Medway LSP –strengthening governance to deliver effective LAAs

Medway’s LSP has over the last year been on a journey of transformation revising its structure and leadership to ensure it is able to negotiate a more strategic and cross-cutting LAA which has strong partner buy-in. The process they went through included rigorous self examination, independent guidance, facilitation and wide consultation. The circumstances that created the conditions for change in Medway were the need to negotiate LAA2, the PtP self assessment procedure and the offer of development support. Medway also took up the offer to be involvement in the Leadership Centre pilot to ‘develop the leadership to deliver excellent LAAs’.

Medway’s LSP board used the PtP self-assessment to as the catalyst for a rigorous review, revealing that although the LSP was working well in a number of respects including having a strong needs-based vision, it was ailing in others. These included a lack of accountability, lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities, an inadequate performance management process and poor communication channels. It also revealed that some key agencies were either not represented on the LSP board or not fully engaged with it.

Using the ‘red’ rating on delivery from the PtP self assessment as a starting point, the LSP began a process of change using a combination of independently facilitated stakeholder events, wide consultation and lots of hard work. The process included:

• Gaining consensus on the need for change through one to one  consultation with LSP members
• Establishing consensus on the priority outcomes at a stakeholder event
• The drafting of new governance arrangements
  
  
  

Some of the identified outcomes identified were to:

• Engage all partners and be able to old them to  account
• Demonstrate that partners were working together effectively
• Make the LAA more strategic and cross cutting
  
  
  

What were the lessons learnt?

• Openness of partners is key to their ability to identify problems and accept change
• Getting buy-in of partners as to what the issues are, early on, is crucial
• Build consensus around the case for change
• Focus on outcomes, not processes and structures
• Build an understanding of partners’ organisational cultures and targets
• Partnerships operate at multiple levels – strategic, operational and delivery, it’s important to work at all to effect sustainable change
• Partnership working must be about relationships between individuals and organisations, cemented by good processes and structures
  
  
  

The Medway LSP has now reconfigured itself to become a more streamlined partnership, with less thematic groupings and greater engagement of partners.

“Medway is part way on the journey to improving its LSP. We don't have all the answers by any means, but we've learnt a lot about ourselves as well as ways in which to make changes to the LSP to get in functioning better and moving our focus from planning to delivery which was our goal.

The PtP self assessment was a vital starting point for us. It gave a common framework and language to get consensus on the need to change.We rated ourselves red on delivery, and I have used that red/amber/green visual symbol of our need to change on many occasions when the going got tough.

For us external support and challenge was a realpositive - a very good use of our PtP funding. The facilitation we have received from the Leadership Centre has been of the highest quality and has helped us to look beyond processes and structures to how we behave as partners, and how we can constructively hold each to account. It has also been invaluable in keeping our focus and momentum.

We took risks along the way; negotiating the new LAA whilst changing the LSP has stretched our limited resources near to breaking point at times. It was a risk worth taking and the quality of debate and engagement in the preparation of LAA2 is significantly different from the process just over a year ago for LAA1.

The journey isn't yet completed, but we have a clear idea of our route and the LAA gives us a clear agreement of the things the new look LSP will focus on - those targets are the prize within the grasp of the LSP” (Stephanie Goad, Assistant Director Communications and Improvement. Medway Council)

Full Case Study is available here  2Mb

For more information contact Peter Johnson on Peter@seemp.co.uk