Centre Management and Organisation

The HELIX VINN Excellence Centre has the formal status of a work unit (a centre) within Linköping University, and is led by a Board of Directors and a Centre Director. The management structure of the Centre also includes a Management Team, a Research and Innovation Council, and an International Scientific Board (see Figure 2 below). The tasks and roles of the different parts of this structure will be described below.

Ownership, Leadership and Management Structure

Organisation

The primary task of the organization and management of the Centre is to create conditions that facilitate a successful implementation of the vision, objectives, and strategy described above. Such conditions include effective communication, co-operation, and learning among the parties involved. Broad participation by the members of the partnership in the research and innovation process is necessary. The partnership has been of outmost importance in the HELIX process so far and will continue to be so in the future. The partnership has had an “ownership” function in relation to HELIX. This ownership function means actively representing the vision and main tasks of the Centre, acting as a driving force for the development of research and innovation activities, and, not least, as a driving force for an effective dissemination and implementation of research results.

In addition to the tasks of the partnership mentioned above, the “ownership” function gives the partnership an important role in the nomination of members of the Board. For Stage 3 (2010–2013) the Board will comprise 12 regular members and six deputy members, representing the members of the partnership, that is, the companies, the public sector organizations, the labour market organizations, and the university (see section 4 above).

The HELIX Board

The following persons have accepted the position as regular members of the HELIX Board:

Chair of the Board – Jan-Erik Rydén, President, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Inc.
Vice Chair of the Board – Yvonne Stolt, The Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union, District Ombudsman
Sonja Hallsten, Unionen, Regional Director.
Vivianne Hallström, PhD Student, Linköping University.
Maria Kreese, HRM Director, the Municipality of Linköping.
Joakim Kärnborg, Manager, East Sweden Regional Council.
Katarina Nyhammar, HR Manager, Industrial Competence Inc.
Bengt Savén, Lean Manager, SAAB Aeronautics
Per-Olov Strandberg, HRM Director, the Municipality of Norrköping.
Mats Uddin, HR Manager, the County Council of Östergötland.
Peter Värbrand, Linköping University.
Joel Zenkert, Ombudsman, IF Metall Östergötland.

The tasks of the Board will have an emphasis on the strategic management and development of the Centre, which includes decisions concerning annual and long-term planning, the budget, and an annual report. However, the tasks also include deciding on priorities among different research areas, to decide on the initiation of new programmes/projects, allocation of resources, follow-up and evaluation of the quality, results, and effects of the research and innovation programmes and projects. In accordance with this, an important role for the Board is also to ask critical questions about the research and innovation activities, that is, to act as “critical friends” of the Centre. There has so far been little distinction between regular and deputy members. All members have been invited to the meetings and several of the deputy members have also participated in the meetings quite frequently, although the deputy members have of course not participated in making formal decisions. The Board members have shown a high degree of engagement in their work, and membership on the HELIX Board has been highly valued.

The Centre Director reports to the Board and has the main responsibility for successful implementation of its decisions, including budget decisions. The latter responsibility includes important tasks in relation to the management and follow-up of projects and other research and innovation activities. However, the Director also has the important task to represent and be a carrier of the guiding spirit behind the vision and idea of the HELIX Centre – to communicate this vision and to be a driving force for the development of the Centre. Among other things, this means to develop forms for strategic management and development, and to create arenas for participation and dialogue within the Centre, between the Centre and other units with the university as well as between the Centre and the different partners from companies and organizations. In this connection, it should be noted that the Director’s position does not include responsibilities for personnel (further information is given below concerning the formal organization of the Centre in relation to other units within the university).

HELIX Management Team

The HELIX Management Team, comprising the Centre Director (Per-Erik Ellström), the two Co-Directors (Mattias Elg and Malin Tillmar), the Director of HELIX Graduate School (Henrik Kock), and the Centre Coordinator (Johanna Engström), assists the Director in the implementation of decisions made by the Board, and in preparing and following up on meetings in the Board, in the Research and Innovation Council, partnership meetings, etc. Important tasks also include to plan and co-ordinate conferences, seminars, and other HELIX activities.

HELIX Research and Innovation Council

The Research and Innovation Council, led by the Centre Director, is an arena for development and testing of ideas for new projects and other research and innovation activities. The Council, comprising the Management Team and the senior researchers (professors, which are also the research leaders for the sub-programmes within HELIX), meets on a regular basis once or twice a month.

The following eleven senior researchers are presently members of the HELIX research group (listed in alphabetic order):

Göran Brulin, Adjunct Professor in Work Organization, Local and Regional Innovations, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Department of Management and Engineering (IEI), qualified analyst at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth;
Kerstin Ekberg, Professor, Work and Rehabilitation, National Centre for Work and Rehabilitation (RAR), Department of Medicine and Health (IMH);
Jörgen Eklund, Professor, Division of Ergonomics, KTH School of Technology and Health;
Mattias Elg, Co-Director of the Centre, Associate professor, Quality Technology and Management, Department of Management and Engineering (IEI);
Per-Erik Ellström, Centre Director, Professor, Education/Adult Education, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL);
Leif Jonsson, Associate professor, Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture (ISAK), formerly employed by the National Institute for Working Life (NIWL);
Magnus Klofsten, Professor, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Department of Management and Engineering (IEI);
Henrik Kock, Director HELIX Graduate School, Lecturer, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL);
Elisabeth Sundin, Professor, Business Administration, Department of Management and Engineering (IEI);
Lennart Svensson, Professor, Sociology, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL);
Malin Tillmar, Associate professor, Business Administration, Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)

The researchers involved in the HELIX Centre have a history of collaboration in other constellations within Linköping University, for example within the Centre for Studies of Humans, Technology and Organization (CMTO), the National Centre for Work and Rehabilitation (RAR), and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

HELIX Scientific Advisory Boards

More information on the HELIX advisory boards can be found on ots own page in the menu.

HELIX Partnership

More information on the HELIX Partnership can be found on its own page in the menu.

Page responsible: madeleine.peukert@liu.se
Last updated: Tue Sep 11 13:56:48 CEST 2012