A clear vision for Jisc
Our strategic vision demonstrates how, in partnership with our customers, we provide the certainty to enable them to realise future digital possibilities.
Why? Achieving more for less
The sector’s future is being shaped by new pressures, demands and challenges:
- An uncertain, fast-changing world with increasing sector diversification
- Dealing with real term cuts while managing greater demand – ‘more for less’
- Students with increasing expectations, demanding greater value for money and transparency about what they are paying for
- The need to discover new ways to create income to support business relevant to the sector
- Uncertainty over who to turn to for trusted advice, guidance and support.
What? Digital is now a way of life
Today, the word digital is used as a shorthand to describe information technology, infrastructure, networks, devices and content. Digital technology is providing the means to transform organisational efficiency and it is irreversibly changing the world to such an extent that we lead our lives in both the physical and virtual worlds.
Entire industries, from music to media, have been forced to face up to the digital revolution, and to re-invent themselves in order to thrive and progress. There has also been much digital progress in the higher education, further education and skills sector, though perhaps not yet as widespread and fundamental as in other sectors. However, if we want to be at the forefront of practice in education and research and development on the world stage, digital empowerment is more important than ever before.
How? Our customer promise
This new landscape marks a new era for Jisc, too. We promise that we will be responsive and agile in helping and supporting customers with their ambitions to realise new and better ways of working. We use the term ‘customer’ here with deliberation and purpose. It conveys our intent to be an even closer part of the sectors we work with, to better understand their challenges and needs, and to focus our activities in ways that add greater value.
This era calls for changes in the way we work. We will ensure the solutions we offer have a customer ethos at their centre, from conception through to deployment. We will be constantly asking ourselves: How will this help our customers achieve their goals? What will this give our customers that will make a difference to their success?
Building on our reputation for affordable, practical business solutions
We are unique in the perspective and expertise we have within the sector. Jisc has earned a reputation as a trusted partner for schools, colleges and universities for the way in which we make commercially pragmatic and practical decisions and provide the practical assistance, network and IT services, digital content and know-how that help our customers to evolve and embrace new and better ways of working.
A changing landscape for customers – meeting the challenge
We believe:
Digital can transform the way higher education, further education and skills deliver their services – from the way they develop operational network and IT services, to providing high quality engaging digital content and enhancing the delivery of education, research and development, and assessment.
While digital empowerment promises more flexible and dynamic ways for students to learn and researchers to discover, it goes much further. With an effective digital ecosystem, students will be able to identify easily the ways in which a college or university can help them. In particular, with access to course material and digital resources through secure spaces and environments, it also opens up a world in which students, lecturers and teachers can share knowledge and manage administrative details, such as course completion, attendance and success rates.
Working with customers
Jisc is an integral part of the UK education and research communities – working together with all sectors on the practical and innovative application of digital technologies for their advancement and competitive advantage. We work across the UK with our customers and partners within further and higher education, research and development, learning and skills, including:
Vice-chancellors, college principals and enterprise leaders, who are responsible for overall strategic direction
ICT and library communities, seeking better and more efficient ways of working
Academic leaders, seeking to collaborate and share, for the advancement of education, skills and research and development
Administrative and finance leaders, seeking to achieve best practice.
Where it brings additional value to our direct customers, we work with selected partners, including for-profit and cultural and heritage organisations in the UK and internationally.
Our customer promise
Jisc will be simple and straightforward to work with. We will focus on the big ‘game changing’ strategies and developments, looking to demonstrate the value in everything we do and putting the customer at the heart of what Jisc does.
Jisc will help ensure the UK remains at the forefront of innovation within UK education and research – by mobilising the very best people and technologies in the application of digital thinking, digital content and connectivity.
Focusing on what matters to customers
We will focus our activities in the areas that matter most to our customers and where it can offer a distinctive advantage over alternative choices or options.
We will offer and maintain excellent, cost-effective and value-added digital network and IT services, shared networks, applications and systems. We support this deal with brokering and procurement services.
How?
- Developing unique perspectives on our customers’ needs to create highly relevant and valued services
- Brokering the most cost-effective digital network and IT services solutions
- Assisting customers with practical and trustworthy advice and support to better exploit their digital network and IT services
- Continually improving and innovating our digital network and IT services offers
- Advancing discovery by connecting our customers with relevant international research and development and education communities.
We will procure and provide customers with access to a wealth of high quality digitised content.
How?
Negotiating the best possible commercial terms and license conditions for our customers
Standardising digital content to speed up resource discovery and secure access to it
Providing practical support and working collaboratively with customers, publishers and suppliers to widen availability and better manage those resources
Continually improving and innovating our digitised resource portfolio.
We will provide customers with the practical assistance they need to better exploit and apply digital technologies, to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
How?
Working in partnership with customers to establish digital strategies and applications to achieve maximum benefit from their investment
Providing practical, up-to-the-minute hands-on advice and support to better exploit existing digital technologies
Sharing best practice and examples of excellent practice from other organisations.
We will selectively evaluate, co-develop and prototype digital technologies that present better possibilities for our customers.
How?
Keeping our fingers on the pulse of the latest developments worldwide
Using our insight into the sectors we serve to create new digital possibilities through collaboration
Doing all we can within our remit to find new and better ways for UK education and research to advance.
Organising ourselves for our customers’ success
The fact that customers have to adapt to a changing landscape means that Jisc has to adapt, too. Jisc aims to be an organisation that attracts and retains the best people, so that we can continue to help our customers achieve their goals.
We will achieve our aim by:
Organising Jisc in a more joined-up way, aligned to our customers’ needs, priorities and goals
Striving for excellence and improvement in our work
Investing in developing and improving our skills and capabilities
Modernising the way we work and exploring new ways of working
Becoming customer-focused and business-like in everything we do.
We will deliver our promise to you through:
Digital power
Secure access to robust, unified, high performing UK-wide digital network and IT services and support.
A dynamic gateway to high quality digital content and resources.
Practical purpose
Expert advice and support for customers to make the most of their digital investments.
Advanced possibilities
Championing the customer to embrace new digital opportunities for their benefit and advantage and ultimate success.
Share our vision to make the UK the most digitally advanced education and research network in the world.