Cambridge Connected: New Public Value Statement

As mentioned in the previous post, Cambridge City Council recently approved the Cambridge Connected goals and objectives. (A link to staff report 21-008(CRE) approved on January 12, 2021 can be found under "Important Links" on this page.)

In addition to the goals and objectives, Council also approved a new Public Value statement. This statement speaks to how the City will conduct its work across all the goals of the strategic plan:

"We will emphasize the importance of sustainability, leadership, collaboration, transparency and engagement as we deliver service excellence and promote pride of place.”

During the consultation period, we heard how important these values were to all the stakeholder groups. Each value is further defined in the report (and in the Cambridge Connected Goals & Objectives document available as a PDF download from the "Document Library") as follows:

Sustainability means that we will:

• focus on the responsible management of financial resources, ensuring transparency and accountability
• ensure that environmental sustainability principles are embedded in city decision-making processes and encourage innovative approaches to address environmental challenges
• set a corporate example by aligning messaging, spending and decision-making with this strategy

Leadership means that we will:

• deliver a consistent, positive and unified narrative about Cambridge as a single, world class city that contains many unique areas
• act as an accelerant and enabler of corporate and community stakeholder efforts to achieve this vision of pride of place
• lead with conviction and authenticity around a bold, integrated vision for public good
• recognize that we have an active role to play when other partners take the lead

Collaboration means that we will:

• actively work together with our partners and the community to achieve common goals and ensure representation of community interests
• encourage a culture of innovation and engagement that allows all staff to contribute to the ongoing renewal of city services, programs and resources

Transparency means that we will:

• communicate often and openly and make sure messages are clear, timely and delivered consistently in a variety of ways
• demonstrate how feedback is considered in the decision-making process
• hold ourselves accountable by sharing the ongoing progress and results of this strategy

Engagement means that we will:

• provide the public with a wide range of ways that they can be involved in decision making
• invest in ongoing community engagement and be responsive to emerging local concerns
• participate in constructive two-way dialogue with our stakeholders
• work to ensure inclusive participation

More discussion around creating and evaluating a public value framework will be done in Phase 3, and there will also be more opportunities to contribute to the development of the strategic actions and implementation plan in the coming weeks.