THE UPS & DOWNS OF MANAGING PARTNERSHIPS Sharon Roots & Michèle A Baron

The start Sharon had a vision……..

Partnerships & CPA KLoE 4.1:  The council manages its significant business risks Audit Focus - Evidence that  the council has a risk management process in place  the risk management system covers partnership working

Partnerships & CAA New approach means CAA will look more at:  LSP areas than organisations  Risks to future delivery than performance in the past  LSP outcomes for communities than outputs and process – annual risk assessment  Local priorities than national targets

The problems  What is a “partnership”?  Levels of existing risk management training &/or understanding in partner organisation personnel  Different existing risk assessment methodologies which are incompatible resulting in:  Differing risk appetites & perceptions  Commitment to produce partnership risk registers

So what did we do?  Basic risk management training for partner organisations  Shared LBBD matrices for assessing risks  Partnership management training for LBBD staff

Overcoming Risks  Good personal relationships  Compatible cultures or an understanding of different cultures  Written agreements  Experience of change management, leadership and vision  Resources  Clear and agreed mutual benefits & collaborative advantage  A focus on the big picture  Careful planning

Reviewing joint work  Is your partnership achieving its objectives?  Are you achieving more by working collaboratively than by working alone?  What has gone well? What has gone less well?  Has your partnership or its activities changed since it began – do you need to make adjustments to how you work together?  Do all the partners still have shared aims?

Close Thank you for your attention