Partnership Building

Public sector

Enter negotiations at Director, (for officers), and Cabinet (for councillors) level. Priorities are set at this level. Once these people are convinced to work with you they will direct others to liaise on the detail. Keep touching base with senior officials and councillors; they can help with overcoming bureaucratic roadblocks.

Councillors

All councillors have a role to play in representing their communities and for the successful delivery of services. You will almost certainly need support from them, however, be alive to the political dynamics at play locally and judge your approaches accordingly. Consider the interests of relevant Parish or Ward councillors and those with responsibility for relevant portfolios within the decision making cabinet or committee structures of the local authority.

Invite councillors to relevant meetings, consultations, or your AGM. If you intend to 'drop by' unannounced, for instance at a ward surgery, make sure you have a succinct argument already prepared and be specific about what your needs are.

Local Strategic Partnerships

Most local areas in England operate a co-ordinating body known as a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) that brings together at a local level key representatives from the public sector as well as business and the community and voluntary sector. The membership and 'to do' list varies from place to place, however, it is an important network to penetrate in terms of understanding which decision-making organisation(s) and individual(s) are most likely to represent your views locally. Increasingly, LSPs are being encouraged to share information about the property they own and think collectively about how it can be put to best use across a local area.

Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)

Investigate partnerships responsible for economic development. The recent creation of LEPs is an important development in this respect. If you have a story to tell about the economic decline of your community, share your evidence with them, but, more importantly, be prepared to say how your project is part of the solution, (note: not all local authorities will come within a LEP boundary).

Private sector

Working with private sector partners can appear a less obvious route for community based organisations, but is worth exploring. From the outset understand where private companies are coming from. They exist to make profit. Get comfortable with this idea before entering discussions. Most companies today recognise that making profit is not incompatible with social benefit and may have extensive resources and expertise at their disposal.

Make sure that any company you work with shares your values and buys into your vision for the project. Experienced individuals from the business community, who show personal interest in your aims, may also be ideal candidates for your voluntary management team. Consider approaching your local Chamber of Commerce to access key individuals.

Key Questions

• Are there a range of influential champions backing the transfer, to ensure key project objectives can be achieved?
• Have enough opportunities been created to provide meaningful involvement for all stakeholders?