It would be easy in a resource such as this to allow discussions (or indeed arguments) over terminology to dominate proceedings and to prevent proper progress being made. As with all things, it is, of course, important that there is clarity over what is being referred to, otherwise there can be no understanding; but, by the same token, this does not mean that everyone must agree with every term chosen in order to make use of this guide.

Terms such as ‘mission statements’, ‘vision’ and ‘values’ are not fixed and absolute and it is inevitable that what one institution may currently think of as a ‘vision’ may be construed by another as part of their ‘values’. Likewise, the content of one institution’s ‘mission statement’ may be remarkably similar to another’s ‘value set’. This really doesn’t matter – call each what you will according to what you believe will have the greatest resonance for your institution. What does matter are the concepts which these various terms describe and the importance of ensuring that each are addressed appropriately – whatever they may be called.

So please bear this in mind when reading the rest of the contents of this guide and focus on the underlying concepts, rather than the relative suitability of the particular name that we have chosen to define it by.

The institutional experience

"We had to take account of the mission, vision and values of our parent organisation. It may be the case that these areas are outside of the remit of the people using the kit1 – this needs to be made clear when using the kit by whoever is coordinating the use of the kit so that time is not wasted trying to change what cannot be changed – however mapping ‘what this means for us’  was a useful exercise.

The question we asked was: 'Given the values of our parent organisation what is the unique contribution that Beaumont College can bring?'. We thought the section on mission, vision and values helped clarify a number of issues for the team and in completing the exercises focussed people’s attention on ‘future talk’ which was energising and helpful. It brought to light shared assumptions which were interesting to articulate given the different range of experiences of different team members.

The exercises also brought to light the complexity of aligning the college's strategy with that of the parent organisation. Going through the process helped to reinforce once again the importance of clarity in this key area, particularly with regard to governance. A particular point of interest to the principal was feeding back to governors on the use of the infoKit and how sophisticated the process was and how it had already begun to develop confidence and competence in the leadership team in handling concepts like mission and vision."
Beaumont College

A mission statement defines in a paragraph or so any entity’s reason for existence. It embodies its philosophies, goals, ambitions and mores. Any entity that attempts to operate without a mission statement runs the risk of wandering through the world without having the ability to verify that it is on its intended course.1

Without a mission statement (or a statement/set of principles which conforms to this definition but which may be known as something else), the organisation risks wandering ‘off mission’ and wasting time and resources trying to achieve things which are at best peripheral and at worst irrelevant to the objectives it should be trying to achieve.

Some may argue that the mission for all further and higher education institutions is simple and self-evident: to provide good quality teaching and learning for its students and to conduct valuable research. But already the flaws in this simplistic response are evident. Not every institution pursues an active research agenda (particularly in further education), whereas for others it represents the focal point of their international reputation and one of their main streams of income.

Likewise, although hopefully all institutions would place a high value on teaching and learning, their approach to conducting this may differ markedly: whereas some institutions may view their role as being to nurture and develop academic excellence, others may consider it their priority to equip students with the vocational skills and training required to prepare them for the job market.

In many respects, the mission statement reflects the ultimate distillation of the strategic activity of the institution. If the course of action being considered doesn’t seem to conform to the mission statement, serious questions should be asked about whether this is really something that the institution should be involved with. If, after due consideration, the answer is still ‘yes’ it may well be that your mission statement should be updated to reflect this new change of direction or expansion of remit, but given the ‘high-level’ nature of mission statements it stands to reason that such changes will rarely be necessary (perhaps once or twice a decade) – any more than this and it suggests that your mission statement is defined at too detailed and low a level.

The rise to prominence of the ‘business and community engagement’ (BCE) agenda as a ‘third stream’ of institutional activity is a good example of the kind of major shift in policy and remit which may have required an amendment to some institutional mission statements in recent years.

Example mission statements

We aspire to be a dynamic, global, enterprising university. We will work in partnership with external organisations through our research and engage our students as partners in a community of learning.
Coventry University

To contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
University of Cambridge

To advance and diffuse knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the example and influence of its corporate life

We have a simple mission, “Success for our Students”, and do everything possible to ensure that you receive the very best education and training.
Herefordshire College of Technology

Each of the above examples say something specific about the institution in question and avoid meaningless platitudes by not only stating what it is that they strive to achieve but how they intend to achieve it. It is this that gives each its distinctiveness and ties it specifically to the institution in question.

An interesting exercise might be to separate the statements from the institutions and to determine how easy you feel it would be to correctly marry them up given what you know about each institution. When reviewing or redefining your own mission statement this exercise can be taken a step further by including your own mission statement along with these examples and asking colleagues or focus groups to choose which they feel is most representative of your institution. If few successfully manage to recognise your institution from your mission statement this may indicate that it does not sufficiently capture the essence of your organisation.

Mission statements come in all shapes and sizes: from the short and pithy to the comprehensive and verbose; and from the vague and general to the specific and measurable. There are no absolutes, ultimately it is what is right for your institution, its staff and its stakeholders that is the only criteria that really counts.

For no matter how well written it may be, how succinct or worthy, simple or complicated, it will only be effective if it is generally considered to be an accurate and useful summary of your organisation and if it ‘says something’ to its stakeholders.

General principles

That said, there are some general principles that it may be worth bearing in mind when defining a new mission statement, or reviewing a current one.

Make it as succinct as possible

A mission statement should be as short and snappy as possible – preferably brief enough to be printed on the back of a business card. The detail which underpins it should be mapped out elsewhere.

Make it memorable

Obviously partially linked to the above, but try to make it something that people will be able to remember the key elements of, even if not the exact wording.

Make it unique to you

It’s easy to fall into the ‘motherhood and apple pie’ trap with generic statements that could equally apply to any institution. Focus on what it is that you strive to do differently: how  you achieve excellence, why  you value your staff or what it is about the quality of the student experience that sets you apart from the rest.

Make it realistic

Remember, your mission statement is supposed to be a summary of why you exist and what you do. It is a description of the present, not a vision for the future. If it bears little or no resemblance to the organisation that your staff know it will achieve little.

Make sure it’s current

​Though it is not something which should be changed regularly, neither should it be set in stone. Your institution’s priorities and focus may change significantly over time – perhaps in response to a change of direction set by a new vice-chancellor or principal, or major changes in government policy. On such occasions the question should at least be asked: ‘does our current mission statement still stand?’

It may be useful to re-read the examples cited in the mission statement section in the light of this list and to assess if and how each demonstrate these qualities.

Hopefully, if your mission statement conforms to the above principles it should stand a good chance of fulfilling its objectives, but there are no guarantees – especially if, no matter how well worded – it is not accepted by the broader institutional community. For if your institution as a whole, or significant elements of it, reject your mission statement wholesale its value is effectively lost and it will forever remain a slick, but essentially meaningless, set of words. The main mitigation against this risk is likely to stem from the way in which your mission statement, along with your vision and values are formulated, communicated and disseminated – topics addressed elsewhere in this resource.

The institutional experience

"On the basis of reflection at senior management level, followed by some small-scale ‘reality-check’ testing in a small number of staff teams, we identified a mission focused around the concepts of promoting, developing, supporting.

The proposition is that these words reflect the scope of our activities over the student lifecycle from initial enquiry to final award (promoting the university; promoting educational aspiration; developing life and learning skills, developing employability, supporting students, etc).

We considered whether the three concepts were in a linear or circular relationship and toyed with a number of different layouts. On the final strategy document, the mission appears as follows, alongside an image which is intended to reflect the importance of team working, collaboration and partnerships (as expressed elsewhere in the strategy)."
University of Sheffield

This section deliberately focuses on how to identify and agree your mission statement and not on who should be involved in this process. Questions regarding who should be involved and how it should be coordinated represents a different set of challenges entirely and are broadly the same regardless of whether forming your mission statement, vision statement or values. As a result this guidance is included at the end of this stage and is designed to encompass all three.

Before getting embroiled in the details of precise wording and phrasing your most important task is to have successfully identified the major elements by which you wish to define your institution’s raison d’être. Examples of what we mean by an ‘element’ include such things as ‘international reputation for research’, ‘leading edge facilities’ or ‘excellence in vocational training’. They represent the nub of what you feel represents the best of your institution and what it strives to achieve.

During this process it may help to ask yourselves the following questions:

1. What are the first 5 words that spring to mind when asked to describe your institution?
2. What is it that you do best?
3. What makes you different?
4. What would you like others to think of you?

The next stage in the process is likely to be one of shortlisting, only possible if accompanied by a considerable degree of discussion, compromise and trial and error. It should be fairly easy to move from the original long list to a shortlist of real contenders, simply by discarding those elements which received only very limited support, or which are only slight variations on others. Moving from a shortlist to the final number of agreed elements may prove a trickier proposition, not least because they may all be worthy entrants which, if length were no issue, would all be included.

Here is where a process of prioritisation may prove useful. Ranking each element in terms of its perceived importance to the institution serves two purposes: Firstly, it makes it possible to define a cut-off point, beyond which otherwise worthy elements will not make the final cut (ie ‘we are only going to include the top 4 elements that we have listed’, for example). Secondly, it starts to give some shape to the statement itself by dictating the logical order in which each element should be described, with logic dictating what you consider to be the most important element coming first.

From here on in it’s a question of phrasing, reviewing and rephrasing until you are happy with the end result. In many respects the process of defining the final wording of your mission statement is akin to writing poetry, with no word wasted or included without good reason, plus a similar need for the text to scan and flow as smoothly as possible. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to end up with a series of worthy, but disjointed and unconnected statements where, instead, what we are looking for is for the sum of the whole to be greater than its parts.

It is also worth paying particular attention to the range of adjectives used throughout the statement to ensure that you have not inadvertently slipped into unjustifiable hyperbole: are all your facilities really ‘world class’? Do you really have an ‘international reputation’ for research? etc. Focusing instead on what you believe to be most important to your institution, rather than simply repeating or trying to better well-worn generic claims should help in this regard. As ever, it is advisable to avoid jargon and to use plain English and short sentences wherever possible to ensure that your message is not weakened or lost.

As the above guidance implies, it is our view that the mission statement should be an accurate summary and reflection of the institution and what it strives to achieve as it is. Where it strives to be in the future is something which should be defined in its vision – as described in future sections. However, it may be that in certain exceptional circumstances – for example following the granting of university status or other such major changes – that it is necessary to also take a more future-focused approach to defining your new mission statement and perhaps looking to some of the goals identified during the formation of that vision to help craft a mission statement that describes how you see the new mission of the institution going forward, rather than simply reflecting the past you have left behind. Such complexities help remind us that individual circumstance and operational necessity may often require a more pragmatic and less clear-cut approach than it is possible for us to describe in this guidance.

Although crafted with longevity in mind it is also important to periodically review your mission statements to check that they are still current and valid. This may be particularly relevant after the kind of major organisational change mentioned above, but may also be required simply due to the passage of time and the gradual impact of change. A scheduled review process, perhaps annually or every few years can help ensure its continued relevance, always starting with an assessment of the statement as it currently stands and whether each element is still accurate and helpful. If there are aspects of it which should be removed or altered following the rest of the guidance in this section should help you to identify what they can most usefully be replaced with.

"Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome"
John KottEr

If your mission statement can best be described as a reflection of the fundamental purpose or purposes of your institution your vision statement should complement and enhance this by providing a description of where you hope this purpose will lead. In essence it represents a description of what and where you want to be. As such it is a statement of aspiration, not necessarily of fact and represents a vision of the type of organisation that you are striving to become and the high level goals you are hoping to achieve. Given these characteristics it is clear to see why an institution has need for both a mission statement and a vision statement as integral and complementary parts of its strategic framework; whilst at the same time re-emphasising the importance of ensuring a common thread and congruence between the two.

It is also worth reiterating the suggestion given earlier not to get too preoccupied with terms and titles. Some institutions may well interpret the objectives of the mission and vision statements in slightly different ways, or perhaps even combine the two requirements into one statement. What matters most is the consideration and articulation of these descriptions of the institution’s character and direction: less how you choose to label them.

Example vision statements

"Our vision is to be renowned as a forward thinking, enterprising and business engaged university. We will be known for providing a high quality and cutting edge learning experience, for research which has a real world impact and for being a catalyst in economic and social transformation. We will build on our existing strength to attain an international reputation as a leader in applied design and creativity and in healthcare and active lifestyles"
Sheffield Hallam University

“Our vision is to be the UK’s best knowledge and learning partnership university”
University of West of England

“McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile”
McDonald’s

“To be the most creative organisation in the world.”
The BBC

Organisations need to know where they are heading and what they are trying to accomplish and to state this clearly for getting there is dependent on the efforts of a large number of people – not all of whom can just be assumed to instinctively know what the collective goal is.

An institution’s vision statement is thus an articulation of its major goals and ambitions. The organisation which does not articulate its vision for the future will not necessarily fail, indeed it may continue to ‘tick over’ quite nicely, but nor is it likely to thrive. It stands less chance of growing, expanding and improving because it has no clear idea of what direction or form this growth, expansion or improvement should take. Not every good idea can be funded and not every opportunity pursued. Without a clear idea of where the institution is heading there is no sound basis for prioritising these decisions, resulting in an institution which is paddling as hard as it can, but making little real progress.

The institution’s vision statement establishes another aspect of the ‘big picture’. As such, it should be possible to trace a link back to it from all other levels of institutional planning and goal setting. Repeatedly asking the question: ‘how does this help us achieve our vision?’ when setting departmental and faculty-level objectives should help reinforce these links.

Your vision should also be a constant and visible element of your recruitment and selection processes, appearing as part of your initial job advertisement and application pack. By doing so you make a public claim about where you, as an organisation, are heading and therefore the type of people you need to make this happen. Pursuing this idea further, asking candidates either during the written application or interview stage to demonstrate how they would help the institution to achieve it can help ensure that all new staff are aware of the institution’s stated vision and are able to play their part in achieving it.

"The quality of your vision determines the creativity, quality and originality of your ideas and solutions. A powerful vision statement should stretch expectations and aspirations helping you jump out of your comfort zone."
Time Thoughts Website

As with the mission statement, there is no simple right or wrong answer and ultimately what counts is its appropriateness and suitability for the institution and where it is on its own particular ‘journey’. However, as with the mission statement, it is possible to define some general principles of good practice which it may prove useful to consider when revising your current vision statement, or drafting a new one.

Be inspirational

The vision statement is supposed to challenge, enthuse and inspire. Use powerful words and vivid phrases to articulate the kind of institution you are trying to become. This is your chance to lift your institution’s gaze above the grind of day-to-day gripes and problems and to focus attention on ‘the bigger picture’ and the potential rewards that await

Be ambitious

If you set your sights on being ‘within the top 10′ the chances are that the best you will come is 10th. If your real aim is to hit the top 5, why not say so and go for broke? What targets you set and how high you aim will, in themselves, also say something about you as an organisation. Ambitious, perhaps even audacious targets will help create the impression of an organisation that is going places, that aims high and demands high standards from its staff and students in a way that comfortable, ‘middle-of-the-road’ benchmarks will not

Be realistic

This may sound odd following on immediately from a call to ‘Be ambitious’, perhaps even contradictory, but it is an important part of the balancing act that is required. For just as the purpose of the vision is to inspire and enthuse, it is equally important that this ambition is tempered by an underlying sense of realism. People need to believe that what is envisaged is actually achievable; otherwise there is no reason for them to believe or buy in to it. It is perfectly possible to be both ambitious and realistic and it is through successfully marrying these two forces that the best vision statements will be formed. Stating that you will become ‘ranked in the top 3 in the student satisfaction league table within 5 years’ may be both ambitious and realistic if you currently sit at number 7, but sound far less convincing if you currently reside at number 57

Be creative

Albert Einstein once said that ‘imagination is more important than knowledge'.1 Of course, there is nothing wrong with saying that you will ‘deliver world-class learning and teaching standards but it is probably a safe bet that at least a dozen other institutions will be saying the same thing. Just as a commercial company may need to think creatively in order to identify gaps in the market, so too you may need to think imaginatively about what your vision is and how you describe it to help stand out from the crowd

Be descriptive

Unlike with your mission statement, there is no pressure to pare your vision down to the bone. Of course you want to be concise (indeed many of the best examples of memorable visions to tend to be so), but there is no need to enforce an arbitrary limit on its length. Take as much space as you need to get your vision across

Be clear

As with your mission statement it pays to avoid jargon, keep sentences short and to the point and use precise, uncluttered language. Otherwise you risk diluting or losing your message amongst the background ‘noise’

Be consistent

Though bearing in mind their different purposes, there should still be an element of continuity between your mission and vision statements, or at least some careful thought and discussion given as to why this is not the case. At the same time, the vision need not be constrained by the current remit of the mission. Perhaps the institution is keen to explore new areas in the future: to become the region’s conference venue of choice, for example, in which case this would need to be reflected in the mission statement in due course.

If your vision statement looks to the future, the question needs to be asked: how far into the future should we be looking?

If you look too far ahead it can seem too distant and remote: perhaps even beyond the period that most of your staff are even envisaging staying at the institution and thus being considered largely irrelevant by them. The flip side of this is that by looking too close to the present day you do not leave yourself the time required to achieve what should be quite ambitious and challenging goals.

To a certain extent any notion of an ‘ideal period’ will be influenced by the type of institution you are and the nature of the vision you have defined for yourself. For example, a heavily research orientated institution with strong industry links might need to take a longer term perspective than one that is focused more, say, on teaching for vocational purposes. However, so far as it is possible to define a specific ‘ideal period’ we suggest five years to usually be about right. Five years is far enough into the future to allow for profound change to be accomplished, but is near enough at hand for it to generate the momentum and focus required to influence strategic activity within the institution.

At the very least, we would advise reviewing your vision statement every 3-5 years – even if this is just to confirm that it is still relevant and useful – or in the light of any major changes affecting your institution or the sector at large, such as a change in government or a radical change in government’s strategic priorities.

As with the guidance on mission statements, this section focuses on the how. The who is addressed at the end of this guide.

The following techniques may help you to identity and shape a suitable vision for your institution.

Do your research

There is little point in striving to excel in something that nobody wants. This is not an easy task. Not only are you operating in a crowded and competitive marketplace, but it can also be difficult to predict now what might be in demand in five years time. Techniques such as scenario planning or some of our participatory approaches may be as close as you can get to a crystal ball in this regard.

Be imaginative

Try to visualise the organisation you wish to become. Think about and/or articulate what it will be like to work or study at. Perhaps try using creative approaches such as describing a fictional person’s ‘journey’ or ‘storyboard’ through this new institution, or graphical metaphors to help visualise it. Anything which helps people to think outside of the constraints of how things currently are and to envisage how they might wish it to be.

Be bold

Avoid the temptation of letting where you are now necessarily dictate your vision of where you want to be. Your vision statement should be proactive, not reactive and focused on new horizons, not retreading the same well worn ground.

Look for synergies

Though people may articulate them in different ways, or chose to stress differing aspects, you may find it useful to look beyond the differences and to identify those goals which, though on the surface appear different, actually share the same roots or characteristics and whose realisation would represent fundamentally the same achievement.

Be coherent

Check whether any proposed elements of the vision statement are possibly contradictory in nature.

Consideration of the above in as open, creative and constructive an environment as possible should help to ensure that your vision is as broad, inspiring and challenging as possible and will, therefore, set the right overall agenda for your strategic activity. Of course, the challenge is often how to achieve consensus, especially across large, diverse and devolved institutions.

More information on who to involve in such discussions and how is covered later on in this resource.

"It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are"
Roy Disney

Core values can best be described as operating philosophies or principles that guide an organisation’s internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world.

So, if mission statements tell you what your institution currently exists to achieve and vision statements articulate where you aspire to be, the purpose of stating your core values is to help define the type of organisation you strive to be. As such they describe something of your culture, your ethos and your priorities. They represent the how alongside the what and the where of your mission and vision statements. Of course it is quite possible to combine your values within your mission statement to achieve the same effect, but we feel that separating the two helps each to retain their specific purpose and makes it easier for others within the institution to appreciate the contribution they are designed to make.

As with all these high level strategic statements, their value only really emerges if and when they make the leap from words to deeds. Your values should both reflect and inform the culture within your organisation but will only do so if effort is made to ‘make them breathe’. This may include publicising your values around the institution, including them within recruitment information, your prospectus and other promotional material and running informal sessions on them for staff designed to encourage reflection on what adhering to these values may mean to them on an individual level. Highlighting, and perhaps even rewarding, particular teams or individuals who have made a positive contribution to the life of the institution through acting in tune with a particular value can also be a powerful means of emphasising that values are not just well meaning words, but an integral part of the life of the institution.

Core values can help remind the organisation what is important to it and to make sure that these qualities do not get lost, either in the middle of daily operations, or in pursuit of your vision. But in order to be of such practical use it is vital that the values you define for your institution are specific and meaningful to your institution. Agreeing sincere, yet bland and generic ‘motherhood and apple pie’ style values which no one could argue with but which could equally apply to every institution is relatively easy.

What is more difficult to achieve is to identify and agree values which are original, inspiring and specific to your institution.

It must be said that all too often the values listed by further and higher education institutions do tend to fall into the ‘motherhood and apple pie’ camp, full of well-worn phrases such as ‘Valuing diversity, equality, inclusion and opportunity’, ‘Excellence in service delivery’ and ‘Respect for learners and staff’.

Contrast these with the following examples from the private sector which not only say something specific and immediately recognisable about the organisation in question, but are also clearly reflected in the way they conduct business.

Example organisational values

"Everything we do is underpinned by our core values of transparency, fairness and security. These are the foundations which enable us to maintain our financial strength and deliver long-term good value"
Nationwide Building Society

"Focus on the user and all else will follow
It’s best to do one thing really, really well
Fast is better than slow
Democracy on the web works
You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer
You can make money without doing evil
There’s always more information out there
The need for information crosses all borders
You can be serious without a suit
Great just isn’t good enough"
Google

"our co-operative values
Self-help – we help people to help themselves
Self-responsibility – we take responsibility for, and answer to our actions
Democracy – we give our members a say in the way we run our businesses
Equality – no matter how much money a member invests in their share account, they still have one vote
Equity – we carry our business in a way that is fair and unbiased
Solidarity – we share interests and common purposes with our members and other co-operatives.

our ethical values
Openness – nobody’s perfect, and we won’t hide it when we’re not
Honesty – we are honest about what we do and the way we do it
Social responsibility – we encourage people to take responsibility for their own community, and work together to improve it
Caring for others – we regularly fund charities and local community groups from the profits of our businesses."
The Co-operative

What all of these have in common is their relevance to the organisation in question and the sector in which they operate. As a result they are unambiguous, non-transferable and immediately recognisable as part of the ethos behind the brand.

Can the same be said to be true for your values? Are they specific to your institution (or even your sector?) or could they be applied with equal accuracy and relevance to another institution, or even another type of organisation altogether?

As with your mission statement, your values should describe something of how your organisation currently is, less what it wishes to become. That said, there is something aspirational about the notion of values. A commitment to value ‘Excellence in service delivery’, however, is not a claim that all your services are always faultless; it is a statement that as a principle you will not compromise on service quality and that the pursuit of excellence will guide the decisions you make and the contracts you enter into.

Defining your values should be a creative and collaborative process. Who and how to involve people is addressed more fully in the next section but the general principles of obtaining as wide a representation of views as possible and pursuing the most constructive and creative ways of capturing them are also worth mentioning here. It is also a process which must be handled with sensitivity. Attempts to define your institution’s values will inevitably touch on issues of individual ethics, morality and beliefs. Encouraging such introspection is a valuable part of the process and an important one in making people see the relevance of institutional values to them as individuals, but is also one which, if not handled with tact and diplomacy could risk surfacing tensions and alienating rather than including people.

Reflecting on how those who come into contact with your institution viewed the experience can help ensure that your values actually reflect your institution. Audit reports, staff and student satisfaction surveys and the reflections of associated, but independent, people such as governors can all provide a steer in this direction. Perhaps a strikingly high number of such sources make particular mention of the friendly atmosphere, the commitment of staff or the quality of the facilities. In themselves these might not represent ready-made values, but might lead the way to the underlying values which make them possible.

Just as with your mission statement it is important that your values are supported by some sort of evidence. For every value you identify it should be possible to point to several, hopefully many, examples from all corners of the institution of that value in action: how it has influenced a decision that has been made or positively contributed to an aspect of institutional life. Such a process can also be used to help move beyond the general and hackneyed such as ‘respect for people’ towards something more relevant and informative by encouraging you to reflect on how such respect has previously been demonstrated or why it was given such a high priority in that particular circumstance and to what effect. In doing so what may emerge is a far richer and more illustrative value that is routed in the reality of your institution.

There need not be any self-imposed limit on the number of core values you define and you should include as many as you feel are required to reflect your institution’s traits and priorities. A quick scan through a random selection of college and university websites suggests that the average number of core values listed is around six, with ten being the most and three the least. What matters most is that you have captured the essence of what it is that makes you the institution you are.

Values are often described by one or two words (e.g. ‘student focus’, ‘high performance’, or ‘inclusiveness’). However, as in the example from the Cooperative included in the previous section, it is often useful to further elaborate on this with a short accompanying sentence that can help define its particular relevance or how it influences the work of the organisation. Once again this can help guard against over-generalisation and provide the opportunity to demonstrate its roots and relevance to the institution.

Other techniques used to help make the values memorable include the use of acronyms (with the first letter of each value spelling out a central key word (eg 'respect').

Living the values

Once again, institutions must resist the temptation to treat the publication of their core values as the end of the process. In order to be effective the values must be something shared, adopted and believed in by the organisation as a whole – otherwise they represent just another hoop jumped through and just another page on the website. It may well be worth regularly monitoring the views of staff and students about the values, their relevance and what progress is being made towards them to reassure you that they are continuing to serve a useful purpose.

Repeated examples of discrepancies between stated values and organisational behaviour are clearly likely to dent enthusiasm for the values and belief that they mean anything. Sometimes such discrepancies might not be immediately apparent but with a moments reflection it is easy to see how some of the following examples could have a negative influence on people’s perception.

• Offering reserved parking spaces for senior management whilst ‘believing in staff equality’
• Closing down socially important, but unprofitable, courses whilst ‘behaving in the interests of society’
• Banning all staff use of social networking sites (even during breaks) whilst ‘trusting our staff’
• Preventing use of university facilities by local residents whilst ‘respecting our local community’

There may be perfectly good operational reasons behind each of these decisions, but, perhaps, a moment’s pause to reflect on how the intended decision squares with the institution’s values may have lead to an alternative approach being adopted. If not, and if your values are simply put to one side each time circumstances dictate an alternative course is taken, perhaps you really should question whether your stated core values are anything other than just fine, but ultimately meaningless, words.

As with your mission and vision statements, your values should be integrated into all relevant aspects of institutional life. Obvious examples of where your values can play a useful role in reflecting and reinforcing the essential nature of your institution include:

• During the recruitment and selection process by informing potential applicants of the type of institution they are considering joining and giving them the opportunity to reflect on whether they share these values
• During regular staff appraisal processes by incorporating the values into the criteria by which you assess the performance of staff and set goals for the coming year
• As part of the decision making framework employed by management by encouraging a consideration of ‘is the decision we are about to make in tune with our agreed values?’
• Promoting the values through regular stories within college or university magazines about inspiring or successful examples of staff and students ‘living’ the values, possibly combined with an annual award for the individual or team who have done most to exemplify one or more value

The institutional experience

"In practice we tested the values using a combination of an exercise we described as ‘values in action’, which was inspired by the ‘Living the Values’ guidance. This involved asking a selected group of staff teams to translate the existing list of values into practical examples in their working life, and within their experience of service delivery. Where this proved difficult we asked staff to suggest alternative words and/or to identify gaps in the existing list.

Alongside this staff consultation exercise, I also convened a meeting with the president of our Students’ Union, to get some student input as to whether the values were those he and his sabbatical team would expect to be espoused by a service department such as ours.

Among the helpful feedback received, an interesting debate emerged around the concept of ‘transparency’ – some colleagues believing this to be an important concept; others feeling it was a meaningless management ‘buzzword'; some feeling concerned that it contradicted their professional requirements around confidentiality; and the student view that it suggested an inappropriate degree of openness which could lead to user concerns around trust.

The final product is a very straightforward list of eight words, which we have presented in simple alphabetical order within the strategy."
University of Sheffield

Senior managers often and rightly take the lead role in formalising the text of documents as high-level, strategic and important as mission, vision and value statements. In some circumstances it may even be formally decreed who has the authority to define such things, as is the case in many FE colleges where the corporation is responsible for agreeing the mission statement.

But regardless of where the final responsibility lies there will be few institutions who do not consult with staff, students and other stakeholders during this process. Taking creative and active steps to engage with stakeholders through a variety of means not only increases the likely relevance and quality of the ‘end product’ but also starts the process of encouraging ownership and active engagement within the concepts the statements define.

"The various environmental scanning exercises and consultation activities are likely to generate a large amount of material, references, comments, and opinions. Skill is needed to précis and re-present these"
Andrew West, director of student services, The University of Sheffield

There is no one right way to undertake this process of consultation and engagement and, indeed, there are significant advantages to employing several parallel approaches, each designed to achieve a specific goal or to engage with a particular target audience. It will also depend on how far down the road of engagement and consultation you wish to travel.

Some institutions may wish to only seek wider opinion once a range of options have already been shortlisted, whilst others may see merit in proactively engaging stakeholders at a much earlier stage when ideas are still being formed.

Possible approaches to consultation

Innovative and creative use of a range of such techniques makes it possible to move towards engaging in a true ‘strategic conversation’ within the institution. By encouraging people to think about and debate what the institution’s mission, vision and core values really are the institution will have generated genuine momentum behind the process and encouraged real institutional ownership, rather than staff just viewing them as a set of meaningless words which suddenly appear on the website.

Analysis and feedback

Of course it is one thing to encourage and receive contributions from stakeholders via any or all of the approaches listed, but quite another to then manipulate, analyse and reflect upon the data obtained. The scale of this task should not be underestimated and may well take a range of staff and associated skills: technical, statistical, operational, managerial and presentational.

As well as aggregating and synthesising data for the consideration of those ultimately responsible for agreeing these strategic statements it is also worth considering the benefits of providing timely and ongoing feedback to those who have contributed to the process – and those that haven’t. Providing regular updates, summaries of feedback received to date and management responses to what has been said all helps to demonstrate that a two-way consultation process is genuinely underway and that people’s views are being listened to, if not always acted upon. Without such feedback loops people might start to doubt progress and question whether their continued participation and interest is justified.

Hopefully, having read the previous sections, readers should be left in little doubt as to the importance of defining a clearly articulated set of mission statement, vision statement and statement of core values. They exist to remind people of the big picture and to set the main course and, hopefully, act as a source of stability in an ever changing world.

But their formation, agreement and dissemination mark the beginning, rather than the end, of the process. Unless they guide decisions, shape actions and influence behaviour such statements would achieve little and offer little return on the investment required to create them.

What underpins these high level strategies will vary from institution to institution depending on tradition, circumstance and operational need but regardless of the detail the overall requirement remains broadly the same: to cascade this strategic direction down and throughout the institution with sufficient detail and clarity to directly inform and coordinate its operations and activities.