2021 – 2025 (5 YEAR STRATEGY)
The IST Executive Board has developed and owns the IST Strategy. The Executive regularly monitors progress (with support from the IST Full Team and with Special Interest Groups) alongside strategic priorities and needs for the membership as well as the technical community. Each year the IST reviews the strategy and makes amendments if appropriate.
Our aim is to make the Institute all-embracing and, in order to achieve this, help / advise on networks and specialist forums, in addition to providing training, recognised qualifications, continuing career development opportunities, resources and guidance.
Recognition of professional standing is high on our agenda and, most importantly, expansion of the vibrant community of technical, specialist and managerial colleagues who will work together to help make a difference and shape our future.
Our Vision
To be an all-inclusive membership body for the professional technical community.
Our Mission
To inspire lifelong learning, advancing individual and organisational professional excellence and to strengthen our technical community.
Our Strategic Framework
As a not-for-profit organisation, we recognise the need to work in close partnership with our members and our communities to deliver our aims, vision and mission.
We are the IST; and we aim to be recognised as the leading professional body for the technical workforce.Established in 1948 and known originally as the Science Technologists Association. We embody and are proud of our history, but with the modern technology-driven world opening up many new and exciting fields, our main aim is to ensure that the IST strives to represent the many technologies and no longer just the sciences (hence why we now have four discipline categories).
Our Strategic Framework identifies groups of technical professionals that we support and work closely with, across many technology disciplines (Creative Industries & Technologies, Engineering, Digital/AI & Science), as well as defining strategic ambitions and objectives to support each group.
The IST delivers our vision and mission through the needs of technicians, specialists and managers across many disciplines. These professionals are the unsung heroes of the organisations in which they work. Having an outward focus allows the IST to remain relevant and effective in delivering our vision and mission, whilst offering further recognition and visibility to the technical community.
Our Values
We will be Inclusive of all disciplines of technology, constantly motivated for Excellence in all our activities and use the strength of Teamwork to deliver value.
Inclusive
We will respect everyone and value each other’s contribution from all different disciplines and backgrounds.
Excellence
Continuously work with our members and the technical community to improve best practice and allow access to knowledge exchange, development and support.
Teamwork
We will collaborate with our members and the community to encourage discussions whilst recognising talent and rewarding hard work.
Our organisational values are fed into the IST strategic framework, as well as the many ways that we enable development (through engagement, training, resources and community), and this helps us deliver our aims, vision and mission.
Inclusive
We support professionalism across every sector and discipline
| What we do | How we measure it |
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We enable our community to achieve recognition by demonstrating competency and professionalism. |
The number of our IST members achieving Science Council registered status (RSciTech, RSci and CSci) or RTAI, RPAI, APAI or RPCIT status. |
| We provide relevant, inspiring and up- to-date knowledge and lifelong learning. | Members and individuals engaged with IST training and development, such as courses, the Publications, the technical conference. |
| We connect and promote a diverse, inclusive and engaged profession. | Members of all sectors, disciplines from different backgrounds and experiences from senior leaders down to apprentices. |
Excellence
We promote the contribution of excellence in technology in order to make a real difference
| What we do | How we measure it |
| We want every student to think positively about becoming a technician and will ensure that they have the opportunity to become a technical specialist. | Annual numbers of young people, parents, teachers that are engaged with an IST education initiative / resource. |
| We promote technical solutions that solve problems, maintaining high standards and dissemination of information. | Engagement with IST conferences, special interest groups, government bodies. |
| We share technology innovation and promote professional development and best practice. | Conferences and Events, Professional Registration and the Publications. |
Teamwork
We partner with communities to support quality, efficiency and innovation in technology
| What we do | How we measure it |
| We work with the technical community to understand its needs and meet the need of skilled professionals. | IST Fellows, IST Ambassadors and IST Surveys, Government Bodies and Technical Supporters. |
| We support Government to adopt effective technical and quality technology solutions. | Government engagement with specific topics that the IST is engaging with. |
| We set high professional and ethical standards to deliver safe, reliable and new solutions to the community. | Through Executive, Membership and Special Interest Groups. |
Our Ambition and Objectives
Working with creative industries/technologies, engineering, digital/AI and science technologies professionals, we support excellence and professionalism amongst the technical community and wider fields. We also believe that the IST has an important role to play in facilitating the adoption of new technology and sharing of best practice.
We recognise that the benefit that technicians, specialists and managers deliver to the community relies on the quality of the individuals. With the rapid advances in knowledge, it is essential to identify and adapt new learning on a continual basis. Individuals also need to demonstrate an integrity, competency and professionalism which goes beyond academic understanding, contributing to annual reflection and developments.
The IST endeavours to collaborate with Industry, HE and FE as well as Government bodies and departments to support quality, efficiency and innovation in all areas of technology. We also have a shared interest in working with employers to ensure the technical community can operate in organisations with the right skills and maintaining of high operational standards for the present and future of technology.