London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

LSHTM’s mission statement is strong and clear: to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide. However, we do not currently define the organisational values that underpin this. The LSHTM Executive Team and the Values Working Group want to involve the entire LSHTM community in establishing and describing the core values, ethos and principles of our School.

We aim to define a small number of values to ensure they are memorable and offer a clear guide for staff and students in all that they do at our School. After reading the information below, you’ll find a link to some background information and an online anonymous Microsoft (MS) Form. You can identify the values you think best fit our School and there is the option to add your own suggestions and comment on specific values.

These values will:

1. Set out what we all expect from each other and guide behaviour to create a positive environment for everyone.
2. Inform our strategy, policies, activities and decision-making to help us all achieve our mission.
3. Demonstrate our culture to the external world.

Why are we developing values for our School?

We have been doing a lot of thinking and listening about our School values. They have  been a topic of discussion throughout the EDI strategy consultation and development, and the 2020 report on staff feeling valued offered some additional context on the sorts of qualities people would like to be embedded at our institution.

We have undertaken some preparatory work to identify common themes, including looking through the 2017-22 LSHTM strategy, the most recent staff survey results, conversations with the Deans of Faculty and feedback from the Research Forum. Now we want your input.

Tell us what you think via the online Developing LSHTM Values Alumni Feedback Form

Your input is vital – we want our values to reflect the whole LSHTM community.

This feedback exercise will initially run for three months and is open to all staff, students and alumni. Whilst the form will close for comments on 14 January 2022, the conversation around LSHTM’s values will continue through the broader process to develop a new LSHTM strategy.

In the opening months of 2022, we plan to host a virtual engagement session with alumni to discuss shaping our next LSHTM post-2022 strategy with you. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you’re looking for inspiration or want to see how other organisations use their values, here are a few examples:

• The National Trust
• Wellcome Trust
• The World Bank

We look forward to hearing from and working with you on this journey to clearly define what it means to work and study at our School.

Best wishes,

Liam
Lead for the Values Working Group

Professor Liam Smeeth
Director 
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine