LAMDA Strategy (2023-2030)

MISSION

To foster exceptional talent through world-leading performance arts training, ensuring inclusive access and empowering students to enrich global culture by excelling on the world stage.

VISION

Our vision is to be the global beacon of excellence in performing arts education, nurturing ensemble-based diverse talent, inspiring innovation and shaping the future of our industries.

WHO WE ARE

Respectful. Innovative. Inspiring.

Supportive. Inquisitive. Rigorous.

VALUES

WE ARE AN ENSEMBLE. The ensemble is inclusive. The ensemble is collaborative. The ensemble is compassionate.

PRINCIPLES

WE ARE LED BY THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES: We will change the face of theatre, film, and future media. We will create new work and reimagine the classics. We will adopt a partnership-first, planet-first approach.

Photography: Sam Taylor

MISSION

To foster exceptional talent through world-leading performing arts training, ensuring inclusive access and empowering students to enrich global culture by excelling on the world stage

VISION

Nurturing talent, world-leading training:

2023 - 2030

Values:

PRIORITY THEMES

We are an ensemble

The ensemble is inclusive

Principles:

The ensemble is collaborative The ensemble is compassionate

ENABLERS

Respectful Inspiring Innovative Supportive Inquisitive Rigorous Impact on a global scale Environmental responsibility Training without borders Partnership first

ACTION PLANS

STRATEGIC GOALS

Photography: Sam Taylor

INTRODUCTI0N OUR PRIORITY THEMES

When Henry Wylde founded the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1861 at St James’s Hall, Piccadilly, he probably had no idea that his fledgling school for new actors and musicians would live on and flourish into the 21st century.  Since that time, LAMDA has had many homes and many different manifestations, but it has always remained an institution dedicated to the development of those working in the performing arts. Clearly, there have been many changes over the past 160 years or so in actor training, higher education, and the industries in which LAMDA’s students find work. But what remains vital and at its very core is a notion that our art is essentially a collaborative one – and indeed one that arises from a range of different traditions encompassing the best of actor training from both Europe and the United States while at the same time embedding those approaches in its own unique style. The Ensemble remains the single most defining value that is held most dear at LAMDA. So, while the Sleazies, the Fight Nights, and the Winter Concerts remain an important part of the rich tapestry of LAMDA’s identity and culture just as much as the new shared musical theatre experiences of Bravo!, and our students’ amazing Roots & Routes, what binds all of these entities together is the symbiotic interchange that encompasses the performative practice of being in an ensemble culture.

Our new 2030 strategy seeks to look forward rather than back. It acknowledges that the pace of change for our industries is increasing all the while, and the need to interrogate who we are, what we are doing, and why we are doing it remains paramount. It is one founded on the pivotal critical turn that resulted both from #metoo and the Black Lives Matter movement. But it equally acknowledges the intersectionalities between, say, sexuality and class, race and disability, and the complexities and nuances between different forms of discrimination. The perception of drama schools as exclusive gatekeepers to the performing arts industry has proven to be a persistent challenge for the sector. However, through our strategy we will demonstrate our commitment to continuously improving and breaking down these barriers every single day.

Our new strategy is founded on values of inclusivity, collaboration and compassion despite a world that is often characterised by celebrity, competition, and idle condemnation

Our primary focus is fostering a borderless training environment, unbounded by nationality or other barriers. We prioritise forging partnerships as a fundamental principle, understanding and addressing our responsibilities towards the environment. We will continue to innovate in the development of the transformative power of LAMDA Exams, which play a pivotal role in shaping young talent both home and abroad. Above all, we remain unwaveringly committed to creating a positive global impact through all of our work.

Our 2023-2030 strategy will ensure that LAMDA continues to be agile and adapt to new circumstances. It will also ensure that it has a long and successful future as it reaches out for excellence on a global stage and safeguards our world-leading reputation for future generations to come.

Partnership first

Developing and maximising partnerships is a cross-benefit way of working and learning that ensures LAMDA is up-tospeed with industry trends while shaping the sectors in which our graduates will work.  For LAMDA to be a world leader in our sector, we must form partnerships that will strengthen our skills-base, our knowledge, our relevancy, our reputation, and the network of opportunities available for students as well as staff.

Professor Mark O’Thomas Principal and CEO

LAMDA’s Priority

Themes are a scaffold which supports the decisions we make to achieve the goals of our sevenyear strategy. They marry with our vision and behaviours, thereby enabling us to meet our mission to develop exceptional talent through world-leading performance arts training. With this framework, we aim to establish a robust and enduring foundation for everyone who collaborates with us, studies with us, and enters our institution.

Training without borders

LAMDA embraces the complex mosaic of cultures, heritages, sexualities, and backgrounds represented by our students, staff, and partners. We recognise that our collective learning is enriched by the distinctive blend of past experiences and present realities. This central theme concentrates on inclusivity and collaboration, where every individual is viewed as a valuable contributor to our growth. It also refers to the trajectory of how LAMDA might contribute to the development of a knowledge base within the creative sector, and how our research and enterprise activities might break down boundaries.

Environmental responsibility

LAMDA embraces its environmental responsibilities, striving relentlessly to enhance our green practices and minimise ecological impact. We will inspire our students and staff through a planet-first approach, nurturing a new era of theatremakers and creative artists with a profound respect for our environment. Our actions speak louder than words: as we mark our 165th anniversary in 2026, we will launch our inaugural Green Season – a groundbreaking exploration of human environmental impact and a showcase of sustainable production methods. This milestone will also see us adopt the Theatre Green Book principles and join the global Race to Zero initiative.

Impact on a global scale

All of these themes underpin LAMDA’s core aim to make a global impact through our work.  To embody the essence of a world-leading institution, we will strive to extend our commitment to inclusivity, environmental accountability, and innovation far beyond the confines of the UK and the USA. We will work to ensure that the LAMDA name and our ethos are utilised in contexts that have the potential to support the lives, wellbeing, and knowledge of people everywhere and our teaching, research, and knowledge exchange activities will support this endeavour.

Photography: Sam Taylor

Photography: (left to right) Lottie Amor, Zoë Birkbeck, Sam Taylor, Sam Taylor

OUR KEY ENABLERS

KEY ENABLER 1: Successful Staff

Charting the course for Successful Staff, LAMDA’s HR Team will bolster the 2030 strategy by fostering a remarkable work environment anchored by strong values and ethos, where staff will experience a deep and meaningful connection to the institution.

LAMDA’s Staff Strategy will orientate itself around:

• Collaborating with external partners to support our work and learn from best practice (e.g. cooperation with HR teams in partner institutions)

• Supporting a minimum expectations process for teaching staff

• Creating a positive action framework for staff recruitment

• Developing family-friendly policies and enhanced benefits around maternity/paternity/adoption leave

• Embedding LAMDA’s social purpose in our induction processes

• Promoting staff wellbeing, such as instituting annual wellness days for all staff and formalising a flexible working policy

• Incentivising sustainability with benefits and rewards by promoting, for example, the Cycle to Work scheme

• Celebrating and rewarding the academic and practice-based achievements of our staff

KEY ENABLER 2: Successful Students

The LAMDA Drama School will empower students with the confidence and resources necessary to forge sustainable, adaptable, and progressive careers in the dynamic arts industry. Our students’ successes contribute to LAMDA’s resilience, enhance our global impact, and equip the creative industries to tell new stories with fresh voices. Success, in our terms, is characterised by LAMDA students who are engaged, inventive, employable, and entrepreneurial.

LAMDA’s Student Strategy will orientate itself around:

• Collaborating with new industry-leading partners

• Co-creating with alumni

• Building greater student satisfaction rates to be sector-leading

• Training students to join staff selection panels

• Developing self-care in each discipline

• Introducing a fully integrated inclusive curriculum

KEY ENABLER 3: Successful Sustainable Spaces

The spaces in which we work, teach and perform need to inspire staff and students to achieve their full potential. Climate change is a global emergency – our responsibility is to tackle climate change for ourselves and future generations The ensemble has compassion for the planet, working together for a sustainable future through the culture and environment of our spaces In addition, only through financial sustainability can we achieve our other strategic goals and realise our vision

LAMDA’s Successful Sustainable Spaces Strategy will orientate itself around:

• Reducing our carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, net zero by 2040

• Undertaking an environmental audit to create an Environmental Management Plan (EMP), giving us and our suppliers a roadmap to achieve ISO 14001 accreditation or similar

• Embedding Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) principles and supplier accreditation as a cornerstone of our procurement/tender process

• Adopting the Theatre Green Book plan to develop initiatives across LAMDA, celebrated through a Green Performance Season

• Signing up to the Race to Zero and achieving our set targets

• Achieving recognition for our environmental action

• Collaborating and sharing knowledge with other similar institutions around the world

• Producing enough cash in our financial processes equal to 100 net liquidity days

The Key Enablers of this strategy present the roadmap through which LAMDA’s overarching goals will make it possible for us to achieve our mission. These strands look at how our staff are positioned and supported to deliver the 2030 strategy, how our students are nurtured and extended during their training, and how our spaces contribute to the vision of LAMDA as a leader in the specialist performing arts sector.

• Engaging more young people than ever in our widening participation work

• Training students through a global perspective

Photography: Alex Brenner Photography: (both) Sam Taylor

OUR STRATEGIC GOALS

Strategic Goals provide a brick-by-brick approach to achieving the LAMDA mission and vision. They are tangible, S.M.A.R.T. outputs that reflect our values and what we believe a world-leading institution should represent. With an aim to achieve these strategic goals in the next seven years, LAMDA can be confident that the broader enabling strategies are able to fulfil the vision and mission.

LAMDA’S TOP 10 GOALS TO ACHIEVE BY 2030 ARE:

ENGAGE

15000 young people through Access Widening & Participation

ATTAIN an average score of at least 95% in the National Student Survey

INTRODUCE

LAMDA Exams in

250 state schools with funding for lowerincome customers

INCREASE LAMDA Exams income by 75%

REDUCE our carbon emissions by 25%

INCREASE the number of liquidity days in our financial operations to 100

ACHIEVE cumulative fundraising total of £20m+

ACQUIRE more than 20 higher-level donors per year

DEVELOP 3-5 live KTPs and joint research projects with HE partners

SUBMIT our first Research Excellence Framework return

Photography: Sam Taylor

Photography: Lottie Amor