The presentation session to the whole of UL community for the University of Lisbon Centre for Common Resources and Shared Services (CRCSP) took place on the 20th of April.

The session took place in the Noble Hall of the Chancellery of the UL and included speeches by Professor António Nóvoa, Chancellor of the UL, by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Carlos Lobo, by Dr. João Gomes of Deloitte Consultants, SA and by David Xavier, Executive Director of the CRCSP.

The Chancellor of the UL was speaking to an audience that filled the hall, and began by presenting the chronology of the events that led to the formation of the CRCSP, mentioning all the benchmarking carried out before making a decision as to the forming of a structure of this kind in the UL. After this the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Carlos Lobo, explained to the audience the benefits that the creation of the SPUL (UL Shared Services – the designation adopted by the CRCSP) brings to the University, as well as the demands that this involves. He stressed that if on the one hand the SPUL makes it possible to optimise the use of resources, on the other hand it will have to show proof of this optimisation on a daily basis, allowing the Organic Units (UO) to focus their human and financial resources on their own main activities: teaching and Research. This question was also dealt with by Professor António Nóvoa, in mentioning that the reorganisation of human resources and the transferring of some processes and procedures from the UO to the SPUL will allow them to focus on scientific and academic activities.

In the second part, Dr. João Gomes started by providing the setting of the concept of the management of common resources and shared services, stating that “the structures of Shared Services are focused on the managing of specialized skills and on the providing of intra-group services”. After identifying the critical factors of success for a structure of this nature – Development of Human Resources, Assessment of Performance and Continuous Improvement, Costing Models and Pricing, Level of Service Agreements and Processes of Client Management – he went on to discuss the macro-processes which, in the UL, will go from the UO to the SPUL: Financial Management, Support for Research Centres, Maintenance of Spaces and Buildings, Human Resources, Information Systems, Image and Communication, Acquisitions and Heritage, Hygiene and Safety at Work. This speech ended with the exemplification, through the process of the daily activity of the institutions, registering and conference of bills, credit and debit notes, of the division of responsibilities between the UO and the SPUL.

The last speech of the afternoon was by the Executive Director of the CRCSP, who dealt with aspects such as the SPUL mission, its strategic aims and main services provided (see brochure annexed), also explaining the SPUL organic structure, identifying the current situation and the coming steps.

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Susana Leal
sleal@fm.ul.pt