‘Value and develop our staff community’ is one of the goals of our Strategic Plan 2023-2028 ‘Transformation for an Unscripted Future’. The specific focus of this goal acknowledges that our staff are key to our success. Ultimately it will be their talent, their commitment to education, research and innovation and their engagement with the challenges of the world today that will enable us to achieve our ambition to be a University of Transformation.  

We have come through a period of considerable change as an institution. This document outlines the updated framework for our DCU staff community that takes account of our multicampus situation and harnesses the thinking of all those who participated in a comprehensive programme of consultation that accompanied its development. This included a staff engagement & diversity and inclusion survey, a series of workshops across our campuses and an online forum using the DCU Fuse platform.  

‘Our DCU’ was created in consultation with staff back in 2019 and encompasses our ambitions for a culture that enables us to flourish, for professional and social connection, for dialogue where we share information and views, for recognition of our contribution and achievements, and for our personal and professional well-being. 

The objective of this plan is to fulfill those ambitions. To build a community to which everyone can belong and of which everyone can be proud  of.A community that will be at its best when we all take collective responsibility for it, when we contribute to it and when we are not afraid to call out the behaviours, actions or attitudes that would diminish it. It is, after all, our DCU.  

OUR MISSION

To transform lives and societies through education, research, innovation, and engagement.

OUR VISION 

DCU will be a leading innovative European University distinguished by the quality of the DCU experience, and the impact of our teaching and research on our stakeholders and on issues of global concern.  Through our Guiding Philosophy of People, Focus and Impact, we will 

• Pioneer a Transformative Student Experience by developing our curriculum, distinctive learning experience, services, supports and opportunities. 
• Value and Develop our Staff Community by strengthening our staff culture and community and enhance our capabilities and performance
• Advance our Research Reputation and Impact by developing our research outputs, impact and doctoral community
• Enhance Local and International Engagement by growing the impact of our partnerships across communities and enterprise national and internationally
• Optimise Organisational Resilience and Readiness by optimising our organisaiotnal structures, skillsets, business intelligence and campus development plans
• Enhance Local and International Engagement and 
• Optimise Organisational Resilience and Readiness

OUR CULTURE AND VALUES   

We foster a culture that is

• Open
• Collegial
• Collaborative
• Student-focussed
• Ambitious
• Inclusive

We are committed to:

• Collective Leadership 
• Innovation, Creativity & Enterprise (ICE)
• Sustainable Development 
• Agility and Horizon Scanning

OUR AMBITION 

To be a welcoming, diverse community where people and ideas thrive

OUR FOCUS 

There are five pillars that support and focus our efforts to create a vibrant, cohesive staff community and culture: ‘Our DCU’.  

A commitment to the principles and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion underpins the Our DCU framework.

CULTURE

Goal    We live according to our values  

A few years ago, Joshua Rothman, The Ideas Editor of the New Yorker magazine, wrote that culture represents ‘a wish that a group of people might discover, together, a good way of life… that might express itself in their habits, institutions, and activities (which) in turn, might help individuals flourish’.  For us, culture is much more than a wish, it is the mainstay of our community. That’s why we are prioritising work to understand our values and to bring them meaningfully to life.   

Objectives

• Build understanding of and connection with DCU’s values through ongoing exploration of their application in employees’ working lives
• Integrate values-led consideration into recruitment, performance and promotion processes
• Enhance the physical work environment to reflect and promote the values
• Respond to other initiatives as appropriate which seek to promote the values of DCU and enhance the employee experience

Goal    We regularly come together to work and connect 

The power of social connection has been well researched. To be at our best personally and professionally, we need positive, supportive connections with others. Under this priority we seek to provide the physical circumstances and environment that facilitate people coming together, to create opportunities for staff to network, collaborate and socialise and to engender the sense of belonging that makes Our DCU meaningful. 

Objectives

• Encourage and enable the practice of cross campus collaboration by promoting existing opportunities and by creating new ones
• Engage staff across disciplines and campus through a year-round programme of social events, curated and developed by a staff social committee
• Create social and work spaces that promote people and ideas coming together 
• Facilitate the mobility of staff between campuses through the provision of appropriate transport options 

Goal    We benefit from sharing information and views

Dialogue has been called the art of thinking together. It is a means of gaining insight and increasing understanding. We need to ensure the processes and practices that support good dialogue, such as information flow, engagement and participation, are in place in DCU so that we can make informed decisions and strengthen what we do. Communication is essential for any community to be effective. Dialogue is an attribute of a truly strong and positive community. 

Objectives

• Create and enable opportunities for dialogue face-to-face and online to ensure that all voices are heard 
• Ensure staff at all levels are informed of key decisions, actions and events
• Create and enable opportunities for staff to think together on issues relevant to their work

Goal    We are valued for what we do and how we do it

We all thrive when we are appreciated. We will put in place the policies, practices, incentives and acknowledgements that recognise and celebrate the staff who make valuable contributions to DCU, be it academic achievement, exceptional professional competence, individual excellence or superior team performance. 

Objectives 

• Explore how we can recognise and appreciate staff outside of the formal University Awards schemes  
• Ensure all staff enjoy parity of esteem and equality of opportunity for professional development and career progression
• Promote and encourage behaviours and attitudes that evidence respect and gratitude
• Ensure full engagement by all staff in the University’s Performance Management and Review Scheme

Goal    We are enabled to be at our best   

Positive communities prioritise the well-being of their members. They support, encourage and help them to be the best they can be.  This is our aim here. We seek to introduce and support practices and policies that enable staff to manage the demands of work and home life, or to feel assured of our support and guidance if they need it. 

Objectives 

• Advance policies and practices that support flexible and respectful work arrangements 
• Further develop and promote engagement with the DCU Employee Assistance Programme
• Conduct biennial staff engagement survey to monitor and track results on key indices and gain insight to strengthen performance
• Encourage and enable initiatives that encourage physical and mental well-being 

Our DCU Implementation Plan was developed to support the delivery of Our DCU Framework. 

The Framework outlines the University’s ambition to be a welcoming and diverse community where people and ideas thrive and identifies five pillars to support us  in focussing our efforts to create a vibrant, cohesive staff community and culture. 

The pillars and the plan are underpinned by our commitment to encourage and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging for all. 

The pillars are: 

• Culture 
• Connection 
• Dialogue 
• Recognition 
• Wellbeing 

Our DCU Implementation Plan outlines a series of objectives and actions against each of the five pillars. These are a reflection of the ideas and suggestions put forward by staff following a comprehensive programme of consultation, which included a staff engagement survey, a series of workshops across our campuses and an online forum using the DCU Fuse platform. 

Our DCU Implementation Plan will be progressed to support Our DCU ambitions.