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Our Vision and Values

Our Vision

Our vision for Kirklees is to be a district that combines a strong, sustainable economy with a great quality of life – leading to thriving communities, growing businesses, high prosperity and low inequality where people enjoy better health throughout their lives.

Our vision for Kirklees is to be a district that combines a strong, sustainable economy with a great quality of life – leading to thriving communities, growing businesses, high prosperity and low inequality where people enjoy better health throughout their lives.

Read more about our vision

Our Values

Just like for individuals, our organisation’s values guide the way we think and act.

In our response to the pandemic, we saw just how much the values of Kindness, Inclusion and Pride were shaping our action, under incredible pressure and in a rapidly changing environment. We introduced these three values as our new organisational values in 2020.

During the summer of 2021, we engaged with employees to test these values and check whether they are still relevant for our ongoing recovery. We held virtual listening circles with over 450 staff from across the organisation and sent a survey to over 3,000 homes of our frontline staff.

There was overwhelming support for the three values, particularly Kindness. The engagement has informed the way in which we collectively describe them:

Kindness
  • We are kind so that our behaviour makes each other feel included, happy and well.
  • We work with each other and are friendly, considerate and appreciative.
  • We ‘do with, not to’, showing kindness to each other and our citizens.
Inclusion
  • We provide equal access to opportunities and resources for all people.
  • We achieve inclusion by removing barriers, discrimination and prejudice.
  • We value and promote a culture of inclusion and diversity.
Pride
  • We work with pride to achieve positive outcomes for colleagues, citizens and our places.
  • We have self-respect, dignity and take satisfaction from our achievements and those of our colleagues.
  • We are proud of what we do as individuals, together as a council, and together with our citizens and places.

Our Shared Outcomes

We remain committed to the shared outcomes we have already set out in previous plans. These outcomes haven’t changed, even in the light of the pandemic, although the steps we will need to take to get us there might be different because of the constantly evolving national and local impacts the pandemic continues to have, and because of our focus on tackling inequalities as part of everything we do.

These shared outcomes are:

  • Best start- Children have the best start in life.
  • Sustainable economy- Kirklees has sustainable economic growth and provides good employment for and with communities and businesses.
  • Well- People in Kirklees are as well as possible for as long as possible.
  • Safe and cohesive- People in Kirklees live in cohesive communities, feel safe and are protected from harm.
  • Independent- People in Kirklees live independently and have control over their lives.
  • Clean and green- People in Kirklees experience a high quality, clean, sustainable and green environment.
  • Aspire and achieve- People in Kirklees have aspiration to achieve their ambitions through education, training employment and lifelong learning.
  • Efficient and effective- Kirklees Council works smart and delivers efficiently and effectively.
Council Plan Vision Infographic: Our Vision Our vision for Kirklees is to be a district that combines a strong, sustainable economy with a great quality of life - leading to thriving communities, growing businesses, high prosperity and low inequality where people enjoy better health throughout their lives. Our Shared Outcomes We remain committed to the shared outcomes we have already set out in previous plans. These outcomes haven't changed, even in the light of the pandemic, although the steps we will need to take to get us there might be different because of the constantly evolving national and local impacts the pandemic continues to have, and because of our focus on tackling inequalities as part of everything we do. These shared outcomes are: • Best start- Children have the best start in life. • Sustainable economy- Kirklees has sustainable economic growth and provides good employment for and with communities and businesses. • Well- People in Kirklees are as well as possible for as long as possible. • Safe and cohesive- People in Kirklees live in cohesive communities, feel safe and are protected from harm. • Independent- People in Kirklees live independently and have control over their lives. • Clean and green- People in Kirklees experience a high quality, clean, sustainable and green environment. • Aspire and achieve- People in Kirklees have aspiration to achieve their ambitions through education, training employment and lifelong learning. • Efficient and effective- Kirklees Council works smart and delivers efficiently and effectively.