By Anoush Darabi, Danielle Jackson and Alessandra Coda
Metro Dynamics was founded in 2015 to add lasting capacity to cities and city regions. As experts in economics, finance, investment, policy, and governance, for seven years we have provided strategic advice to those leading, growing and investing in places.
Since then, Metro Dynamics has grown, with more people, more specialisms, and a track record of success. From our beginnings in local government, we have worked with central government departments, cities, universities, investors and businesses. We advise people working and investing around the country on all aspects of how to make their place better, from physical development and regeneration to innovation and business support, to inclusive growth, skills, and public health.
Navigating the last two years has been a challenge. Like every organisation in the country, we have had to adapt the way we work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond this, we have supported government, local and national, businesses, and third sector organisations to respond to the pandemic and recover. As our work has changed, so has our organisation, and we’ve learned a lot from our adaptation to new ways of working and communicating. As we emerge from the pandemic, we are in the process of becoming an employee-owned business, and this is the right time to reflect on our values.
We have built on and evolved our first set of values to reflect changes to our organisation, our work, and the world we work in. Over the last six months we have reflected on what we do, and how we do it. Through workshops, internal surveys, and individual conversations we’ve invited everyone here to engage critically with what it means to work here. We’ve asked ourselves what kind of organisation we are and what more we can do and offer our clients, but also our colleagues.
From this, we came up with the things which we think define us as an organisation, the work we do, and the way we behave. These values will guide our behaviour and our decisions in all aspects of our work:
At Metro Dynamics, we care about places, our clients, and our colleagues. We are an independent organisation, curious about our work, and collaborative in our approach. We strive to make a difference in all that we do.
Caring
We care about the people we work with and for. We are open to everyone, and value different viewpoints, approaches, talents, and backgrounds. Good work depends on the people who work here, and we invest in our colleagues to help them develop.
Independent
We are objective with every project and think carefully about what is right for our clients, a place and its people. A private company with no external shareholders, unaffiliated with political parties, we review the evidence and come to shared positions on points of principle.
Curious
We are interested in how places work, finding ways for local economies to become stronger and more resilient. We strive to innovate, developing new approaches and products to both solve our clients’ problems, and to advance the causes we believe in.
Collaborative
We work closely with each other and with our clients. The best work comes from partnership and developing ideas together. We take time to understand how best we can support each other and the people we work with, sharing our expertise, knowledge, and skills.
Making a difference
Our work makes things happen. We meet our clients’ needs and help them to improve outcomes for people in places. To do this, we maintain high standards and hold to our values, working efficiently and developing processes that put our skills to the best use.