We have been looking back at progress in 2023 and looking forward to more in 2024.
The whole team has fed back their reflections on the year’s highlights, future direction and the efficient, successful delivery of projects for our clients next year.
We looked at the anchor organisations we have worked with this year – across the UK, with projects in decarbonising energy, sustainable key worker housing, and transforming social care. With commended business cases, complex projects, raising up client teams from all backgrounds and forging collaborations – we took a rare moment to congratulate ourselves.
We’ve taken on new people, expanding services so Global City Futures can take the lead role for clients in developing business cases, providing end-to-end project management as well as focused advice for all parts of the business case lifecycle and approvals process.
Our clients are businesses and public sector organisations that we work with to engage audiences, finding a solid path for financing so they can build governance structures that drive change.
A major highlight for this year was gaining our B Corp certification. We are very proud to be one of a handful of financial consultants in the world to achieve this. Next up is planning for our first B Corp impact report, aiming to inspire other organisations to ask questions and ask what they can do for people and planet, and creating a record of our social and environmental value.
The White Paper calling for key worker housing in the NHS this year is a really high-profile piece, and we are offering on-going support via co-author Roli Martin. The paper, with the GCF financing model has inspired change at the highest level and we are proud to be making a difference here.
All of our consultants are now qualified in or studying for building Better Business Cases, robust training to take on NHS projects that also installs all of our clients with confidence – our cases stand high scrutiny. New for next year, we are continuing development of the team, with regular learning sessions to sharpen efficiency and excel in quality.
We have won two Nottys! South west business awards in Finance and Sustainability – a boost to receive recognition for the expertise in the Global City Futures team.
We looked at the benefits of the pro-bono and support work that we do and discussed what projects to take on next year. Any team member can put forward suggestions for projects where we can make a difference, learn something ourselves and add to our value.
Strengths for the team include the ability to take on new challenges and learn from them quickly, applying skills and sharing them elsewhere. Directors are filled with confidence for next year, quality measures are strong, the team are honest with – and look after – each other; compliance, operations and appropriate structures are firmly in place.
The photo above is from some focus days we took at the beginning of December, where we took inspiration from the stunning landscape of Exmoor to plan for the year ahead as well as polishing up our mission and values. Global City Futures has been established for six years, and it’s prudent to check in on our direction against sustainable and socially conscious ambitions.
Thank you to everyone who has inspired us and enabled us to grow in 2023 – expect more next year!