Forward plan 2028

Cultural Shift is the mechanism through which we will continue to strengthen the culture, behaviours and ways of working that enable our people and services to thrive. Building on the progress made through Forward Plan 2025, we will focus on creating an environment where colleagues feel empowered to lead change, develop their skills, work inclusively and contribute to a strong sense of community across the Libraries.

Over the next two years, our Cultural Shift will continue to focus on four interconnected themes: Working Environment and Staff Development; Engagement, Collaboration and Community; User Experience and Innovation; and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Together, these will help us strengthen leadership at all levels, foster meaningful connections between colleagues, embed user-centred thinking, and ensure our culture reflects our values in practice.

Cultural Shift remains a shared endeavour, shaped by colleagues and delivered through collective action across the Libraries.

Working Environment and Staff Development

Objective 17: Create a culture where colleagues at all levels feel empowered to identify challenges, lead solutions and make a meaningful impact.

KR 1. Design and implement a staff development pathway for library colleagues at all levels who want to develop their leadership skills and feel confident to take initiative and drive improvements in library services.

KR 2. Define a common set of behaviours to demonstrate how library colleagues live the University’s values, to strengthen collaborative and inclusive ways of working.

KR 3. Foster a psychologically safe culture that encourages experimentation, learning and reflection to support creativity and continuous improvement.

Engagement, Collaboration and Community

Objective 18: Continue to build a connected and collaborative library community that enables staff to share knowledge, contribute ideas and access opportunities.

KR 1. Strengthen community and belonging through work shadowing and buddying opportunities to support collaboration, build relationships, and provide colleagues with new insights and perspectives.

KR 2. Deliver a programme of team showcases to increase awareness and understanding of the breadth of work across the Library and identify opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing.

KR 3. Improve the visibility of cross-library groups and decision-making routes to enable colleagues to understand how they can follow, influence and engage with activity beyond their immediate team.

KR 4. Address practical barriers to staff engagement to enable colleagues across all roles and working patterns to participate, contribute and feel connected to the wider library community.

User Experience and Innovation

Objective 19: Embed a user‑centred approach across the library by strengthening UX capability, consolidating insight and enabling staff to apply UX methods through evidence‑driven practice.

KR 1. Carry out a UX and innovation maturity audit to understand current practice and identify priorities for strengthening UX capability, capacity and ways of working.

KR 2. Develop sustainable ways to consolidate, analyse and present UX outputs from across the libraries to support decisions about service development with user research.

KR 3. Establish a SharePoint UX and Innovation Hub to enable colleagues to access resources, guidance, opportunities and activity that support user-centred practice across the Library.

KR 4. Further embed best UX research and design practice through making staff spaces and infrastructure suitable for our adopted UX research and design methodology.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Objective 20: Develop an inclusive, accessible and equitable library environment where all staff feel valued, supported and able to contribute.

KR 1. Strengthen partnership working with Disability Services to improve staff awareness of support available and ensure clear, consistent information and support is available for users across the Library.

KR 2. Embed Equality Impact Assessments within service change activity to increase staff confidence in delivering inclusive consultation and decision-making.

KR 3. Strengthen managers' understanding of reasonable adjustments to improve the consistency and effectiveness of support available to colleagues.

KR 4. Review and strengthen the implementation of EDI principles across the Library to ensure inclusive practice is consistently reflected in culture, processes and decision-making.