« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
People, Partnerships, Possibilities:
Report of inaugural meeting of the Lifelong Learning
Forum
MEANING OF PARTNERSHIPS
What do we mean by
effective partnerships?
Participants identified the main features of effective
partnership working as involving a firm commitment to
contribute time, energy and other resources, matched to the
task in hand. Where partners act as representatives of a
sector they must be able to carry its confidence. Partners
should be willing to learn from each other in a context of
mutual respect and trust, in order to identify and
implement shared solutions. Participants believed there
should be "big picture clarity" about the specific goals of
any partnership. More generally, partnerships should seek
to add value, stand for better outcomes and to change
organisations in the process.
"none of us are as good as all of us
Why are partnerships important?
While the test of effectiveness in partnership working
is demanding, participants believed this level of
commitment is worthwhile when partners are able to achieve
a series of outcomes in pursuit of a shared vision which
could not be achieved by individual organisations working
separately. One group summed this up as "None of us are as
good as all of us."
Issues of leadership and accountability for action were
discussed. These were recognised as difficult but necessary
to confront. One group emphasised the need for "strong
leadership within partnerships, without resorting to
command and control behaviour." The capacity to make
genuine progress was thought to reflect the willingness of
partners to challenge each other openly, to explore areas
of disagreement as well as consensus and, perhaps most
significant, to look beyond sectoral interests to wider
objectives. In this respect, partnerships were
distinguished from bilateral negotiations.
"strong leadership without command and
control"
What problems and challenges are
encountered?
Experiences of partnership working among Forum
members have been variable. Some of the good practice
elements of effective working have been defined by their
relative absence in practice. There is a widespread view
that "partnership" has been overused and, at times, abused.
One group asked "Is this about jargon, or a real definition
of what we want to achieve?" If partnership working becomes
an end in itself, the whole process is in danger of being
devalued.
Among the concerns and risks highlighted are:
- Time-wasting, based on lack of clarity around
purpose, each other's roles, ability to contribute and
likely benefits;
- Sceptics who take part reluctantly and with low
expectations;
- Lack of depth, partly due to having too many
goals;
- Too much caution and unwillingness to take
risks;
- Unacceptable inequalities between partners;
- The experience being more like "partnershaft" (e.g.
rubber-stamping of a pre-agreed agenda).
How could we improve capacity to develop
meaningful partnerships?
To a considerable extent, the agenda for change in this
area involves living up to the qualities identified earlier
and a more conscious effort to address the problems already
experienced. The striking feature of other steps to
effective working mentioned by Forum participants is the
emphasis upon skills and attributes to be practised by
partners themselves. These include:
- The ability to be selective and recognise strategic
partnerships that are worth committing to;
- Higher expectations that partnerships will produce
results, measured in action not just meetings and
reports;
- Consistently putting learners at the centre of the
debate, and recognising that partnerships should not
exist simply to serve the interests of partners;
- Willingness to see the Forum as a legitimate place
for "speaking your mind" and "challenging the cosy
consensus" when appropriate. Some participants spoke of
the tendency to "go native in order to avoid upsetting
each other."
"challenge the cosy consensus"
Looking outwards, participants talked of what they
believed to be a "consultation overload" since 1999. Some
felt unable to contribute to the sheer number of
consultation exercises and working groups established in
recent years. A hopeful note was sounded in one group who
pointed to a move to a new phase of "doing less better",
with possible consequences for the quality of partnership
working.
Summary
A summary of findings from the Scottish
Executive Policy Unit study into partnership working was
tabled at the first meeting of the forum. 'Partnership
Working Research Report: Social and Economic Partnership
Project' is available on the Scottish Executive website at
www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/supwr-00.asp.
Achieving more effective partnerships was considered
to be very important and participants might support further
work in this area if it helped to 'de-clutter' the
partnership landscape and address the apparent confusion
over roles and responsibilities. Some believed the term
'relationship-building' may be more accurate in describing
the process of engagement of the Forum.
« Previous | Contents | Next »