I recently had the chance to visit and spend some time in West Yorkshire. I will not be specific, but the town was charming and rugged. Lots of uphill sections.
The reason for my visit was not as a tourist but to establish how this town and its partnerships were working within a combined authority, at a time when collaborative working is increasingly expected for towns and places seeking funding and support.
I also wanted to understand what lessons can be learnt for other towns about to be included in areas subject to local government reorganisation.
Shop to shop
I carried out several telephone and Teams discussions, but these things work far better person to person. I also therefore went from shop to shop to establish what traders felt about working with the combined authority and each other.
Following on, I hosted a workshop (image above) with people who represented, or lived or worked in, the town. I posed a few questions to the workshop, such as what does a good partnership look like. Responses varied but the prevalent response was where people left their ego at the door and listened as well as spoke.
I also asked who else they worked in partnership with, and their responses included rail partnerships, business organisations and the local authority. Many felt that there were weaknesses in the LA in a) informing residents of plans, progress and projects, b) hearing the points made by businesses and residents, and c) responding to emails and phone calls.
Two LA councillors attended and they too recognised the difficulties in effective communications. Positive responses to the three points raised will be my recommendation to new (and existing) councils to get the best from partnership working.
Consistent
What struck me most was that effective partnership working is often built on fairly simple things done consistently well.
Tell people what is happening. Listen properly to concerns and ideas. Respond when people get in touch.
Too often organisations focus on talking, rather than communicating. The places that get this balance right are usually the places where partnerships become trusted and productive.
