The Strategic Process

This brief, overall strategy document sums up the goals and values which shall govern NRK during the next six years.

A strategy must primarily be translated into actions and measurable results. It is the management’s responsibility to ensure that as many employees as possible understand the connection between goals, measures and results, and adapt their working day accordingly.

NRK’s strategy model looks like this:

• Vision
• Mission Statement
• Public Perception - innovative, versatile, credible, important, well-managed
• Internal values - result oriented, transparent, daring, committed, honest, quality minded
• Target areas - Public Mandate, Market, The Digital Media House, Organisation, Economy

Vision – where do we want to be?

Something for All. Always

This means that NRK shall offer suitable programming for all target groups, and be represented on all essential media platforms. It is the width, totality and combination of quality content and distribution which make us a leader in the Norwegian media market.

Mission Statement – what is our role?

NRK shall create values by informing, developing, challenging and entertaining Norway with varied, credible, important and innovative content distributed as images, sound and print.

This means that public broadcasting is our Mission Statement – and our unique competitive advantage. The challenge is to maintain our strong position in a digital, commercial and interactive media reality, and ensure that we communicate with our audience via both old and new platforms.

Public perception – how do we want to be perceived?

NRK wants to be perceived as being:

• innovative
• versatile
• credible
• important
• well-managed

Public perception describes how we want society (radio and TV audiences, customers, owners, collaborators and business partners) to view NRK.

The significance of how we want to be perceived

Innovative:

NRK wishes to be seen as innovative in terms of new and experimental programmes, products and services, regardless of platform.

NRK shall be innovative both in content and form, and in putting new technologies to use.

NRK shall, either alone or in co-operation with others, develop new business areas and seek new sources of revenue.

Versatile:

NRK shall promote fundamental democratic values.

NRK wants its audience to encounter a range of programming which mirrors the complexity of the nation and its regions, and which highlights Norway as a multicultural society. NRK wishes to be seen as a broad and important channel for culture, and shall through its activities remain anchored to its foundation in Norwegian reality and sense of identity. NRK shall cultivate, use and help impart knowledge of the Norwegian and Sámi languages.

NRK shall offer both the traditional and the innovative, to wider and narrower audiences. We shall publish and maintain a presence on all relevant platforms.

NRK shall serve as an arena for opinion exchange and debate where many voices shall be heard.

Credible:

NRK wants the public to have confidence in our programmes and products, our staff and the company as a whole. Our audience shall be certain that what they see, hear and read from us is truthful, unbiased and impartial; that we through our reporting highlight relevant circumstances pertaining to the issues at hand; and that NRK's programmes have been produced by fair methods in accordance with the rules and ethical and cautionary guidelines of the press.

NRK must serve as a guarantor for critical and independent journalism aimed at society’s power structures and special interest groups.

We want NRK's staff to be seen as credible in their behaviour, both in relationship to their sources and to the general public. Open and consistent communication is vital to sustaining credibility.

Important:

NRK shall be Norway's most important broadcaster and programme producer. NRK shall have high viewer, listener and user ratings.

NRK wants its programmes and other services to be important in people's everyday life. Through NRK, the public shall have access to information which is vital to their local community, to Norway as a whole and to the rest of the world. We shall encourage our audience to discern between what is important and what is less essential.

NRK shall have a clear news profile. We shall both set the agenda and be present when and where important events take place.

NRK’s productions shall be appropriate and of high quality, based on the content requirements for the medium in question.

Well-managed:

NRK's operations shall have sound fiscal controls, and be efficient and result-oriented. We shall be competitive in terms of both price and quality.

NRK wants the audience to feel they are getting their money's worth when watching and listening to our programmes. NRK's programmes, services and products shall be perceived as an unequivocal brand, easily recognisable by the general public.

With a professional and highly adaptive staff and management, NRK shall respond rapidly to changes in society and framework conditions, and be quick to grasp new opportunities.

Internal values – how should we be?

To achieve the desired Public perception, we at NRK must be:

• result oriented
• transparent
• daring
• committed
• honest
• quality minded

Our internal values describe how we who work at NRK shall behave in relationship to our colleagues and to society as a whole.

What do the internal values mean?

Result oriented:

We have clear goals with what we do, and have systems to measure and follow up results in relationship to these goals.

Good planning, management and evaluation of work processes and results is important to reach the goals we set for ourselves.

Transparent:

We want everyone at NRK to be open to impulses from society around us. We must be prepared to accept necessary changes to improve the organisation.

NRK’s management shall be open to suggestions and alternate viewpoints from its staff, thereby providing room for participation and exchange of opinions before decisions are made. When such decisions are made, everyone must remain loyal to them.

NRK’s management shall be accessible and unambiguous towards its staff by highlighting goals, strategies and consequences.

Daring:

We must dare to break new ground and try out new components in programme production.

We shall be courageous, critical and ask the difficult questions about issues and situations which concern our audience.

We shall try out new organisational structures, new technologies and new working methods to increase productivity and improve our services.

Committed:

NRK wants a committed and constructive management and staff who enjoy their workplace, and create good programmes with quality content.

We want our programmes and products to be made in such a way that they mean something to those who view or listen to them. We shall move, stimulate, activate and be relevant to our audience. NRK shall promote commitment, dialogue and debate through worthwhile programmes.

Honest:

All NRK employees shall be honest and inspire confidence through their work and behaviour. Our sources and audience shall be taken seriously.

To achieve the best possible co-operation, everyone must respect others. All staff members have an overall responsibility to NRK and towards creating a professional environment marked by loyalty to one's colleagues and the organisation.

Quality minded:

We shall endeavour to provide the audience with the quality they expect from NRK.

We shall apply quality control in programme commissioning and evaluation.

We shall deliver the best possible quality within the commission and framework provided.

In order to realise our Vision and Mission Statement, we have defined the following target areas for NRK: Public Mandate, Market, The Digital Media House, Organisation and Economy.

Public Mandate

Goal:

1. NRK shall be the nation’s most important arena for news, information, entertainment and debate.

2. NRK shall provide the population as a whole a broad spectrum of programmes and services.

3. NRK’s programmes and services shall strengthen Norwegian and Sámi language, identity and culture.

4. NRK is the property of the entire nation of Norway, and shall focus and reflect the many facets of Norwegian society, as well as the nation’s role in the international community.

5. NRK shall be present and create proximity to audiences all over the country.

To achieve this, NRK must/shall:

• offer radio and television broadcasts to distributors on non-discriminatory terms.
• ensure that 85 % of its users feel that NRK fulfils its role as public broadcaster.
• specifically document achievement of goals in relationship to its mission as a public broadcaster outlined in its charter, and specially emphasise:

• improving children’s programming by increasing the number of channels.
• being the most important Norwegian provider of news, debate and culture to the majority of the nation’s multicultural inhabitants.
• being the best broadcaster for the deaf and hearing impaired by expanding subtitling and interpretation, and taking advantage of new technologies.
• being the most important local provider of both in-house and user defined content, and develop at least three new concepts annually for local participation and debate.
• implementing nationwide, broadly encompassing Sámi language programming for all Sámi target groups.

Market

Goal:

1. NRK shall have a leading position in the Norwegian radio and television broadcasting market, firmly anchored in our Mission Statement as public broadcaster.

2. NRK shall be one of the three most important providers of Internet and cellular content among Norwegian media companies.

3. In order to contribute to developing/supporting public broadcasting services, NRK shall also engage in commercial enterprises, either independently or in co-operation with others.

To achieve this, NRK must/shall:

• offer radio and television broadcasts to distributors on non-discriminatory terms.
• have a market share in radio broadcasting of at least 60 %. Annual targets are to be decided for each channel. By the end of this six-year period, NRK P1 shall remain Norway's most popular radio channel.
• have a market share in television broadcasting of at least 40 %. Annual targets are to be decided for each channel. By the end of this six-year period, NRK1 shall remain Norway's most popular television channel.
• expand television broadcasting to three channels and offer new radio channels.
• increase audience shares in the 12-30 age bracket.
• use and utilise branded products in commercial activities through NRK Aktivum.
• define annual targets for the digitalisation of the archive, and provide public access to this.
• have an audience share for Sámi programming among the Sámi population of at least 55 % daily within 2012.

The Digital Media House

Goal:

1. NRK shall be Norway's leading content provider.

2. NRK shall be where people are today, and where they will be tomorrow.

To achieve this, NRK must/shall:

• increase efforts to develop programme content and new working methods, and establish annual financial goals.
• secure rights when developing programme content for use on relevant platforms and good secondary use.
• ensure that the need to protect the brand is taken into account when developing new programme concepts.
• develop at least three programme concepts annually in each programme division based on user-generated content.
• fully digitalise production so that, among other things, all systems can share content internally and easily receive user-generated content.
• be the leading communicator and provider of material related to Sámi and indigenous people’s affairs on all platforms.
• establish coordinated publishing/distribution of our programmes and services to users.
• phase out analogue TV broadcasting within 2010, and complete the transition to digital radio distribution within 2014.

Organisation

Goal:

1. NRK shall be an attractive workplace which recruits and further develops committed, result oriented and competent staff and management.

2. NRK shall be an organisation which promotes skill and knowledge transfer between employees from different departments, professional groups and generations.

To achieve this, NRK must/shall:

• improve multimedia skill development among staff and management
• introduce exchange and attendance programmes across departments and professional groups.
• make full use of the programme bank and carry out necessary changes in organisation and working methods.
• further innovation and boldness in programme and production work.
• continue to develop a management culture and a professional environment which furthers NRK’s internal values and focuses on the organisation as a whole.
• have an organisation which reflects the many facets of Norwegian society.
• have a life-phase oriented personnel policy.
• set annual health, environment and safety targets.
• make sure managers carry out annual performance interviews of all staff members under their supervision.

Economy

Goal:

1. NRK shall be a well-managed company with financial freedom of action.

2. NRK’s main source of income is licence fees. NRK shall also exploit opportunities for user financing and commercial income.

To achieve this, NRK must/shall:

• ensure transparency about resource use in the individual departments.
• increase the annual contribution from NRK’s commercial activities to NOK 200 million (€ 24 million) within 2012.
• further the development of co-operation in programme acquisition and rights management.
• provide a balanced budget for ordinary operations for each consecutive six-year period.
• increase the amount of paid licences by 75 000.

Measurement criteria and methods

For those goals which are not directly verifiable, concrete goals will be prepared for each individual year.