Mandate for the Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research (KIF) 2018–2021

To promote gender equality in the higher education sector, the Ministry of Education and Research appointed the

in 2004 for a three-year period. The next committee served from 2007 to 2010 under an expanded mandate that also encompassed the research institutes. A new committee was appointed as from 1 April 2010 with the name

(KIF). The period of appointment was extended to four years and expired on 31 December 2013. The fourth committee was appointed for the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2017. The name changed to the

(KIF) and the mandate expanded to include diversity.

A new committee has been appointed for the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021 and has the following mandate:

Objective of the Committee

The Committee shall support and give recommendations regarding measures that promote the integration of gender balance and diversity activities at universities, university colleges and research institutes, thus helping to increase diversity among the staff and in research. The Committee shall seek to raise the overall level of awareness of problems related to diversity and inclusion in the research system. Its most important task during the period is to address issues of gender and ethnicity. Its activities are to encompass diversity perspectives, including gender perspectives, in research.

Actors and institutions in the higher education sector and research institute sector, as well as the ministries and the Research Council of Norway, may request assistance and advice from the Committee. The Committee itself may also initiate measures and assess the impact of these. The Committee’s primary tasks are to be linked to the areas of responsibility under the purview of the Ministry of Education and Research. International perspectives must also be reflected in these efforts.

Organization and composition of the Committee

The Committee shall be appointed by the Ministry of Education and Research for a four-year period.

The Committee shall be comprised of 11 to 13 members, and include the following core representatives:

• 4 members and 2 deputies from the higher education sector.
• 2 members and 1 deputy from the research institutes (1 member must be from a technical-industrial institute).
• 2 members and 1 deputy from the national student organization.
• 1 member and 1 deputy from the Research Council of Norway.

In addition Kilden genderresearch.no may have one observer each on the Committee.

The Committee’s members will ideally hold upper-level positions at their institutions, and have a strong commitment to diversity efforts at the institutions. Moreover, the provision of the Gender Equality Act requiring representation of both genders on public committees, governing boards and councils is to be followed, cf. Section 13.

The Ministry of Education and Research shall appoint a new member in consultation with the institution or organization that has proposed the new member.

The board of the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions (UHR) has been given organizational responsibility for the Committee and its secretariat. Members and deputies may be reappointed, but no one may sit for longer than two consecutive periods. Representatives of student organizations are to be appointed for one year at a time.

The Ministry of Education and Research shall provide funding for the Committee’s activities within the framework of the annual national budgets. The allocation is to cover the Committee’s day-to-day operations and secretariat, as well as funding for diversity measures at universities, university colleges and research institutes. The Committee shall cooperate closely with the Research Council of Norway and Kilden genderresearch.no. The Committee itself, in consultation with the board of UHR, has been given responsibility for further developing the guidelines for these efforts. Reports on the Committee’s activities shall be submitted on a regular basis to the Ministry of Education and Research and other relevant actors.