Workzone for the academic staff at DPU

According to the Danish Access to Public Administration Files Act, which provides the regulatory framework for research, we must file documents and other records pertaining to the administrative processing of cases. The administrative processing of cases concerns the administration of research activities – i.e., not the research itself but the processes and decisions that frame research activities. Activities not pertaining to the administrative processing of cases are referred to as actual management. Actual management includes Aarhus University’s core/operational tasks, such as teaching, research and supervision, and does not need to be filed.

According to the Access to Public Administration Files Act, documents received or sent by a public administrative body must be filed as soon as possible after the document has been received or sent.

The Access to Public Administration Files Act also stipulates that we have a duty to record. This means that oral information (such as a telephone conversation) that is assessed as relevant to the administrative processing of or decisions in relation to a case must be recorded and filed.

According to the Danish Public Administration Act, which provides the regulatory framework for cases involving decisions, we must file the basis for these decisions (before, during and after). At Aarhus University, the Public Administration Act is primarily relevant regarding tasks performed by the Central Administration (including cases involving staff or students and PhD assessments).

Read the current legislation.

When we file, we compile all relevant records concerning a specific case in one place. It can therefore be a good idea to file documents that you do not want to lose, even if there is no legal obligation to do so. Filing enables us to easily document our actions, decisions and reasoning. It can therefore be important to file correspondence involving a dispute or sensitive content that you assess could potentially result in a case.

By filing electronically and labelling cases and documents appropriately, it is easy to find the documents again when needed. This is relevant when receiving requests for access to documents concerning a case.

Please be aware that, when submitting a request for access to documents, third parties can be granted access to email correspondence. Therefore, express yourself carefully. Private messages should be kept separate from content that may be attached to cases in Workzone.

What are the general principles for what we should file?

• Files must be related to your work at Aarhus University. ‘Private’ tasks and appointments should not be filed. Ask yourself ‘Am I using time paid by the university or are any expenses reimbursed by the university? Is the work dependent on my status as an expert and strongly tied to my employment at Aarhus University (such as acting as an expert witness in court)?’
• As a general principle, it is managerial and administrative documents that should be filed, including documents concerning the framework for scientific activities. The content of these activities (research, teaching and supervision) should generally not be filed.
• Enquiries that seem as though they could lead to a case, such as a request for access to documents, must always be filed.
• File any documents that you want to preserve if doing does not contravene the GDPR principles.
• You are not required to file documents that are filed elsewhere at AU. This includes formal agreements concerning research projects. However, it may still be a good idea to file documents that you would like easy access to in Workzone

CASE	WHAT NEEDS TO BE FILED
Applications and nominations for research funding, scholarships and prizes	Relevant and significant administrative correspondence with funder and external partners. If relevant the application, nomination and the decision itself (not mandatory).
Research projects with external funding	Relevant and significant administrative correspondence with funder, academic reports, and approval of changes from funder If approved: grant approval, application, budgets/budget changes, financial reports (not mandatory). For more information, see Research projects – What should I file?
Data agreements	Relevant and significant administrative correspondence with external parties. If approved: data processing agreements, disclosure declarations, etc. (not mandatory).
Collaboration agreements (with external parties)	Relevant and significant administrative correspondence with external parties. If approved: agreements, contracts (draft and final version) (not mandatory).
Conferences organised by AU	Agreements with speakers, budgets, programmes, reports, permission to record video footage and publish it on the AU website.
Visits by external parties	Programme, agreements, relevant correspondence in connection with visits.
Contracts for the procurement or loan of equipment	Relevant and significant administrative correspondence. If approved: contract (not mandatory).
Participation in formal national and international boards, committees and networks	Nominations and relevant and administrative correspondence about your role. If approved: agendas, appendices and minutes (not mandatory).
Enquiries from public authorities	Relevant and significant incoming emails, replies to enquiries – can be created as a consolidated case for one year at a time. For more information: See External enquiries VIP - What should I save?
Enquiries from companies, organisations and private individuals	Relevant and significant incoming emails, replies to enquiries – can be created as one or several consolidated case(s) for one year at a time. For example, one for journalists, one for colleagues and one for private individuals. For more information: See External enquiries VIP - What should I file?

At the Faculty of Arts, it has been decided that academic staff do not need to learn how to use the Workzone filing system. Instead, they use a ‘light’ edition where members of technical and administrative staff provide support in creating cases (corresponding to folders) for filing documents related to a specific case or project, while members of academic staff file emails to these cases via Workzone functions integrated in Outlook.

The Workzone team at DPU will automatically generate:

• Cases based on external funding (with the exception of unconditional grants, donations and deeds of gift). Going forward, cases will be created upon notification of new grants from the research support team at DPU.
• One case per person for external enquiries 2024 for professors, associate professors, assistant professors and postdocs (for PhD students, only on request to workzonesupport@edu.au.dk due to considerable variation in the number of external enquiries received by PhD students).

Academic staff’s filing task with Workzone light is as follows:

1. Awareness and fulfilment of your filing responsibilities (see Why do I need to file?).
2. Identification of cases that need to be created.
3. Contact the Workzone team via workzonesupport@edu.au.dk to get the case form and return it (does not apply to cases automatically generated by the Workzone team as outlined above). You can also contact the e Workzone team by email, if you need support. The Workzone team will create the case in Workzone and notify you once this is done.
4. Academic staff files all relevant documents and correspondence to the case via Workzone functions integrated in Outlook. If you are a PhD student who is not employed by AU, special procedures apply. If you are affiliated with AU and have an AU computer and an AU email, you are still required to keep records. Unfortunately, non-employees can not be given access to Workzone. You must therefore contact the Workzone team at workzonesupport@edu.au.dk to get help with filing relevant emails.
5. Finalise the case: notify the Workzone team (workzonesupport@edu.au.dk) when the case has been concluded and can be closed.

Workzone functions are also integrated in Word, Excel and PowerPoint allowing the direct filing of documents from these programs to Workzone.

• Contact the Workzone team via workzonesupport@edu.au.dk to obtain the case form and return it or contact the Workzone team by email if you need support.

• The Workzone team will send you an email once the case has been created.

• Save emails from Outlook
  • Before you click “save”, you must select the relevant boxes so that all sender and recipient information in the email is transferred to Workzone.
  • Any documents attached to the email will also be transferred to Workzone unless you specify otherwise.
  • You can highlight multiple emails and file them at the same time.
• File Outlook events/meetings (including attached documents).
  • Meetings/appointments are saved from the Outlook calendar. Mark the meeting/appointment with the cursor (do not open the appointment/meeting).
  • "Save item" can be found on the tab "Meeting instance".
  • Remember to select the relevant boxes to transfer sender and recipient information to Workzone.
• By following the procedure described above (for emails), you can also save documents from Word, Excel and PowerPoint in Workzone.

If you need to save other documents than those mentioned above in Workzone, please contact DPU´s Workzone team (workzonesupport@edu.au.dk).

• If you are a Mac user and do not have Microsoft 365, please contact the Workzone team at workzonesupport@edu.au.dk.

• If you are a Mac (or PC) user with Microsoft 365, you can file email and meeting requests from Outlook as described in the following guide.
  • If you do not see the Workzone icon , it may be because you need to click on a vertical arrow  at the top right of the relevant tab ("Home"/"Message"/"Meeting")
  • Regarding meeting requests:
    • They can only be saved from Inbox/Sent items and not from the calendar.
    • Time and location will not be transferred to Workzone.
  • In the Workzone window in Outlook, there is a tab called "Parties" with the sender/recipient information for the email/meeting request. This information must be clicked off so that it is filed in Workzone.
     
• Similar to the above description for emails, Mac and PC users with Microsoft 365 can file documents from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

If you need to save documents other than those mentioned above in Workzone, please contact DPU's Workzone team at workzonesupport@edu.au.dk.

• If you are affiliated with AU and have an AU computer and an AU email, the obligation to file still applies. Unfortunately, non-employees cannot be given access to Workzone. You must therefore contact the Workzone team at workzonesupport@edu.au.dk for help in filing your emails and any other relevant documents.

Please inform DPU´s Workzone team if you need to make changes to a case, for example:

• If there are other AU employees who need access to the case.
• If there are AU employees who need to be removed from the case.
• If there are external parties who need to be added to the case.
• If you are no longer the person responsible for the case, for example if you leave AU or change your areas of responsibility.  

Please inform DPU´s Workzone team once a case is concluded.

• In the Outlook folder “Cases and documents” in the left-hand menu
• Via File Explorer (where there is also search function)

If you are a Mac (or PC) user with Microsoft 365, you can view your documents by opening a new email in Outlook and clicking on the green Workzone “icon”  

• If you as a PhD student affiliated to but not employed at AU, have filed/have had filed mails or other documents in Workzone, and you need to view your cases or documents please contact DPU's Workzone team at workzonesupport@edu.au.dk.

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• Problems setting up two-step VPN authentication
• General technical problems

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