Why Corporate Universities Fail to Secure Funding — And How They Can Become True Value Creators

For all the talk about "learning cultures" and "people development," corporate universities still face a stubborn and uncomfortable truth:

Most struggle to secure sustainable funding not because the business is short of budget — but because the academy fails to create visible, strategic value.

After 15+ years inside global organisations — from Pictet to Brunswick to Volvo — I’ve seen the same pattern repeatedly:

Every academy sits somewhere on two critical axes:

• Strategic ↔ Operational

• HR-Critical ↔ Business-Critical

When mapped together, four archetypes emerge.

1️⃣ Order Takers (Operational + HR-Critical)

This is where most corporate universities unintentionally sit.

Their mission is execution: Deliver training. Manage LMS. Respond to requests. Organise workshops.

They serve HR needs, not business priorities.
They execute, but they don’t influence.

Value created: perceived low
Funding risk: extremely high

2️⃣ Learning Enablers (Operational + Business-Critical)

More mature than Order Takers, these academies focus on capability frameworks, learning journeys, onboarding, and compliance. They support performance, but they remain reactive.

They enable learning but rarely shape transformation.

Value created: moderate but invisible
Funding risk: still high — value is not strategic enough

3️⃣ Performance Enablers (Strategic + HR-Critical)

This group begins to align with organisational strategy.

They develop leadership, culture, and talent pipelines. They influence internal mobility, succession, and behavioural change.

But without business metrics, they’re still seen as “HR investments” — not business engines.

Value created: meaningful but not measurable
Funding risk: medium

4️⃣ Value Creators (Strategic + Business-Critical)

This is the model every organisation thinks they have — but very few actually do.

Value Creators focus on:

• business transformation

• innovation and customer impact

• operational efficiency and agility

• sales performance and profitability

• leadership effectiveness tied directly to business KPIs

They partner with the business like a strategic consultancy, not an administrative function.

Value created: high, tangible, measurable
Funding risk: minimal — this is where funding becomes self-justified.

The problem is not effort. It’s positioning.

Most academies are excellent at delivering learning, but weak at demonstrating value creation.

Three common challenges:

1. They speak the language of HR — not business.

Training hours. Completion rates. Attendance. LMS performance. Satisfaction scores.

These metrics do not move CEOs.
They don’t win budget battles.

2. They operate reactively instead of strategically.

When L&D behaves as a service provider, the business treats it as a cost center.

3. They lack systems to link learning to business transformation.

No learning analytics.
No capability dashboards.
No ROI frameworks.

The result?
A perception of “nice to have,” not “mission critical.”

Transitioning to a Value Creator model requires a new identity and new capabilities inside the L&D function.

1. Speak Business, Not Training

L&D teams must understand:

• business models

• margin drivers

• customer dynamics

• operational challenges

• market strategy

Research from McKinsey, BCG, and Deloitte is unanimous:

High-performing academies are those that anchor their work in business language and outcomes, not learning content.

2. Build Strategic Relationships with Senior Leaders

Value creation requires proximity. If the academy is not in the room where decisions are made, it cannot shape transformation.

A Value Creator model requires:

• regular strategic reviews with EXCO

• co-designing business priorities

• embedding L&D in transformation roadmaps

3. Put the Right Learning and Performance Systems in Place

Tools matter — not for training delivery but for impact measurement.

Examples:

• capability dashboards tied to OKRs

• predictive analytics for talent and performance

• skills intelligence platforms

• business impact scorecards

This shifts the narrative from “We delivered 40 programs” to: “We accelerated revenue by X, increased internal mobility by Y, and reduced transformation risk by Z.”

Multiple studies support this shift:

• BCG (2024): Organisations that link capability building to business priorities outperform peers by 22–30% in profitability.

• Deloitte Human Capital Trends: High-performing organisations measure L&D by business impact, not learning volume.

• McKinsey: Companies that build strategic skills academies accelerate transformation success rates by 70%.

Case studies illustrate the transformation:

Example: A Global Bank (anonymous)

Their academy moved from compliance-heavy training to a value creation model:

• built a leadership curriculum linked to transformation OKRs

• aligned capability development with customer-facing priorities

• created a skills intelligence platform

Result: +12% productivity in key business units and +28% trust in leadership.

Example: A Tech Organisation

By becoming a Value Creator:

• reduced time-to-competence by 35%

• improved sales ramp-up by 22%

• increased internal promotions by 40%

These are the metrics CEOs invest in.

Corporate universities do not suffer from a funding problem.

They suffer from a value articulation problem.

Funded academies are those that:

• operate strategically

• align directly with business priorities

• speak the language of value and transformation

• build senior-leadership trust

• demonstrate measurable business impact

If your academy is stuck in the Order Taker or Learning Enabler archetype, this is your inflection point.

The shift to Value Creator is not optional — it’s the new standard for survival and relevance.

If you’re leading a corporate university, talent function, or learning transformation and want to elevate your academy into a strategic, business-critical engine, let’s talk.

I help organisations redesign their corporate universities, clarify their value narrative, and build the systems and capabilities to become true Value Creators.

📩 Contact me to explore how your academy can secure funding, elevate influence, and deliver measurable impact.