Vision

Our vision is to be a recognised Australian innovation knowledge hub.

To realise our vision, we will work in a disciplined way with individuals and groups of members using programs that deliver measurable performance improvements and results underpinned by insight and rigour.

To guide the focus of the Institute and for the purpose of defining the Institute’s preferred sphere of influence we shall adopt the definitions of Innovation and leadership of innovation as follows:

For the purpose of this charter, Innovation shall be defined as the generation and or discovery of ideas, be they original or adopted from another source, and the successful implementation of those ideas to create a better future.

For the purpose of this charter, leadership of innovation shall be defined as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task related to Innovation.

These definitions are not intended to prescribe a meaning to others and may well differ from member organisations’ own definitions; however we believe it is appropriate for the Institute’s purpose.

For the purpose of this charter, Innovation shall be defined as the generation and or discovery of ideas, be they original or adopted from another source, and the successful implementation of those ideas to create a better future.

Institute purpose

The Institute’s founders and members share a common understanding that successful innovation is essential to growth, and it is the purpose of the Institute to provide members with opportunities to develop their capacity for successful innovation through delivery of a variety of services and activities.

Institute objectives

To achieve its purpose the Institute will set objectives and amend these from time to time to ensure relevance to members’ needs.

The current objectives aimed at achieving the Institute’s purpose are listed below:

The Institute intends to:

• Provide members with a forum through which they can share ideas and knowledge through a network of contacts.
• Act to strengthen business leaders’ understanding of issues surrounding innovation.
• Foster innovation focused collaboration between all levels of organisations.
• Support and encourage research into innovation.
• Identify and promote best practice and techniques that encourage innovation.
• Use innovation, continuous improvement and generation of knowledge to improve the service to members.
• Operate an efficient operation at Hargraves Institute by exercising discipline and using dedicated resources.
• Achieve self-funding through subscriptions, sponsorships and program fees.
• Work to increase membership to a maximum of 125 leading Australian enterprises.

Director’s Stewardship

While Hargraves Institute Pty Ltd operates as a for profit organisation, the Executive Director acknowledges the trust placed in his stewardship of the Institute by Founding Members, and will endeavor to operate the Institute in such a manner as to honour the Founding Members’ agreed vision, purpose and objectives described above, and do so in a way that is sustainable and equitable for all.

To meet this promise to Founding Members, Hargraves Institute will operate in a manner that is transparent to the Member Advisory Council (MAC), and exhibit this transparency by reporting twice yearly or at a frequency to be set by the MAC.

Specifically, the operating principles that the Institute shall demonstrate through transparency to the MAC are set out below.

1. The member service will be tailored to meet the evolving needs of members and will therefore maintain relevance to members.
2. The Institute will run at a reasonable profit to reward the Executive Director and build a cash reserve to a level that ensures financial stability and capacity to fund projects without incurring debt risk. This reasonable cash reserve is envisaged to be approximately 2 years worth of estimated operating expenses and this will be reviewed from time to time.
3. The Executive Director’s reward by receiving a directors’ fee will be commensurate with risk, responsibility and time investment.
4. The entity will at all times operate in compliance within the law and according to a high standard of corporate governance. 

With regard to the Executive Director’s fee; while the MAC shall not be deemed to hold directorship responsibilities for the governance of Hargraves Institute, the committee will be invited to review the appropriateness of the Executive Director’s fee with respect to remuneration for comparative positions and demonstrated achievement of the stated Institute goals.