Institutional Values Development

Under Forward Together: The University of Alberta People Strategy, we have committed to developing formal, institutional values. 

The university community has offered extensive input on its values through several consultation processes and a number of our institutional plans include principles and values. We want to build on this work. 

In consultations on the People Strategy, the university community linked values to priorities like establishing supportive environments, building a sense of community and belonging, strengthening relationships and collaboration, and fostering trust and respect.

Organizational values

An organization’s values are the principles and beliefs that guide its actions, decisions, and culture. Values reflect what an organization stands for and how it aspires to interact with its community, stakeholders, and the world. 

Values are a cornerstone for building a sense of belonging and connection and provide a lens to guide the university in priority setting and decision-making over the long term.

What do organizational values look like?

Values are typically concise and direct – a few keywords or phrases easily understood and embraced across the institution. 

Organizational values also tend to be:

• Authentic to the institution (reflecting its history, mission and aspirations)
• Relevant across the organization, over the long term
• Action-oriented (i.e. can be reflected in our actions)

What we heard

In the first phase of the values development process, we conducted broad consultations focused on identifying major themes, informed by the university’s existing values-type language (e.g. in various plans and official statements). Our learnings are summarized in a What We Heard (WWH) report. 

Over 200 individuals participated in the first phase of consultations and provided over 1000 data points, which have been grouped into thematic clusters. The WWH report does not outline draft values, but rather, captures words, themes and language that members of our community noted.

our values development: built on community input

The Institutional Values project was fundamentally built upon three years of dedicated consultation with thousands of students, faculty, and staff, incorporating deep insights from major previous initiatives like Shape: The University Strategic Plan 2023-2033, Igniting Purpose: The Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) and Braiding Past, Present & Future: Indigenous Strategic Plan. As part of this current project, we initiated focused discussions over the past year to specifically define and translate these shared community ideas into core institutional values. This critical phase of work culminated in our What We Heard report, which was supported by continuous engagement via "Values Labs," online surveys, and broader outreach. Here is a timeline of the previous plans and subsequent activities that have been completed as we worked through the development of our values.