Jacqui Martin

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VCS ExpectationsThe other side of the
coinJacqui Martin Suffolk Family
Carers01473 835402
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Collaboration or partnershipFriend or Foe

• The cynic could say one partnership could be
  around
• Mutual suppression of mutual loathing in the
  pursuit of government money!!!
• The optimist would say
• Making best use of government money to meet the
  needs of the people of our region in an
  imaginative, exciting, productive and energetic
  cost effective and empowering way.

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Facts and figures East of England

• 15000 Registered Charities
• 45000 VCS organisation
• 125000 volunteers
• Many but not all operate a business model of
  management
• Monitoring and evaluation is a priority to
  improve services.
• We ask listen learn and we do change
  things.

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Rhetoric and reality

• People V Widgets in procurement
• Round pegs V square holes
• Cheap V Good added value
• Reinventing the wheel V supporting existing
  organisation to change
• Dogma V innovation
• Soft and fluffy V Professionalism
• Independence V Dependency

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Compact undertakings by VCS and Public Sector

• Shared principles
• Independence
• Funding
• Policy development
• Decisions and working
• Relationships

• Funding and accountability
• Policy development and consultation
• Good practice
• Resolution and disagreements
• Taking the compact forward

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Clear messages of intent

• Open discussion using expertise and experience
  Partnership is key to success.
• Our joint aim - improve the health and
  wellbeing.
• Coordinated approach to user/customer feedback,
  turned into a needs led and proactive approach to
  commissioning and monitoring not round pegs and
  square holes
• Coordinated joint activity to identify and
  develop realistic outcome indicators, social,
  economic, environmental including County
  Investor factors.

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VCS Lean machine grill or fry!

• Performance Improvement Concepts
• Muda - Waste elimination
• Kaikaku Radical change and improvement
• Kaisen - Incremental improvement actions
• Wellbeing at work thinking
• A system of enhancing all areas of the
  organisation and service delivery.

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Working to our strengths.

• VCS reaching hidden, vulnerable, isolated
  individuals.
• Needs identification.
• Identifying cross agency trends often VCS works
  with a more rounded picture.
• Enabling voices to be heard
• Making links to service development.
• Often these are not recognised.

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Risks difficulties that can be created by PIs

• Outcomes that do not justify the time and
  resources invested.
• Loss of flexibility of working practices
• Complexity in decision making and loss of
  autonomy and initiative.
• Diverting energy away from core aims mission
  drift chasing money.
• Damage and dilution to reputation and brand.
• Damage if collaboration is unsuccessful
• Stakeholder confusion who is good at what.

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Overcoming challenges

• Build on personal relationships
• Celebrate the difference
• Written agreements clear outcomes and indicators
  that do not stifle.
• Sharing experience of change management
• Understanding resource management from both
  sides.
• Agreed mutual benefits and advantages to
  individuals.
• Careful planning, trust and honesty and at times
  agree to differ.

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The many facets of partnerships
We need to explore, change, develop and value
good working relationships and see the picture.