> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://usdr.gitbook.io/digital-service-toolkit/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://usdr.gitbook.io/digital-service-toolkit/align-your-stakeholders/define-your-vision.md).

# Define Your Vision

Create a shared statement that guides what your digital service team will do, who it will serve, and how it will create value.

## What Is a Digital Service Team Vision and Why Does it Matter?

A vision describes the future your team wants to help create. It explains what should be different for residents, employees, or government departments if the team succeeds. The goals and priorities established during the [alignment workshop](/digital-service-toolkit/align-your-stakeholders/alignment-workshop.md) will help shape this vision.

The vision should be ambitious enough to provide long-term direction and focused enough to guide priorities and decisions. It helps stakeholders understand what the team is working toward and determine which opportunities will move the organization closer to that future.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
Without a clear mission, your team risks becoming a general-purpose technology resource or taking on unrelated requests that exceed its capacity.
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### How is this different from a mission?

In [Scott Kubie’s “VMT Framework,”](https://kubie.co/tools/vmt/) a vision describes the future you want to see. Missions are the specific efforts you undertake to move toward it.

#### Example

* **Vision:** Residents can access government services easily, regardless of their abilities, language, or technical experience
* **Mission:** Redesign the city’s benefits application using user research, accessibility testing, and plain-language content

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
A single vision can guide multiple missions over time. Each mission has defined activities, responsibilities, and timelines.
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## Develop the Mission With Stakeholders

Use findings from your [readiness assessment](/digital-service-toolkit/assess-your-readiness/process-for-assessing.md) and stakeholder conversations as a starting point. The vision should reflect shared needs and desired outcomes, not just the views of the team’s sponsor or founding members.

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{% step %}

#### Review What You Learned

**Findings from your assessment to focus on:**

* The directive and expectations behind the effort
* Recurring challenges with government services
* Needs expressed by residents and employees
* Gaps in current capabilities
* Organizational priorities
* Lessons from previous change efforts
* Outcomes a digital service team could help achieve

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Look for needs and desired outcomes that appear across departments or stakeholder perspectives.
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{% step %}

#### Define who benefits and what should change 

**Ask stakeholders:**

* Who should benefit from the team’s work?
* What should be different for those people in the future?
* What outcomes should the team help make possible?
* What qualities should define the future experience of government services?

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
Encourage participants to focus on lasting outcomes rather than individual projects, team activities, or preferred technologies.
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{% step %}

#### Draft the statement

Use the answers to develop one or more short vision statements.

**A simple structure is:**

> Our vision is a government where \[people served] can \[desired experience or outcome].

**Another option is:**

> We envision government services that are \[intended qualities or outcomes] for \[people served].

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
The exact wording matters less than whether the statement creates a shared and useful picture of the future.
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{% step %}

#### Test the statement

**Review the draft against the following questions:**

* Does it describe a desired future rather than the team’s activities?
* Does it clearly identify who should benefit?
* Is it focused on outcomes rather than tools or projects?
* Is it ambitious enough to provide long-term direction?
* Is it focused enough to guide priorities?
* Is it connected to outcomes the team can meaningfully influence?
* Could multiple projects or missions support it?
* Can stakeholders explain it in similar terms?

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
If almost any outcome could fit under the vision, it may be too broad. If it describes a specific project or activity, it may be a mission rather than a vision.
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{% step %}

#### Confirm and use it

Ask the appropriate sponsor and stakeholders to confirm the vision. Document any questions that still need to be resolved.

**Use the vision to guide:**

* Missions and project selection
* Strategic priorities
* Team capabilities and hiring decisions
* Partner and stakeholder expectations
* Measures of progress
* Communications about the team
* Future decisions about growth and funding

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
The vision can evolve as the team and organization learn, but changes should be intentional and discussed with the people accountable for the team’s direction.
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## Vision Statement Examples

These are representative examples that your government can adapt to its context.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Digital Delivery Team</strong></mark></summary>

Departments consistently deliver reliable, accessible, and user-centered digital services that produce measurable improvements for the people who use and operate them.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This emphasizes service quality and measurable outcomes.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Executive Innovation Team</strong></mark></summary>

Government can respond effectively to urgent challenges that require coordination across departments and disciplines.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This fits an executive model focused on high-priority challenges that cross organizational boundaries.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Small Pilot Team</strong></mark></summary>

Residents and staff experience practical improvements to government services that address their most significant challenges.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This provides a realistic direction for a small team beginning with limited capacity.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Digital Capacity Team</strong></mark></summary>

Government teams have the practices, capabilities, and shared tools needed to continuously improve public services.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This fits a team focused on enabling departments rather than directly owning every delivery effort.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Resident Experience Team</strong></mark></summary>

Residents can easily find, understand, and access government services, including people who face the greatest barriers.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This centers the vision on a simpler and more equitable resident experience.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Internal Services Team</strong></mark></summary>

Government employees have simple tools and processes that allow them to spend less time on administrative work and more time serving the public.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This centers the vision on internal operations and the employee experience.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Citywide Service Improvement Team</strong></mark></summary>

Residents and employees experience public services that are simple, accessible, and easy to deliver across city departments.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This fits an enterprise team that supports service improvement across multiple departments.
{% endhint %}

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:orange;"><strong>Community-centered Digital Service Team</strong></mark></summary>

Communities, especially those historically underserved, help shape government services that are accessible, understandable, and responsive to their needs.

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
This gives community participation and equity a central role in the desired future.
{% endhint %}

</details>

### Example vision development process

#### What stakeholders identify

**During assessment and alignment, a city learns that:**

* Residents struggle to understand and complete city processes
* Departments have difficulty improving services across organizational boundaries
* Staff frequently rely on manual workarounds
* Technology projects often begin before user needs are understood
* The initial team will have limited capacity and no authority to replace departmental ownership

#### Draft vision

> A city where residents can easily access public services and employees can deliver them through simple, accessible, and effective processes.

#### What this vision helps clarify

**The city wants a future where:**

* Residents and employees both benefit from service improvements
* Services are simple and accessible
* User needs guide decisions
* Departments work together to improve services
* Technology supports better outcomes rather than driving the work

{% hint style="info" icon="head-side-gear" %}
The vision does not determine the team’s first mission or project. It provides a shared outcome for evaluating which opportunities will move the city closer to the future it wants to create.
{% endhint %}