Vision and Mission

Introduction

The Vision and Mission are the overarching guidelines of any organisation. The vision gives a picture of how the world will look when the problem you are addressing is solved, while the mission explains how you will solve it. They speak for what you want to become and in which direction you want to go.

Why

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This toolkit is useful when your organisation:

• does not have a clearly defined vision and mission and wants to create one that inspires people both internal and external to the organisation.
• has recently changed its offerings, and the existing vision and mission need to be revised.
• wants to have a concise mission statement that shows what it does and how it will achieve its vision.

What you can expect

In eight steps this toolkit will assist you in creating or reviewing the vision and mission of your organisation. Here you’ll find a step-by-step guide, tools, examples and other resources for defining your vision and mission.

Step 1: Establish Need

• Discuss the need to define/review the vision and mission with the organisation's leaders and key staff members. It is best if several people from different teams work together, both to enhance support and to include several perspectives.
• Explain the importance of having a clear and concise vision and mission statement that is easy to explain to people both in- and outside the organisation.

Watch this 14 minute lecture of the University of Ghana in which the purpose of mission statements, and the difference between mission and vision statements is explained:

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Step 2: Explore the social problem

• Begin to identify the social problem you are addressing. There are often multiple issues that lead to the problem the organisation is trying to solve, so explore what the root causes are that lead to the problem.
• Defining the organisation’s vision is to understand its reason for existence. It may seem intuitive to you, but it is important to put it into words.
• You can use this tool to understand what a social problem is.

Step 3: Define the social problem

• Frame a statement out of the identified root causes that lead to the problem the organisation is addressing and its consequences in society. 
• The social problem definition is always a negative statement. It describes the current situation that you are addressing through your interventions.
• Use this tool.

Step 4: Create your vision statement

• Think about how the future will look once the problem is solved. The vision statement describes your dream of the future and it should inspire other people to believe in the same dream.
• Use powerful words in your vision statement that will stay in people’s mind.
• Watch this powerful example of a video vision statement by the Special Olympics, and how it captures the essence of the organisation’s beliefs and values and defines its place in the world. Remember: a vision statement explains the overall goal of your organisation looking into the future, while the mission statement outlines your present plan to realise the vision.

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Step 5: Create your mission statement

• Connect the present (social problem definition) with the future (vision).
• Provide the following information in a clear and concise manner in the mission statement:
  • What does the organisation do?
  • For whom?
  • How?
• Consolidate the statements to one sentence each.

Step 6: Seek support and approval

• Present your concept vision and mission statement to your teams, leadership and board.
• Make it an interactive session, in which you seek input and feedback.
• Once the statements are refined and discussion about which words to use took place in detail, get the approval of the board.
• Make a plan to share the final vision and mission statement with the whole team.

Step 7: Incorporation

• Incorporate the new vision and mission statements into all marketing collaterals.
• Make the new statements visible in the office, for example through posters on the wall. This can help encourage staff morale, ownership, and teamwork.
• Look at how the NGO Partners in Health has incorporated their mission and vision in their website with one succinctly powerful line: “We go. We make house calls. We build health systems. We stay.” They then go into more detail through the rest of the page, complete with relevant calls to action in the sidebar of the page. By giving viewers a direct line to donate or sign up for the e-newsletter, PIH has a higher chance of engagement.

Step 8: Follow up and support

• Support the team in incorporating the vision in the organisation’s culture beyond the documents and collaterals.
• Make sure the leaders of the organisation refer to the vision and mission before major decisions or transitions. Whatever the organisation does in the future should be aligned with the vision.

Key To Success

• Enough time should be reserved to fully explore the social problem you are addressing.
• Always remember that this is a discovery rather than an inventing process
• Statements should be clear and concise so that they can be remembered and referred to easily.
• Encourage the participation of key staff members in the process. Ask them about their views.

Challenges

• Incorporating the vision and mission across the organisation in all areas of work.
• Defining a vision and mission that is ambitious as well as actionable, idea-based and specific.