New act gives shape to the National Institute for Health and Welfare

The administrative act on the National Institute for Health and Welfare was passed by Parliament on 22 October 2008. At an extraordinary meeting on 31 October the Government then approved the act and the related decree, and the act was subsequently signed by the President.

This means that the new institute will be a legal reality as from 1 January 2009, which is thus also the date when the National Public Health Institute (KTL) and STAKES will cease to exist. Hopefully, we'll be able to cultivate and further strengthen these two brands, which have established a firm foothold both in Finland and on the international arena.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health was quick off the mark posting a vacancy notice announcing the position of Director General for the new institute. To be eligible for appointment to the post of Director General, applicants shall, among other things, have completed a doctoral degree. Applications for the fixed-term post (max. term 7 years) are to be submitted no later than 17 November.

The making of an organisation

Small working groups of experts from both institutes have been hard at work all through October to assign sub-structures for the new sectoral divisions confirmed earlier. This work has proven very challenging and hectic indeed, what with the combining of two institute's tasks and fitting them into one single organisational chart. Note that it has specifically been a question of allocating tasks to the new divisions – not people.

The new organisational structure is based on divisions, which will be further divided into departments. In turn, the departments will consist of "units" or "groups". I find myself rooting for the latter name, as it at least gives some sort of idea of size, whereas "unit" is simply empty and void of meaning.

As I am writing this, the model proposes eight divisions, 11–15 departments – depending on the final definitions – and 63 groups.

Director General to be appointed in November

In November we'll still be busy putting the final polish on the organisational framework. By the end of the month, we'll probably already have a new Director General, which means that the search for four Deputy Director Generals can start.

The allocation of staff to the different units will take place in early 2009. The allocation process is necessary because some previous posts will not be transferred to the new organisation so as to achieve greater synergy and other benefits. However, nobody will be given notice, and wages and salaries will remain the same.

In the next few weeks, both STAKES and KTL will be throwing their very last Christmas parties as separate organisations. We're really looking forward to having a bit of fun, and as far as presents from Santa Claus go, we hope for an even more capable and recognised institute!

Mauno Konttinen

Director General