Objectives of “FIT for the Future” and the ETH Board’s decision in principle
At the start of 2024, the ETH Board and the six institutions of the ETH Domain defined eight objectives to be achieved in the “FIT for the Future” organisational development project, and developed corresponding sub-projects.
From August to October 2024, the ETH Board conducted an internal preliminary consultation with the institutions of the ETH Domain relating to these objectives and the status of the project. The feedback received (see summary of findings in the report by Interface, only in German) formed the basis of the decision in principle.
Objectives of a new organisational structure in the ETH Domain
The review of the organisation and structure is intended to ensure that the ETH Domain will also in the future be able to best serve society. Specifically, the project aims to:
- “Digital Unit” sub-project: create a new mission-oriented unit, including the required infrastructure, to address the topic of “digitalisation”.
- “Hubs” sub-project: improve tools to promote cooperation across and beyond the ETH Domain.
- “Efficiency” sub-project: reduce administrative costs and streamline / increase the efficiency of support services.
- “Future Structure and Governance” sub-project: generate, in complementarity to the two schools, a structure for the research institutes that can more easily integrate existing or support the creation of new mission-oriented units/departments in the future.
- “Strategic Coordination” sub-project: improve the ability to strategically coordinate and jointly develop the activity portfolios of the ETH Domain institutions, in order to continue to be at the forefront of scientific and technological developments.
- “Portfolio Analysis” sub-project: where appropriate, transfer or fuse units/departments to sharpen mission profiles, increase societal impact, improve efficiency and/or reduce redundancy.
- “Presence Research Institutes in the Romandie” sub-project: increase the physical presence of the research institutes in the Romandie while maintaining the current locations in various Swiss cantons.
- “Strengthen the Strengths” sub-project: further develop the strengths of the current system, including the highly valuable and visible brands of the ETH Domain institutions and the strong links to stakeholders.
Decision in principle of the ETH Board on 4/5 December 2024
Future structure and governance of the research institutes
The ETH Board is commissioning the project managers, consisting of members of the ETH Board as well as leadership staff from both ETH and the four research institutes, to develop a proposal for the research institutes’ future structure and governance. With the existing research institutes and new, future units placed under a shared roof, the area of research will be strengthened and developed further as a key pillar within the ETH Domain with its own legal personality. This reform is based on the ETH Domain’s Strategic Areas (“Human Health”, “Energy, Climate and Environmental Sustainability”, “Responsible Digital Transformation”, “Advanced Materials and Key Technologies” and “Engagement and Dialogue with Society”).
The brands of the various institutions and the locations will remain the same. In addition, measures will be proposed on the basis of an analysis to examine how the opportunities can be achieved and the risks of the structural change can be mitigated, particularly for the research institutes and their employees as well as stakeholders. Finally, the transformation costs will be calculated and the potential benefits and synergies identified, also together with the two ETH. The advantages and disadvantages of the new organisation and structure will be compared with the status quo (including the opportunity costs).
“Digital Unit”
Based on the concept presented to it, the ETH Board is commissioning the project managers in consultation with the working group to develop a firmer proposal for the Digital Unit, as a unit that comes under the same roof as the research institutes. This also includes the possible organisational transfer of the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano. In addition, an evaluation of the overall budget for the Digital Unit will also be carried out.
Increased presence in French-speaking Switzerland
The ETH Board is instructing the research institutes to increase their cooperation with EPFL and the stakeholders in French-speaking Switzerland and their visibility in there, and reaffirms its intention to establish the headquarters of the Digital Unit in that region.
Hubs
The institutions can implement hubs as a possible form of cooperation independently of the organisational development.
Portfolio development
The ETH Board has asked ETH Zurich and EPFL to implement “Hydroengineering”, a case identified in the portfolio analysis, within their area of responsibility, and has also asked EPFL and Empa to implement “Sustainable Construction” within theirs. With regard to the “Bedretto Lab”, ETH Zurich is to review the objective of applying for it to be considered a research infrastructure in accordance with the Roadmap 2027 for research infrastructures and, if appropriate, include it in the regular Roadmap 2027 process. As part of the periodic strategic planning process in the ETH Domain as a whole, all the institutions will also examine their portfolios with the aim of sharpening their profiles, anchoring the results in their strategy documents, and improving their capacity for strategic coordination.
The issues raised in the feedback, particularly with regard to human resources policy and legal and cultural framework conditions, are to be addressed jointly with the institutions.
Collaboration within the ETH Domain is to be further strengthened and developed within the current structures.
Further work on the FIT for the Future project must always safeguard and develop the strengths of the ETH Domain.
Contact
For further information, please contact Gian-Andri Casutt, Head of Communications.
- E-Mail: gian.casutt@ethrat.ch
- Tel.: +41 58 856 86 06
