Sheffield Executive Board
Statement of Purpose
Sheffield Executive Board (SEB) is the only Board in the city which brings together, on a regular
basis, leaders from across the private, public, voluntary, faith and academic sectors, with the aim of
focusing on how Sheffield is doing rather than their own organisations.
Members of SEB work together to contribute to the development of a long term vision for Sheffield
(The Sheffield City Strategy) and also produce the annual State of Sheffield report which outlines
progress and developments in Sheffield within the context of achieving the long term vision.
The SEB uses these two documents to articulate a set of shared priorities for the city. It then aims,
through effective collaboration and challenge, to ensure that all the key organisations and leaders
in the city are working together to achieve the shared priorities.
The SEB aims to foster a culture of optimism and trust, building on what is already happening in the
city, achievements within Sheffield and the talent of local people and organisations.
Priorities 2014-15
The SEB has agreed to focus on six key priorities in 2014-15, which are:
1. Economic Growth and Good Jobs
Working in partnership with Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which is
responsible for the city region economic growth plan, and Creative Sheffield, the city’s economic
development unit, the SEB aims to ensure that there is a clear and effective action plan for
stimulating economic growth in the city and city region, and that that growth brings with it more
and better jobs for local people. The SEB is particularly interested in opportunities and
employment of young people. All SEB partners will be asked to actively support the
implementation and development of the Local Economic Partnership Growth Plan & Sheffield
City Council Economic Strategy.
2. Fairness and Inequality
The SEB is the city leadership body for taking forward the recommendations of the Sheffield
Fairness Commission. The SEB will therefore develop a strong overview of progress in achieving
Fairness in the city; it will support of the work of the Sheffield Fair City Campaign Group and
tackle some of the dilemmas and challenges that come with Fairness, such as commitment to
the living wage, the impact of welfare reforms, affordable credit and reducing inequality.
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3. Public Service Reform
Public Services in Sheffield provide a wide range of essential services and contribute significantly
to the success of Sheffield. However they face a set of unprecedented challenges, with a
growing city population, with more young and older people and growing diversity; changing
behaviours such as greater use of technology; significant cuts to budgets and changing global
trends in, for example, business and employment.
Sheffield’s public services need to be adaptable and agile in this period of change, working
together but also in partnership with local citizens and local businesses to design the public
services of the future. The SEB will lead the approach to public service reform in Sheffield,
working in partnership with the Public Sector Transformation Network and the LEP.
4. Sheffield Green Commission/Sustainability and Environmental Futures
The SEB will actively support the work of Sheffield Green Commission, and consider in detail the
recommendations of that commission in developing a more sustainable and environmentally
friendly city. The SEB will continue to focus on air quality, which is an issue identified by the
State of Sheffield Reports, and seek to develop a bolder and city based air quality action plan.
5. Sheffield City Narrative
There are multiple perceptions of Sheffield, a number of which need to be specifically challenged
and addressed by future marketing and communication strategies. These include external
perceptions about a post-industrial city still struggling with the transition from a manufacturing
to a knowledge economy or to people who live in the city but rarely use its city centre. The SEB
is working with Marketing Sheffield to develop and refresh new ‘city narratives’ which can be
used by all SEB partners, as well as other organisations and individuals, to support the promotion
of the city to its key markets over the next decade.
6. Future City/Sheffield 2035
Building on work done by the SEB and the University of Sheffield in 2013/14, the Sheffield 2035
programme will begin the process of thinking ahead, developing a new and refreshed vision for
Sheffield, looking at issues such as the Smart City agenda, citizenship in the future, and
environmental sustainability (in partnership with the Sheffield Green Commission). This
programme will form basis of a new Sheffield City Strategy, setting the long term vision for the
city.
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Want to be kept informed or better still, get involved?
Details of the SEB’s work can be found on our website https://www.sheffieldfirst.com/ or on
Twitter: @sheffieldfirst, our blog http://sheffieldfirst.wordpress.com/ and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SheffieldFirstPartnership
The SEB will also, as part of the Sheffield Collaboration Network, be running a series of Think
Sheffield forums, where partners and citizens from across the city will be invited to discuss and
think about key city issues, and hopefully work together to build solutions for the future.
Forums will particularly focus on:
 Smart City/2035
 Public Service Reform
 Future Citizenship/Community Resilience
For details of events, please check our news and events page on our website:
https://www.sheffieldfirst.com/news-and-events.html
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