At DLA we aim to achieve a successful business that values its Clients, Projects and People based on continued commitment to Design Excellence and our ability to deliver with an emphasis on communication and co-ordination - Teamwork!'

DESIGN A commitment to high quality and innovative design is at the very heart of the projects we create and deliver. Our working method begins with a study of the wider contexts; social, economic and environmental, that have both given rise to, and will also inform the task. We then work collaboratively and creatively with our clients and stakeholders to assemble the detailed brief. It is here that ideas emerge, both practical and aspirational, which act as key design drivers later on. It is also here that true innovation and design quality begins. By addressing the very particular needs of our clients and by being responsive to the issues of our time, we believe it is possible for our projects to play a transformational role within the wider community that we serve.

DELIVERY A great strength of the DLA Group is our ability to deliver. From small complex projects to multi-million pound schemes or roll out programs, our 80 strong team spread across three UK offices, has the practical expertise to take a project from concept planning to completion on site. Our approach is founded on solid commercial knowledge, that ensures our projects are both realistic and achievable.

COMMUNITY The DLA Design Group is committed to the long-term viability of the communities with whom we work. We are also committed to the Government's Sustainable Communities agenda. Our challenge is to create places where people want to live, work and importantly stay. This means working collaboratively with local authorities, communities and our developer clients to help create neighbourhoods with a live/work balance, which offer job opportunities, affordable housing, good public transport and a safe and attractive public realm. In addition to a focus on environmental responsibility, we are also committed to public involvement and charitable support.

EXPERIENCE With 30 years experience in the marketplace across a range of work sectors, the DLA Design Group has assembled an impressive portfolio of clients and completed projects. Over this period the procurement process has become ever more complex as building projects have been required to address wider technical and environmental agendas. We have responded by diversifying the practice into a number of 'centres of expertise', covering the main design disciplines. It is from this collective capacity that we are able to draw resources and technical know-how to respond to the most challenging of design and building projects.

ENVIRONMENT As professionals and consumers we recognise our obligation to 'plan for the future' and work to reduce the impact that our business activities have upon the environment. We therefore take 'corporate responsibility' and the Government's commitment to the 'Kyoto Protocol' seriously. For us, as designers in the built environment, this means a number of things; it requires that we think strategically about the wider contexts within which our buildings are set, to ensure that they respond to the social and environmental concerns of our time; it also means deploying best-practice in sustainable design to ensure that our projects are ecologically sound. But most of all, it requires that we re-think our own working practices and attitudes as professionals. We are therefore developing and promoting these principles through our Quality Assurance System, as well as an on-going programme of Continued Professional Development.

MANAGEMENT We operate a customer centred management system based on the aims and needs of our business. We are committed to develop and improve our profile by the setting and reviewing of business objectives for core values, team strengths, talent, technological support and direction. We use knowledge sharing and feedback to achieve continual improvement in performance and effectiveness, and aim to improve profitability to allow us to invest in new strategies and to reward our team.

The Board of Directors