Critical Reflection 2

Word count - 918

A plethora of partnerships
Through my role I find I am becoming involved in more and more partnerships, some
which work very successfully and some less so.
Since the early 1990s, there has been an increasing push from the government to
work in partnership, and the move towards community planning places a statutory
requirement on certain agencies to be an active partner.
"Community Planning is a process ... whereby public services in
the area of the local authority are planned and provided after
consultation and (on-going) co-operation among all public bodies
... and with community bodies" (Local Government in Scotland Act
2003)
However, many partnerships have evolved and have a less clear statutory role.
Using Thompsons Systemic Practice principle (pg239, 2015), we can be guided to
ensure clarity of purpose. He breaks it down to three core questions
1. What are you trying to achieve?
2. How are you going to achieve it?
3. How will you know when you have achieved it?
Many of the partnerships I am involved in are less than clear on this, and have come
together because they feel they ought to
Our local area community planning group can answer Thompsons questions, and it
is an active partnership, that has a good level on engagement of most partners,
which can be evidenced by input to meetings, and also the sending of an adequately
briefed substitute to continue the input and flow of information.
It can be frustrating to try and work in partnership when the partner organisations
cultures do not match. This can often lead to tensions in partnerships, and a lack of
common understanding of the role and purpose of the partnership. One of the

partnerships I am in is like this, and it feels frustrating to constantly be the one

questioning what we are doing and why?
For a partnership to function well, there needs to be a shared understanding of the
culture

within

the

organisation,

and

if

not

understanding

at

least

an

acknowledgement that we all have different drivers within the structures we work.
Sachs approach to this is that each party at least looks inside the others castle.
(2000, pg82)
One partnership I have recently supported through some training on roles and
responsibilities, and have assisted them to go through the process of becoming a
Scottish

Charitable

Incorporated

Organisation

(SCIO)

show

how

quickly

partnerships can progress with the right support and information.

This partnership is a sports and leisure hub, and part of its resounding success was
finding a dynamic leader, and helping to support them in their role, and bringing
people with a common aim together. The shared vision has been a major driver in
the success, and has enabled me to support them to develop their 5 year business
plan and then to access funding. A large part of my early intervention with this group
was about clarifying purpose and implementing strategies to build consensus,
collaborating to identify opportunities and threats and to ensure that all partners saw
the relevance to them, and their organisation, so everyone has a full and positive
role and sees the importance of the hub.
Analysing my role using Toomeys definitions I go between a facilitator and an ally.
Part of the core of my role was around supporting the community to come together,
which Toomey captures with this quote the role of the facilitator is also vital in order
to get the community on the same page by providing spaces in which people can
meet and by guiding people through brainstorming activities in which new ideas or
solutions to community problems can arise. (pg190, 2009)
The ally role is summed up with Toomey quoting Montoya
Montoya describes a new process of community making that
seeks to attain collective well being in an organized manner
through a practice of new values of solidarity, community,
cooperation, and mutual aid. It is this novel undertaking whereby

people through their own efforts seek to obtain a material and

spiritual well-being that cannot be reduced to simple economics
that we call community economic development (A. Montoya, 2001,
p. 179) (Toomey, pg191, 2009)
Although the sports hub would not have seen themselves initially as a community
economic development project, they have already moved on to looking to host an
event that will help sustain them, and has a great impact on community wellbeing,
being a community event that will put the area on the map. They are also looking at
the possibility of a community asset transfer of some sporting facilities, so my role
with them is evolving as they do. My role now is about education and support to
assist them through the process of planning for an asset transfer.
Part of my own learning through this process is clearly illustrated by Harrison, Mann,
et al that
Every partner is a person. The full range of contributions that
individuals can make to partnership development needs to be
recognised. People often consider that they will only be valued for
the specialist expertise that they bring to a partnership. However,
people are more often valued because of the people skills that they
demonstrate in their dealings with others and the way in which they
help the development of positive relationships. (pg31, 2003)
Through working with this sports hub partnership, I have become more aware of my
range of skills, and feel less confined by the label of professional and feel more
comfortable offering support over the range of the issues that they face, rather than
just providing information on policy.

References
Harrison, R, Mann, G, Murphy, M, Taylor, A, and Thompson N (2003). Partnership
made Painless, A Joined-up guide to Working Together, Lyme Regis, Russell House
Sachs, J (2000) The Activist Professional, Journal of Educational Change, Volume 1,
Issue 1, pp 77-94
Scottish Government (2003), Local Government in Scotland Act 200, a.s.p. 1
Thompson, N (2015) People Skills, 4th edition, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan
Toomey,

A.

(2009).

Empowerment

and

Disempowerment

in

Community

Development Practice: Eight Roles Practitioners Play. Community Development

Journal, 46(2), pp.181-195