Setting missions, visions & charters

Why have a mission, vision or charter?

Some groups will find that setting a mission, vision and/or charter will help keep them focused, and make it easier to communicate what it is they’re achieving.

Having a mission, vision or charter certainly isn’t compulsory, though, and many groups will still operate effectively without them. To help you decide, here’s a quick overview of what a mission, vision and charter is, and how you might create them.

Mission

A mission says who your group is, and what it exists to do. It should be brief (less than 15 words long) and simple.

One way of creating a mission is to get everyone together to make a list of all the things the group does, using words like: 

And where you do it, with words like:

And why you’re doing it, with words like:

Once you’ve got the list, hand it over to one or two ‘wordsmiths’ in the group to whip into a mission statement that is short, makes sense and is easy to read and remember – then bring it back to the group to confirm.  We've collected a few examples of mission statements from around the world, to help get you started.

Vision

A vision says what you want your neighbourhood and community to look like when you’ve achieved everything you’ve set out to do. Again, it should be short and simple, and could focus on attributes of the area like:

• Who’s walking in the area, how often and why?
• How do the streets look, how clean are they and how nice are they to walk around?
• What facilities are available for walkers?
• How safe are the streets, and how safe do they feel?
• How does car traffic in the area interacts with walkers?
• What connections between people in the area exist, and what sense of ‘community’ or ‘neighbourliness’ is there?
• What is the economic wellbeing of local traders and retail areas?
• What is the health status of local people, especially children?

The ‘wordsmiths’ in the group should then take these attributes and craft them into a single statement, and then seek the endorsement of the group. If you need some more ideas, have a look at these vision statements from similar groups around the world.

Charter

A charter sets out how you’re going to work, and what values your group has. Values which go into your charter might include:

We've collected some charters and values from other groups, to help guide you through this process.