UArctic is a decentralized organization, with offices, programs and other functions hosted at member institutions in the Circumpolar North. The daily operations are entrusted to a light and distributed administration. Decision making derives from member institutions through UArctic's governance structure.
UArctic's work is guided by our Constitution and Strategic Plan 2030 The UArctic Bylaws form the basis of the organization's governance system and the rules for the related governing bodies. The Organization and Management Guidelines describe how we implement our activities and our operational structure.
In an effort to place UArctic in a stronger position when it comes to contractual capacity, fundraising and liability, and following approval by both governing bodies of UArctic, the University of the Arctic was officially registered as a non-profit association under the Finnish law "UArctic ry" in November 2019. The UArctic’s Constitution is approved by the Finnish Patent and Registry Office, and it follows the Finnish Association’s Act.
Governance
UArctic members gather every year at a time from April to July. This is the Assembly, UArctic’s core decision-making organ. The Assembly consists of all members, with each member having one representative and one alternate representative. In meetings of the Assembly, each Arctic Member vote counts as three votes and each Non-Arctic Member vote as one vote. The Assembly also acts as a forum of consultation, networking and cooperation between all members. Every second year, the Assembly meets as part of the Congress, which combines key UArctic meetings with a scientific conference.
An extraordinary Assembly can be organised when a specific matter must be handled. On matters requiring immediate attention, the Assembly Executive Committee (Toyon) may as well make interim decisions. However, these decisions will be subject to subsequent Assembly confirmation. The Assembly Executive Committee consists of three officers, an Assembly chair, vice-chair and secretary, appointed by the Assembly for three-year terms. Toyon oversees also the membership process and makes recommendations to the Assembly on approval of members.
The Assembly elects the Board. It is a group of elected individuals serving in three-year terms. The Board has the authority and primary responsibility for strategic planning and setting institutional priorities; organizational development and institutional accountability, including making recommendations on membership fees; fundraising, personnel, finances, and budgeting; as well as public and external relations. Student representatives from member institutions are elected to take part in Board meetings. Meetings are led by a Board Chair nominated by the Assembly.
As for the Assembly, the Board has a Board Executive, consisting of Board Officers, the President, the Vice-President Indigenous and the Secretary General. The Board Executive prepares the agenda and texts proposals for the Board meetings in addition of making interim decisions that are subject to subsequent confirmation by the Board.
The Board appoints the Advisory Groups. The Finance Policy and the Philanthropic Fundraising Advisory Group are responsible for advising the Board in their field of expertise.
The Assembly can form committees. Each committee member is elected for a three-year term and is usually a member representative of the Assembly. Beside Toyon, there is currently one committee: the Nomination Committee.
The Nominations Committee evaluates potential candidates for the Board and makes recommendations to the Assembly based on UArctic’s current priorities and needs, thereby ensuring a balanced Board representation and continuity. In addition, the Committee assists the Assembly for nominations in other bodies (for instance the Assembly Officer positions). The Committee operates independently from other core bodies of UArctic.
Administration and management
The Board appoints the UArctic President for a six-year term.
The President works closely with all bodies to ensure that approved programmatic activities are initiated and implemented in a timely manner. The President is responsible in preparing budgets and developing a UArctic implementation plan, that states clear goals and indicators for UArctic’s administration. These activities are to be approved by the Board and verified by the Assembly. Additionally, the President presents an annual report to these bodies. The report includes a report on adherence to approved strategic plans as well as a financial statement.
The President nominates several Vice-Presidents. Vice-presidents are assigned to a particular field of activities for which they are responsible and assist the president. They are established in a UArctic office with eventually a management team that will support operational implementation in their areas of responsibility.
Furthermore, the Secretary General is appointed by the Board. The Secretary General is responsible for the day-to-day administrative activities of UArctic, and for providing support to UArctic’s governance bodies. The Secretary General is accountable to the President.
The Secretariat General serves as Head of the UArctic International Secretariat. The International Secretariat is empowered on behalf of UArctic to maintain a membership registry, oversee preparations and provide secretarial functions for all Assembly and Board meetings, maintain and keep accounts over UArctic’s overall financial activities, and finally, manage the information services of UArctic, including publications and web support.
The International Secretariat is based in Rovaniemi, Finland. It is hosted by the University of Lapland, which is a member of UArctic. UArctic Staff, which works at the International Secretariat or at other UArctic offices, is directly hired by the host institution of their office. This means that UArctic is not a direct employer but has a decentralised administrative structure which relies on committed member institutions. In that context, several Regional Offices have been established. They work as regional hubs and facilitate regional coordination.
The Secretary General, the Chief Communication Officer the President and Vice-Presidents form the Senior Leadership Team (Ma-Mawi). They are responsible for ensuring the daily operations and overseeing any administrative staff in their areas of responsibility. Ma-Mawi meetings are carried out once a month. The President, the Secretary General and the Executive Vice-President form the Senior Executive Management Team (Ofelaš). Ofelaš ensures effective communication and consultation among the leadership of UArctic.
UArctic is also assisted by the Academic Advisory Board (Mimir) and the Indigenous Advisory Board. The Indigenous Advisory Board is nominated independently by the Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council.
Remarks:
The Rectors’ Forum brings together different heads of UArctic member institutions without having any governing function.
