About the Partnerships Research Project

1
About the Partnerships Research Project

• 3 years, funded by FORST
• Many different components eg. national,
  Christchurch, Maori, Pacific
• WCC and University of Auckland working together
  in Waitakere
• Combination of academic and community outputs
• Describing and explaining whats happening
• Analyse what is/whats not working
• Strategies to enhance long term sustainablity

2
Workshops Overview

• Three shared learning groups planned
• September 22
• October 20 coordination roles relationships and
  contracts
• November 3 what should be controlled locally
  the big picture
• Key aims
• Putting experienced heads together looking back,
  forward
• Help develop a shared language and understanding
• Inform project and collaboration for 04
• Help make what weve got now work better
• Transferable lessons?

3
Partnerships, collaboration, representation
whats at stake?

• Expect more local partnerships, local
  collaborative strategies!!
• Collaboration will affect you CEOs and all
• But!! No coherent overall plan from govt
• Deliberate experimentation/ multiplication
• A lot of time and goodwill at risk
• How will real gains be made?

4
International resonances everyones thinking
about this

• Recognition of growing local capacity
• Valuing local knowledge for innovation
• More participation more accountability?
• Seeking local ownership of complex issues
• Headline Goals and results to be met together
• Devolution?

5
From Life is a lottery (UK) New Labours
strategy for devolved governance (Stoker, 2002)

• a plethora of decentralization and reform
  initiatives
• eg Health Action Zones, Local Strategic Planning,
  Neighbourhood Management
• many find favour, none dominates
• searching for the right reform formula and
  creating a dynamic for change by encouraging
  instability
• but also creating space for innovation

6
From Mosaics, NZ Ministry of Social Development,
July 2003

• The Review of the Centre advocated better
  integrated service delivery to address complex
  social problems,
• and focus on the results that citizens want from
  governments
• Regional coordination (strategic collaboration)
• Integrated Service Delivery (operational
  collaboration)

7
From Sustainable Development for New Zealand
Programme of Action, Jan 2003

• This commitment to partnership also means that
  government agencies will need to be better
  co-ordinated in their dealings with others. The
  government sector should be able to speak with
  one voice. Action is required to give practical
  effect to this commitment to partnership. As well
  as undertaking joint work on the projects
  outlined below, the government expects that
  others will recognise the partnership approach as
  our normal way of doing business.

8
Strategizing together in Waitakere

• Wellbeing Goals, Calls to Action, health, youth,
  safety, violence, employment, education
  strategies
• Long Term Council Community Plans
• Provide integrated decision making (between
  council and community) and coordination of
  resources.
• Provide a basis for accountability to the
  Waitakere people
• Provide an opportunity for community
  participation

9
The Mess Fragmentation and raised collaboration
costs

• So many agencies, so many different processes
• No shared boundaries, time frames, budgets
• Multiple accountabilities which matter?
• Collaboration and competition at the same time?
• What prospects of bringing mandates, resources
  and functions back together, here?

10
Risks disappointing, ineffectual collaboration

• The costs of endlessly running around pulling
  together what has been deliberately fragmented
• Lots of (badly integrated) consultation, token
  representation
• Hard to maintain a big picture focus, or even an
  action focus
• A lottery lots of failed, under-resourced
  attempts collaboration fatigue

11
Learning What is it about the Waitakere Way?

• Community, central and local government in the
  loop
• The community strong network and sector forums
• Wellbeing forums, intersector forums, wellbeing
  summits
• Strong expectations about each others
  participation
• Strong, voluntary representation of interests
• Building trust, mutual accountability

12
Strengthening the processes Where are the real
gains now?

• Making collaboration more effective through
  better representation?
• Getting the right people around the table?
• Staying focused / accountable(?) on goals?
• Keeping big picture issues on the agenda?