Extract from an article written for New Spectrum the RTPI

I have chose partnerships as the subject for this article for several reasons:

• There is a huge proliferation of partnerships in planning, in local government and in the voluntary and private sectors - the latest proposals are outlined in the Government's recently published Green Paper on Children at Risk. I suspect everyone reading this article is part of and contributes to at least one multi agency partnership.
• I've spent the last six years creating and supporting 45 Sports Partnerships covering the whole country. Last year we received two TNT Modernising Government Partnership Awards for our efforts and have some experiences to share!
• In my opinion there is a need to learn and share from each other both within and beyond the planning world.

Background

In our quest to provide a young person centred approach for widening access into sport and for providing a seamless pathway for young people to stay in sport and improve their skills so that "they can be the best they can be" it was obvious we needed to encourage the many different providers to work together. We did this by mapping out the different 'catchment' areas of 13 sports across the country. We then invited the agencies in those areas to explore if they would be prepared to work together and submit joined up proposals and receive funding through a host agency. Meantime we worked with the national sports governing bodies, the national Child Protection in Sport Unit and the national equity agencies to set national standards for local delivery. We then developed a partnership support service that included: education and training of the partnership directors and managers, pre and post application advice, advocacy, communication, performance and benchmarking tools.

The research and development phase commenced in 1998. By 2001 we had achieved full coverage of Sports Partnerships with managers in post. By the end of last year all of the Partnerships were actively delivering programmes to over 150,000 young people. During this time we faced many major challenges that improved how we worked and what we did.

Key Questions

When I reflect on what we did and how the different Sports Partnerships evolved I think there are three critical questions anyone involved in partnership working should consider:

• Are we giving them a fighting chance?
• Are they achieving added value?
• Who is looking after the person responsible for making them work?

Fighting Chance

Here are just some supplementary questions that come to mind:

• Are each of the partners convinced about the benefits they will get?
• What does success look like and can it be measured for the partnership as a whole and for each of its members?
• Do the core partners buy into a core purpose or shared vision?
• Are all members serious and committed or doing it to get their share of the resources?
• Is the structure fit for purpose with the right degree of independence or is it hampered by the need for excessive representation and committees?
• Are sufficient resources (time, people, funding) going into the development of the partnership as well as its functional role?
• Is there a balance between short term wins and longer term strategic goals?
• Is the level of trust between the members and personal improving or declining?

It is evidence from our work with Sports Partnerships that those who take care to get everyone on board initially, work hard at keeping them involved and informed and addressing confrontational issues at both the individual and organisation levels emerge with stronger partnerships. Having a clear vision that captures the imagination, gives the partnership the ambition and drives the work is also key. In other words winning hearts and minds and concentrating on positive aspirations can be hugely influential and the basis of sustainability.

The partnerships that concentrated initially on their task of getting delivery on the ground faster at some stage needed to re-visit the partnership working dimension. It's harder to change things within an established culture of working and behaviours but not impossible.

Added Value

When partnerships work they can be brilliant! It can mean less time and energy for greater results and impact that would not have been possible by individual effort. An example of this is netball development across the Greater Manchester authorities where the Greater Sport Partnership was able to 'unravel the bowl of spaghetti' and overcome the 'blockages' that had been limiting a step change of progress for the past 10 years and before. It can also mean considerably more resources and recognition for the 'cause' as demonstrated by Lancashire Sport in its use of sport to address some of the cross cutting issues.

Equally when partnerships don't work as expected they can be incredibly frustrating and energy sapping! There can be a tendency to revisit the need and prove the benefits time and time again. Uncertainty questions the future and undermines confidence. The negative vibes dominate and the partnership is perceived to struggle and consistently under perform. Whilst the role of director or manager becomes impossible the level of scrutiny intensifies. Not a good position to get into.

Many partnerships fall between to two extremes and strive for improvement and recognition.

How we measure added value is key. Whilst some useful self assessment tools are emerging this is an area that needs much more attention.

Supporting the Key Person or People

Emerging evidence from research and practice identifies the importance of leadership in sustaining profitable growth, effective partnerships and community development. Every success is reliant on highly motivated

individuals who feel empowered and influence others. Investment in these people will inevitably have a high impact on results.

In multi agency partnerships the demands placed upon the director or manager are normally intense. Conversely the support this individual receives can be limited especially for public sector partnerships.

A colleague of mine, Anne Thompson looked at partnership working for her MBA dissertation. She came up with the following list of key characteristics for the role of partnership managers:

• Managing aims
• Managing perceptions
• Managing the role of partners
• Managing the commitment of partners
• Developing collaborative working
• Developing strategies for network management
• Achieving goal consensus
• Managing the lifecycle of the partnership
• Developing trust
• Managing language.

In my experience the need for adequate support is not given serious recognition. To make partnership work better it is essential we get this issue on the agenda and deal adequately with it. We can't leave it to directors or managers of partnerships to raise it themselves when the majority of people in that role have a tendency to put their team members before themselves. Executive coaching is how the commercial sector is increasingly supporting their directors and chief executives, which the public sector would do well to emulate.

Last year I was involved in designing and piloting a twelve month strategic leadership programme for the sports industry that proved highly successful. It certainly had a major impact on me, on my career and on my work-life balance.

Useful Links

If you are involved in building or sustaining partnerships you may find these web sites helpful:

• www.ourpartnership.org.uk
• www.lgpartnerships.com (smarter partnerships)

© Nikki Enoch, 2003

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