Status of the check-up of public sector consultancy

With an ambition to enhance our already strong public sector consultancy and to confirm its key role in Tech, in October 2022 the Dean's Office launched a strategic check-up for public sector consultancy services. The check-up will take a total of six months, and it will help prepare public sector consultancy for a future with new requirements, volatile conditions and intense political attention: not least with regard to the green transition.

"Even if you have a good and well-running car, it’s sometimes a good idea to give it a check-up to make sure that everything is as it should be. In the same way, we’re giving our well-running public sector consultancy a check up to see if there’s anything we can do even better to prepare for the tasks of the future. There will be a great need for us in the years to come," says Ole Hertel, vice-dean for public sector consultancy at Tech.

A comprehensive and inclusive process
The check-up was launched in October with two workshops in the faculty management team at which department heads and centre directors identified five themes for further work. The five themes were subsequently validated by the heads of section at departments and other stakeholders, as well as through interviews with the heads of department and centre directors. The working group behind the check-up ended with a total of seven themes, and these will be presented to interested employees at an orientation webinar on 1 February.

"Research-based public sector consultancy is a central part of Tech's identity as a faculty with an impact in society. It’s an area where there’s often a very short distance from research to new legislation, for example," says Ole Hertel and continues:

"Furthermore, up to 65 per cent of Tech's finances are tied up in public sector consultancy, and a great many employees are in one way or another involved in either the consultancy itself or in the underlying research. That’s why we’re prioritising an open and inclusive process for the check-up."

After the webinar on 1 February, with 115 employees already signed up, the heads of department and centre directors, Tech's public sector consultancy committee as well as selected employees from departments and centres will continue work on the seven themes at two workshops on 6 February and 21 March. After the second workshop, the aim is to propose a number of solutions to the challenges covered by the seven themes. All interested parties will then have an opportunity to hear about plans for continued development of the area at a webinar in mid-April, before a workshop at the end of April when the faculty management team will decide on a roadmap for strengthening public sector consultancy.

"I'm pleased to see how both managers and employees are so engaged in the process, and I'm sure that in April we’ll have a really good starting point for strengthening our ability to contribute to important tasks such as the green transition, restoration of biodiversity and the protection of the aquatic environment," says Ole Hertel.

Seven themes for the development of public sector consultancy
1. Specialist update for government agencies and ministries
2. Collaboration with government agencies/ministries
3. The reputation/standing of public sector consultancy internally and externally
4. Wide-ranging research support, including recruitment and funding
5. Can we provide better advice by strengthening international collaboration?
6. The role of digitalisation in the performance of tasks
7. Internal collaboration at Tech