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Our Values

Civility

A civil society is one where the needs of other people harmonise with one’s own. Life has always been easier and better that way.  Acting civilly is the standard of conduct expected of anyone associated with Hartlepower, whose trustees, staff & volunteers will practice by:

  • respectful listening – wishing to understand others’ perspectives

  • helpfulness & kindness – doing whatever is possible for other people

  • honesty & reliability – telling the truth & keeping promises.

 

Connection

The issues to which VCS organisations address themselves – hardship, emotional distress & low confidence, disability & illness, access to green space, isolation & loneliness, prejudice & discrimination – are all interconnected in complex ways. The outcomes of changes made to single parts of complex systems emerge in unpredictable and indeterminate ways. VCS (and other) organisations working alone can make important differences; but working collectively confers greater opportunity to learn from complexity and will more likely lead to greater impact & more efficient use of resources. We strongly subscribe to a collectivist approach, one that starts with exploring ways to collaborate with others who share the same ends.

 

Learning

All our work provides opportunities for learning. We also strive to keep abreast of developments & new ideas in the fields of social policy, regeneration, social justice & community development. From learning comes growth and a wider perspective.

And we don’t get everything right – who does? We seek feedback and strive to understand our work’s impact, particularly from any occasions on which we are perceived to have erred. We want to know when we have got something wrong – please get in touch and we’ll listen & discuss. If such an approach isn’t possible for any reason, then we also have a formal complaints process – see [link needed].

 

Openness

We believe it is important to be open about the operations of the charity – open about our trustees and decision making; about the work of our staff & volunteers; open about how we are funded & how this money is spent, including on staff salaries; open about the processes of governance, strategy & outcomes. Such openness allows anyone who wishes to judge for themselves how well we are serving our beneficiaries & how well we exemplify our values. Being open begets trust and provides accountability.

 

Individuality & diversity

Young & old, thriving & troubled, able bodied & disabled, white British, black & ethnic minorities, straight & LBGTQ+, affluent & financially struggling, all lead daily lives alongside one another in today’s Hartlepool. Each person’s individual priorities & perspectives on the changes necessary for improving life in the town are worthy of recognition and consideration. We believe it is incumbent upon Hartlepower and on any organisation working for community benefit – large & small; thriving & barely surviving; long-established, more recently formed & nascent; campaigning & humbly helping – to account for such diversity in as determined a fashion as possible.

 

Creativity

Hartlepower CIO is a voluntary organisation – freely established & overseen by Hartlepool residents who choose to invest time & effort to achieve community benefit. The charity will flourish to the extent that we are judged competent both by our funders and commissioners to achieve promised outcomes. And only to the extent that our work avoids staleness & timidity but remains creative & enterprising will we continue to serve Hartlepool.

 

Quality

Quality of work makes a difference to outcomes. Higher quality work increases the likelihood of success, however measured. Clear and compassionate written & verbal communication, empowering group facilitation, well-informed advice & accurate, up to date information, sound understanding of the wider social & political context in which civil society inevitably conducts its affairs and, always, attention to detail, all contribute to quality work.

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