginning the process of evaluating the crisis and the University’s response.

7.2 Crisis response support group

The task of the crisis response support group is to perform general tasks that need to be handled during a crisis. These tasks are assigned to the most suitable individuals and are generally not a part of normal duties at the University. The crisis response support group includes the following roles:

Collaboration: responsibility for collaboration with other actors, e.g. property owners or public authorities.

Analysis: responsibility for continuous evaluation and independent analysis of the work performed by the crisis response organisation, aimed at verifying that the response to the crisis is moving in the right direction.

Support: responsibility for ensuring that the necessary equipment is available and that the logistics are effective, and for keeping a logbook.

Expert: an expert can be called in to handle issues in a specific area, e.g. chemicals management, premises, etc. In a major crisis, the group may need to be led by a chief of staff.

Chief of staff: leads and allocates the work of the crisis response teams, based on instructions from the crisis response directors. The chief of staff provides the crisis response directors with continuous information about the situation and how it is developing. The role of chief of staff includes ensuring that decisions taken by the crisis response directors are implemented. The role of chief of staff is only activated if necessary.

7.3 Crisis response teams

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When a crisis response team is activated, line management is suspended in the crisis response organisation and the response is led by the crisis response directors. The crisis response teams consist of staff from the Human Resources Division, the Student Affairs and Academic Registry Division, the Communications Division and the IT Division. The composition of a team can vary depending on the nature of the crisis and individual availability.

In the event of a crisis, the tasks of the crisis response team include:

• conducting the real-time response to the crisis on the instructions of the crisis response directors;
• keeping the crisis response directors continuously informed of developments;  establishing a common operating picture of the crisis and reporting it to the crisis response directors;
• supporting the responsible manager in managing crises;
• coordinating internal and external information (contact with media);
• following up actions taken;
• keeping a logbook.

Description of roles

Communications: Coordinates internal and external information measures. Collects information about the crisis and creates a common operating picture of the situation in the communications area.

HR: Takes stock and determines whether we have staff in the crisis/incident area. Provides support to responsible manager in dealing with staff affected by the crisis. Collects information about the crisis and creates a common operating picture of the situation in the HR area.

Student Affairs: Takes stock and determines whether we have students in the crisis/incident area. Establishes contact with students who may be affected. Where relevant, informs heads of department and in certain cases affected students directly. Relevant partners must also be contacted for information about the situation and measures. Collects information about the crisis and creates a common operating picture of the situation in the student affairs area.

IT: Responsible for all crises associated with IT. Collects information about the crisis and creates a common operating picture of the situation in the IT area.

8. Campus Gotland

Campus Gotland is a part of the crisis response organisation that must function locally, while linked to the central crisis response directors. Staff with expertise in HR, IT, communications and student affairs are attached to the crisis response organisation. In addition to these, there are designated staff from the management at Campus Gotland. These are co-opted as crisis response directors if necessary.

Designated staff at Campus Gotland participate in training and practice sessions in Uppsala or by video link, in accordance with an annually determined training and practice plan.

9. Responsibility of the Chief Security Officer

The Chief Security Officer is responsible for:

• ensuring that suitable premises are available for the crisis response directors and the crisis management group to perform their tasks;
• annually planning and conducting training and/or practice sessions for the crisis management group and the crisis response directors;
• follow-up of crises, practice and training sessions;
• annually budgeting for equipment and activities associated with the crisis response organisation;
• revising these guidelines when necessary.