Bristol City Council

Bristol City Council’s aspiration is to be an exemplar in city leadership, promoting the Stepping Up diversity talent pipeline as a blue-print for every council and every city in the UK. It demonstrates that an inclusive, one-city approach through stakeholder engagement with commercial, voluntary and public sector can deliver significant change in the landscape of diversity leadership. Substantiated by impressive results elicited through Cranberry external evaluation research study, Stepping Up is set to create a new approach to employer engagement as a force for good and city-wide inclusivity.

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council-owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself. This award recognises strong performance by a council, with a primary focus on the relevant timescale, in developing a diverse and inclusive culture that permeates the council itself and its workforce and/or the broader local area. The entry could demonstrate the council’s attempts to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace for all employees, and members, and describe how this is helping to attract and retain talent. It could include internal council initiatives, customer/service user-facing work, or work to promote a wide range of careers on the council to appeal to different people. The entry could alternatively focus more on the broader local area, highlighting initiatives to foster diversity and help facilitate inclusion across the local community. It could include how the council has worked with other business and other local organisations to improve opportunity or participation. It could look at engagement.