Effective Partnership Working Our experience in the Black Country

1. BLACK COUNTRY Effective Partnership Working • Our experience in the Black Country • Factors that support partnerships • Factors which inhibit partnerships • Sustainability

2. BLACK COUNTRY Douglas Adams The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect A terrible predicament The solution!! Don’t Panic

3. BLACK COUNTRY • Dudley • Sandwell • Walsall • Wolverhampton

4. BLACK COUNTRY What we did in the Black Country • Launch event – 14th April 2000 • Consultations – 200 organisations • Board and LMC Structures • Size and inclusion

5. BLACK COUNTRY The realities of partnership working • Too many partnerships • Fear of talking shops • Cynicism in schools • Tensions and baggage • Money!!!

6. BLACK COUNTRY So far we have built on; • A common goal – things must get better • Some excitement • Involving young people • New ways of working • New Start

7. BLACK COUNTRY How it is working now; • Voluntary sector shadowing group • Special needs and LDD • Black and ethnic minority young people • Involving young people • Partnership development funding

8. BLACK COUNTRY Partnership working – is it an art or a science? If it were a science it might have rules like this; The velocity of dissemination of information is inversely proportional to its veracity!!

9. BLACK COUNTRY Factors which support partnerships where there have been pre-existing partnerships, the prospects for effective collaboration are enhanced importance of involving voluntary organisations at different levels recognition that there is no single style of partnership that works

10. BLACK COUNTRY early planning which determines areas of benefit well in advance devolved project management subscribing to key common principles determined by strategygroup research phase used to discover what different partners can and are prepared to bring to the initiative

11. BLACK COUNTRY Factors which inhibit partnerships changes in personnel and local politics where a new partnership is needed trying to keep it as complementary to other policy initiatives at the same time as keeping it distinctive enough to 'make a difference' emphasis on strategy rather than projects makes some of the partners question the partnership's credibility. criteria of funding streams determining activities   

12. BLACK COUNTRY attitude among some partners that 'we don't have to do this' because it's not in their plans formative nature of partnerships which are looking for some organisation to take on the lead co-ordination impaired by virtue of it being only part of a person's job partners want to be on board for different reasons; some because they do not want to miss out; they take more than they give at meetings

13. BLACK COUNTRY Dilemmas facing partnerships should resources be injected into a selected few projects or dispersed thinly across a much larger number? how to involve communities, young people and their families in discussions and decisions about policy and project development? how also to involve and win support from less keen partners and staff?

14. BLACK COUNTRY Sustainability professional and political will are essential to keep partnerships going at local level need to produce evidence that partnerships bring success as far as motivation, participation, achievement and progression are concerned continuous monitoring and review of outcomes is essential; this should involve external evaluation and this will incur costs

15. BLACK COUNTRY results of these reviews should be fed into relevant policy-making groups and committees important to share budget information among partners partnership way of working needs to be embedded in mainstream practice in time if all these provisions are made the costs involved should be met by the savings incurred from winding up inefficient and ineffective provision

16. BLACK COUNTRY Success factors;

17. BLACK COUNTRY Conclusions;

18. BLACK COUNTRY Let’s fly!!!