Well-run council - Our Strategy
- In order to deliver these priorities for the city we must also be a well-run organisation. We will improve the ways we work, recruiting the right people, providing the right tools and training, and delivering services efficiently for residents
- As a well-run council, we will deliver the maximum benefit for all Oxford’s residents, businesses and communities within the resources available
- We will harness technology to deliver better services for local residents, to work more effectively across teams and in external partnerships
- We will focus on the experience people have when they interact with us, and always aim to make that easy and effective
- To achieve this, we need financial resilience and a diversity of experiences and ideas. This will require securing new funding to keep our high service levels, and robust technology to meet residents’ needs effectively and efficiently
Strengths – Oxford Model; high staff commitment
Challenges – financial risks; working with fewer resources and becoming a smaller council
Opportunities – digitisation; citizen-centred approach
Priorities:
- Be easy, engaging and efficient to deal with
- Support citizens through value for money services
- Maintain good, accountable governance
- Recruit and retain a motivated and diverse workforce that reflects the city it serves
| Commitment | Deliver ourselves | In partnership | influence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support and encourage residents to use digital first for our services, so we can prioritise our non-digital help for people with most need | x | ||
| Balance our budget through a focus on efficiency, maintaining and developing funding streams, and making difficult decisions on service prioritisation when needed | x | x | |
| Set clear priorities and ensure we have the right skills and resources to deliver on them | x | x | |
| Recruit and retain an effective, highly skilled and diverse workforce so we can deliver the right services in the right way | x | ||
| Work in partnership with Trade Unions to provide a good employment offer and experience, to recruit, motivate and support a strong local workforce | x | x | |
| Give elected members the tools to provide clear political and community leadership | x | ||
| Understand the aspirations and needs of residents and communities, by working together with communities and using the right data, to continually improve the services we offer | x | x | |
| Ensure staff, partners and service users are clear about responsibilities and accountability within the council and have clear standards of behaviour | x | ||
| Take appropriate opportunities to provide residents with support that goes beyond immediate issues | x | x | |
| Use the Oxford Model to bring in money that can fund services, to reduce the impact of government funding cuts on residents | x | ||
| Improve how we work with anchor institutions and communities to have open and honest conversations about shared aspirations for Oxford’s future | x | x |
Measuring progress
In order to measure progress we will report annually on four key measures. These will be finalised in a separate report to follow in the next few weeks.
