Mission-Oriented What? A Brief Guide to Mission Terminology

Despite the concept's widespread popularity, the terminology surrounding missions can come across as convoluted. This is understandable, given that the term - which denotes ambitious, time bound, cross-sectoral and measurable policy objectives to address grand societal challenges such as climate change mitigation, biosphere restoration or tackling health inequities - has proven to be both deceptively intricate and remarkably versatile. It has evolved into a catch-all to describe various endeavours at different levels of policymaking, ultimately leading to confusion among even the most tuned-in of observers.

In this light, we propose an overview of some key mission-related terms and how they relate to one another, as we think of and conceptualise them at the OECD Mission Action Lab.