The short, formal, foundational reference document a BioHub uses to introduce itself. Produced by Prompt 3 of the BioHub Identity Template. States who the BioHub is: name, founding cohort, anchor location, purpose, position within the field in brief, intellectual lineage in brief, entity form.
Extended definition
A coordination body needs a way to introduce itself. The Identity Statement is that. Five to ten pages, prose-forward, formal register. It says who has convened, on what grounds, under what governance, where in the emerging global field the BioHub sits, and what forward relationship it holds to its BioRegion (a section completed once the BioRegion Establishment Template runs).
The Statement is what a counterparty, funder, peer BioHub, or prospective cohort addition reads first. It does not persuade. It states. It does not close with a call to action. Its function is establishing identity, not soliciting engagement.
Every claim in the Statement traces to evidence in the Identity Template’s Prompt 2 reference pack, cohort input, or attached foundational documents. Claims that cannot be traced are revised or removed.
Contrast with adjacent instruments
A mission statement compresses purpose into a slogan. The Identity Statement states purpose in prose that supports the founding governance work. The mission statement is promotional; the Identity Statement is constitutive.
A pitch deck or fundraising pack is written to elicit money. The Identity Statement is written to establish who the BioHub is. Fundraising pathways follow from the Statement as separate documents.
Structural elements
- Name and founding date.
- Anchor location.
- Founding cohort (with roles as agreed).
- Purpose statement.
- Position within the field in brief.
- Intellectual lineage in brief.
- Entity form and its implications.
- Relationship to the BioRegion (initially a placeholder, completed once the BioRegion Definition is produced).
- Relationship to any other BioHubs operating in the anticipated BioRegion (where applicable).
- Provisions for revision.
Related terms
Provenance
Extracted from the BioHub Identity Template v0.2 in the VoG as Patron Project Prototype knowledge base, where the Identity Statement is specified as the first of the template’s three Prompt 3 outputs.