Since 2023, the Faculty of Social Sciences has been working to develop the organisation towards fewer and lager units, with the aim of creating the best possible conditions for its core activities. During this period, the number of departments has decreased from eleven to nine, but the variations in size and conditions between the departments remain considerable.
The challenges that formed the basis of the original strategic decision – including issues relating to collegial leadership, financial vulnerability, and increasing administrative demands – remain relevant. At the same time, the financial situation has become more strained, reinforcing the need for a more sustainable organisational structure.
The organisational project is a long-term initiative that runs in parallel with several other major development processes within the Faculty, such as campus development, the revision of the resource allocation model, and the review of educational provision. Together, these initiatives contribute to creating a more robust organisation that strengthens the conditions for the quality and breadth of the Faculty’s core activities.
“This supplementary decision provides a clearer direction for the next phase of the organisational project. By making the vision more concrete, we create better predictability and reduce uncertainty both for the departments concerned and for the Faculty as a whole,” says Charlotte Simonsson, project manager for the organisational project.
Continued work on mergers
According to the Faculty Board’s decision, the vision is that the Faculty will have no more than seven departments by the turn of the year 2029/30. It is primarily the remaining smaller units that will be included in the continued work, and any potential merger will be handled through its own decision-making process.
The decision also means that:
- Preparations to integrate the Sociology of Law Department into a larger department will begin
- Preparations for a merger between the Department of Human Geography (KEG) and LUCSUS will be intensified