Together we get things done – one team, delivering for Sheffield

It firmly places people at the heart of everything that we do, working with, listening to and ensuring that all our services are focused on communities and citizens. It is a four-year statement of our priorities, aligned to our four-year Medium Term Financial Strategy, so that citizens, partners and investors know where we’re headed, what we stand for and can hold us to account for delivering. And it is a commitment to doing this together, with our communities and partners and as a united whole council because together, we get things done.

By 2028, we want to be one of the best performing councils in the country. We are working to build an organisation that this amazing city deserves, that reflects and respects the communities in it, that involves and engages people in everything that we do and delivers outcomes for the city. But if we are going to get there, we are going to need to change.

Our organisation is made up of amazing, committed people who care deeply about Sheffield and the city’s communities. With colleagues and teams, we can make a massive difference to our city and to the achievement of our new City Goals but we need to be relentless at getting quality and consistency of experience right for citizens when they interact with the council so that great service delivery is a foundation to our bold ambitions. We need to renew our relationship with communities, with equality, diversity and inclusion central to everything we do, improving equity and experience across all of our services. We all need to have the knowledge and confidence to live by our values, challenging discrimination and leading change, such as striving to be an anti-racist organisation and delivering our White Ribbon Action Plan to tackle male violence towards women and girls. We need rigorous focus on our outcomes with citizens and partners to deliver genuine change and a positive impact on lives and prospects for all. This means we need to work as one council so that our whole is greater than the sum of our parts, being productive, proud of the work we do and what we deliver on behalf of the city.

We are lucky to have passionate and skilled employees across the whole Council who are committed to getting things done for our city. We need to do more to empower them with the skills and tools they need to flourish in our organisation, recognising and celebrating success, unlocking talent and enabling everyone to perform and develop their careers.

This is a Plan that provides outcomes we can all stand behind, a shared purpose for our whole organisation, and the touchstone for our future plans and strategies so that every single member of our team can thrive and contribute to the city’s success.

Kate Josephs CB - Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council