Our Strategy, Vision and Values
Our Vision
Age UK Gloucestershire is an independent, local charity that benefits from being part of the national Age UK network. Our vision is for Gloucestershire to be the best county in which to grow older. We want this to be the case for all older people, regardless of their background or circumstance.
We want everyone to approach ageing with confidence, and embrace the opportunities it presents. We recognise that we cannot do this alone. It is the responsibility of the whole county to respond positively to ageing. Achieving our vision will need all elements of our community to contribute.
Our Mission
The number of older people in the county is forecast to grow significantly by 2040. Our mission is to ensure that Gloucestershire will be ready for this change. Our communities will be engaged and recognised as places where everyone can age well.
Our role is to support older people who are experiencing difficulties in later life. We will embrace innovative and impactful new approaches through various projects and services. We will improve the experience of getting older for many more people by focusing on preventative activity. We will work to reduce inequality of experience and inequity of access. To do this we will support our wider
community to be positive about later life and respond to the needs of older people.
Our Values
Our Values underpin how we work and are key to help us REACH our ambitions
Relationships - Social connections are powerful. We help people and organisations make meaningful connections.
Every Minute Matters - We value other people’s time and share our own.
Age-Friendly - We celebrate older people and encourage Gloucestershire to be responsive and positive about ageing.
Curiosity - We seek to understand everyone’s unique experience and investigate new ways of working.
Hopeful - We want the best outcomes for everyone. We encourage positivity, purpose and action.
Promoting Age-Friendly Communities
Gloucestershire's districts, towns and city are made up of a patchwork of diverse communities. Our vision describes an equality of experience for older people county wide. Realising this can only be achieved by driving equity of access at a local level. Age-friendly communities will only be created by working locally and in partnership.
This approach will enable us to tailor large scale services delivered at a county or town level for example into responsive services experienced by people within their communities. Working locally will enable us to build plans for neighbourhoods which reflect their local priorities. These will inform a coherent and consistent approach to realising our vision. The better we know our communities the more respectful, understanding and representative of them we can be. In turn the more we will be trusted. Appreciating the diversity of the individuals we champion and support is key to delivering equitable access for everyone.
Our Strategic Priorities
Our vision is supported by what success ‘looks’ and ‘feels’ like:
1. The people of Gloucestershire hold positive views about ageing and older people, and reject ageism.
2. Local infrastructure enables all older people to join in with community life, fully and safely.
3. Older people have access to a wide range of meaningful activities in their community that offer fun, connections and a sense of purpose.
4. Local housing, health and care provision responds creatively and positively to the needs of older people.
5. All older people have a place to turn to talk about later life issues and where they can access information, advice and guidance.
These descriptors of Gloucestershire as the best county in which to grow older inform our five key strategic priorities:
1. Drive a new narrative about ageing to encourage people to see it as an important part of the life course.
2. Champion age-friendly communities across Gloucestershire to influence the way places are physically set-up.
3. Establish and support a range of opportunities at community level for people to gain purpose and social networks.
4. Partner with local systems so they work in a more individual and strengths-based way with older people. We will provide casework to support people through times of transition or vulnerability.
5. Be the safe place for people to contact if they don’t know where to turn, where they can receive informed, patient and accessible help to move forward. We will also encourage forward-planning about later life for all.
These key strategic priorities inform all our decision-making to help realise our vision.