KI's prioritised focus areas
Broad collaboration and constructive dialogue between the university management and students, staff and managers resulted in nine prioritised focus areas. During 2023–2026, these focus areas brought together the development work that KI prioritised in order to strengthen the conditions for achieving the vision set out in Strategy 2030. Several of these initiatives have now been completed or have become part of day-to-day operations.
The prioritised focus areas support Strategy 2030, including the conditions for achieving the overall objectives and vision. The work will deliver a strong and attractive KI with sustainable structures, increased collaboration, and clarity and transparency.
The work within these focus areas has contributed to, and continues to support, the development of a strong and attractive KI with sustainable structures, increased collaboration, and clarity and transparency. Within each focus area, a number of specific initiatives have been carried out or launched. In several cases, the results have been incorporated into KI’s regular operations and ongoing development work and can be followed on this page.
A. Greater dialogue and transparency
Purpose: The purpose is to strengthen the leadership and employee engagement at Karolinska Institutet through a dialogue-based approach and a trust-based culture.
Goal: The goal is to equip our leaders to ensure a trust-based governance across the entire KI, with managers and leadership teams having clear roles and responsibilities. The ability to apply a dialogue-based approach that strengthens both leadership and employee engagement, along with a strengthened organisational culture and a stronger sense of unity throughout KI.
Planning and implementation of the various initiatives will be carried out progressively to ensure a long-term and sustainable change process.
Process and timetable:
Focus area A1 is divided into four work packages:
- Development of the employee appraisal process to better reflect the dialogue-based approach, starting in 2025.
- Development of the onboarding process to integrate the dialogue-based approach from the start. A pilot has been completed, and implementation will occur in spring 2025.
- Strengthening the university’s leaders through targeted leadership development efforts. A review of existing initiatives and revisions will take place in 2025.
- Strengthening KI's leadership teams through leadership team development. Work is underway in several leadership teams and will continue throughout 2025.
Responsible: Johanna Bäckström, HR Director
Contact person: Ulrika Ekblad
Representatives from core operations: Anders Gustafsson
Responsible: Peter Andréasson, Communications Director
Contact person: Anna Broberg
Representative from KI's core operations: Anders Gustafsson
About the assignment: The assignment focuses on improving internal communication at KI by increasing the clarity, coordination and prioritization of the communication work.
The work is divided into three main phases:
- Phase 1 involves ongoing work to improve management's strategic internal communication, including clarifying communication channels and strengthening employee and manager communication.
- Phase 2 aims to further deepen the work by improving the coordination and efficiency of internal communication channels and strengthening collaboration within the organization.
- Phase 3 focuses on the long-term management and development of strategic communication, with the aim of maintaining and continuously improving a communicative culture within KI.
B. Clearer responsibilities and roles within the organisation and management
Purpose: The project aims to clarify the division of responsibilities between line and collegial bodies within the management organisation. It is mainly about defining issues for collegial decision-making and line decisions.
Goal: Increased collegial influence in matters requiring scientific and pedagogical competence, and clarifying the areas of responsibility where line decisions are necessary. The project strives for clarity and transparency within the KI management structure.
Process and timetable:
VT 2024, Phase 1, completed: Amended delegation from president to Campus Vice Presidents (previously deans) and departmental groups
HT 2024, Phase 2, completed with the President's decision and execution of delegations as of January 2025. This includes deepening and further clarifications to the delegation decision that applies from July 1, 2024.
Responsible: Veronika Sundström, University Director
Contact person: Björn Forslöw
Representatives from KI's core operations: KI's Campus Vice Presidents
Anchoring: Dialogue takes place at head of department meetings, AC meetings and with the Faculty Board. Collaboration with student representatives and inter-agency collaboration is also included, as well as on the Staff Portal.
The University Board (Konsistoriet) has established a new structure for the Karolinska Institutet Faculty Board and committees, marking an important step towards strengthening the university’s collegial leadership and increasing academic participation in decision-making processes.
News: Enlarged Faculty Board and new Faculty Forum to strengthen collegial leadership (published: 17-11-2025)
Contact person: Gustaf Cars
News: Simple process for operational planning decided by the President (published: 28-10-2025)
Contact: Anders Westerlund
C. Strategic and needs-driven skills supply
Purpose: The aim of the assignment is to improve KI's strategic skills supply by creating a long-term and systematic model for recruiting and sizing staff.
Goal: The goal is to ensure that KI has the right skills to meet future needs in both research and education, while also managing challenges such as retirements and continuing to be an attractive employer for teachers and researchers.
Process and timetable:
The focus area consists of several components:
- Develop/decide on rules for employment after reaching LAS age (completed).
- Establish the group for strategic competence provision and develop decisions and rules of delegation for the group (completed).
- Start work to develop a skills supply strategy linked to Strategy 2030 (regarding teacher recruitment).
- Start work on reviewing the merit requirements for teachers at KI (ongoing).
- Evaluate the ‘career ladder’ (completed).
- Enable continuous access to a demographic overview of KI’s teachers and researchers (ongoing).
- Continued development of system support for a demographic overview of KI’s teachers and researchers.
- Investigate the possibility of more combined teaching positions (ongoing).
- Continued development of the work within the the group for strategic competence provision.
Responsible: Johanna Bäckström, HR Director
Contact person: Marie Sandström Akram, Head of Unit Recruitment of Professors and Lecturers
Anchoring: Anchoring is customised to each part. Examples of groups for anchoring in addition to the operational representatives are heads of department, AC, deans, vice presidents, boards, committees, GUA, PD, junior faculty, student representatives and inter-authority collaboration.
Purpose: The aim of the assignment is to streamline and quality-assure the process for recruiting professors and senior lecturers.
Objective: The objective is to shorten the processing time while maintaining quality and legal certainty. In common with the objectives of the assignment for strategic skills supply (C1), the assignment here is to align calls and appointments with the university's overall needs, dimensioning and plan for strategic skills supply through a strategic recruitment group.
Process and timetable: The focus area consists of two parts, the implementation of a process support system for recruitment of teachers and a mapping of the recruitment process to develop proposals and implement changes aimed at shortening lead times.
During 2024–2025, a mapping of the recruitment process for professors and associate professors was carried out. Parts of the organization were interviewed to identify obstacles and success factors in the recruitment of professors and senior lecturers. During spring 2026, proposed changes to shorten lead times—without compromising the high quality standards—were presented and implemented.
In 2026, work begins on the implementation of a digital process support system for recruitment of teachers.
Responsible: Johanna Bäckström, HR Director
Contact person: Marie Sandström Akram, Head of Unit Recruitment of Professors and Lecturers
Anchoring: Anchoring will take place with heads of department, deans, vice presidents, AC, relevant boards, committees, GUA, PD, junior faculty, student representatives and inter-agency collaboration.
D. Sustainable and future-proofed finances
Decisions have been made on further aspects of KI’s new model for the allocation of the government appropriation for research and doctoral education. The decisions concern performance-bases allocations and premises costs. Decisions have also been made previously regarding base funding for the institutions.The model will come into effect in its entirety in 2026, replacing the former “activity” model.
News: President decides on a new allocation model for government research funding (published: 30-09-2025)
Contact: Sven Carlsson, Head of Office for legal, planning and economic affairs
E. Optimised use of premises, infrastructure and facilities
Responsible and contact person: Tomas Högberg, acting head of Property and Facilities Office
Representatives from KI's core operations: Sten Linnarsson and Rune Brautaset
About the assignment: The aim of the assignment is to reduce KI's leased space and thereby reduce premises costs by rationalising and restructuring existing premises. The aim is for KI to have the right, cost-effective and flexible premises with a high utilisation rate and to increase knowledge of how operations can influence premises costs.
Two major projects have been initiated: vacating the ANA10 building and modernising the working methods and workplace for employees of the Professional Services (PS). The process also includes a continuous evaluation of rental agreements to ensure reasonable costs and flexibility. In addition, KI will increase transparency regarding the utilisation of premises by other principals, and investigate premises issues within the SciLifeLab collaboration.
The timetable for leaving ANA10 and modernising working methods and workplaces of PS extends until 2026. A premises supply plan is updated and decided on annually, describing KI's premises needs three to five years ahead.
Separate projects to formalise the use of premises by other principals and to investigate SciLifeLab premises issues are ongoing.
A decision has been made to establish Research Infrastructure KI (RIKI) to bring together KI's resources and expertise in a cohesive research infrastructure organisation. RIKI will be built up gradually until the summer of 2027. The aim is to strengthen support for researchers, facilitate collaboration and meet future demands for development, security and expertise.
News: New organisation for research infrastructure decided
Contact person: Karin Dahlman-Wright
F. Coordinated and optimised professional services
Responsible: Veronika Sundström, Univerisity Director
Contact person: Marie-Louice Isacson
Representative from KI's core operations: Deans at KI
About the assignment: The assignment runs as a project over 2024-2026. The project page contains more information on the objectives and purpose, organisation and timeline of the project.
Responsible: Björn Kull, Head of the Research Support and External Relations Office
Contact person: Richard Cowburn
Representative from KI's core operations: a working group with broad representation from the departments.
About the assignment: The assignment aims to streamline KI's contract process. The initiative includes strengthened competence and support for contract preparation, negotiations, and risk assessments. The goal is to establish a clear division of responsibilities, improve competence transfer to the institutions, and implement a new case management system to facilitate contract management. Proposed measures include the creation of a contract coordinator function in the institutions and the reinforcement of central support functions. The introduction of a common case management system is an important step in this process.
G. Strengthened and coordinated security
The assignment has been completed and closed. Below is a brief account of what has been delivered and what will be taken forward as ongoing work.
Completed:
- Establishment of a safety forum that brings together representatives from different parts of the organisation for dialogue, exchange of experience and joint development work on safety and security issues.
Further development and ongoing work:
- Developing the safety forum’s ways of working.
- Ongoing efforts to strengthen the safety culture at KI, including consolidated information on the Staff Portal.
Contact: Christian Nerpin
The assignment has been completed and closed. Below is a brief account of what has been delivered and what will be taken forward as ongoing work.
Completed:
- Newly adopted governing documents for KI’s information security management system (KI LIS)
- Staff Portal pages providing practical support on information security
- A collaboration has been initiated with Stockholm Trio
Further development and ongoing work:
- Governing documents for operations at SciLifeLab
- Measures arising from the new Cybersecurity Act the NIS2 Directive
Contact: Stefan Larsson
The assignment has been completed and closed. Below is a brief account of what has been delivered and what will be taken forward as ongoing work.
Completed:
- Coordinated IT
- Data delivery area for health data extracts
- Pre-study: TRE (Trusted Research Environment)
- Pre-study: KI DASH
Further development and ongoing work:
- Work based on the KI DASH report and roadmap: preservation of research data and cold storage
- AI, storage, computing power and platforms for collaboration, including with Karolinska University Hospital, Region Stockholm and Stockholm Trio
Contact: Mattias Nordström
H. Strengthened environment for collaboration with healthcare sector
Responsible: Veronika Sundström, University Director
About the assignment: The assignment will be handled as a subproject within the framework of F1. Review of administrative organisation and procedures.
The aim of the assignment is to improve and streamline cooperation with the health service. This is done by creating a more resourced and coordinated operational support where responsibilities and mandates in different parts of the organisation are clarified. The project is divided into two parts:
- The first focuses on reviewing the management, staffing and organisation of support to KI's management and the decision-making forum of the collaboration organisation.
- The second part aims to identify and address needs in all areas of operational support in order to identify development needs and create a coherent structure for development work.
I. Enhanced societal attractiveness and relevance
New position at KI established on 1 November 2025: Senior Advisor to the President at KI with a focus on building a structure for community-related and proactive activities on issues prioritised by the university management.
Contact person: Peter Andréasson
Part of the regular work carried out by KI's Centre for Health Crises
Contact person: Anna Zorzet