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"UNDER THE SKIN" OF COMMUNITY PLANNING
CHAPTER EIGHT: EXPECTATIONS OF THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE IN RELATION TO COMMUNITY PLANNING
8.1 Many of the challenges facing Community Planning partnerships need to be addressed locally, however, there are a number of barriers that are common to all partnerships and can only be addressed at a national level. Stakeholders were asked what action they thought the Scottish Executive could take to support the development of Community Planning. The main issues identified were as follows: -
Lead by example.
8.2 The most frequently mentioned issue, which was raised by almost all stakeholders, was the need for the Scottish Executive to lead by example by demonstrating a "joined up" approach across its various departments and divisions. There was a strong view that the Executive was guilty of operating through organisational "silos" which often resulted in policy initiatives being introduced which did not always appear to be integrated.
Emphasise the central importance of Community Planning.
8.3 Some stakeholders perceived that the Executive had failed to emphasis the central importance of Community Planning. They felt that there was a need to reinforce the fact that it should be a key priority for all public sector organisations.
Clarify expectations.
8.4 Community Planning has developed on a voluntary basis and partnerships have been free to develop their own approach to meet local needs and circumstances. This flexibility has been welcomed but some stakeholders expressed a desire for more guidance from the Executive about its expectations of Community Planning and how it sees it developing in the future. While there was a desire to have more guidance about the Executive's expectations, all stakeholders agreed that the guidance should not be over prescriptive and should focus on the key principles rather than the details of how partnerships should operate.
Rationalise planning requirements.
8.5 There was a strong view that the Executive could emphasis the importance it placed on Community Planning and help develop the process by rationalising the number of separate plans and strategies that local authorities and other partners are prepared to produce. Many stakeholders felt that this would allow more resources to be committed to Community Planning and would also reinforce the fact that it is a core aspect of the modernisation agenda rather than "just another initiative".
Reduce ring fenced funding.
8.6 Many stakeholders said they felt the real benefits of Community Planning would not be fully realised unless partners had more financial flexibility. There was strong support for reducing the number of individual funding initiatives to address specific cross-cutting issues and replacing them with a more flexible approach possibly based on outcome agreements with Community Planning partnerships.
Provide Additional Resources.
8.7 There is a case for additional resources to be made available to support and encourage the development of the Community Planning process. The Executive makes resources available to support a wide range of other partnership activities but partners are expected to meet the costs associated with Community Planning from within existing resources. While this has the advantage of encouraging organisations to view Community Planning as a mainstream activity, it does mean that some partners, particularly smaller organisations and those who have to participate in multiple partnerships, may struggle to play a full and effective part in the process.
8.8 A number of stakeholders also suggested that the Executive could provide additional funding to support capacity building initiatives promoted by Community Planning partnerships. If this was promoted on a cross-sectoral basis across the whole of the public sector in Scotland it could make a significant contribution to breaking down some of the cultural barriers that are perceived as obstacles to more effective collaborative working between organisations.
Promoting Inter-Organisational Learning.
8.9 The Executive could help promote the development of Community Planning on a national level by supporting inter-organisational learning, networking, the sharing of experiences and the development of good practice guidelines. A number of stakeholders felt that there was a need for an national organisation that could facilitate this process and help Community Planning partners learn from the experience of others and gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn't work in practice.
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