Friday 30 May 2014

News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 28th May 2014


It has been a quiet week, but the three items below each tell an important story.

Local Government

Tisk, tisk! This article seems to be suggesting there has been a furtive development of shared services between the two councils. If true, and not just a bending of the truth by upset employees, you have to conclude that there is a lack of skills in collaborative working within the organisations. In the SSA Highway Code we recommend that the leaders of the organisation: Announces that they are running out of money and one of the solutions could be collaborative working with a partnering organisation. That gives the freedom to explore shared services openly…

Islington and Camden council chiefs accused of cover-up over plans to merge legal departments

Leaked documents reveal Islington Council is considering merging with other boroughs in a radical shake-up of how public services are delivered. Read more >>>

Does anyone want to challenge this headline? I thought places like Kent and the East Midlands had already done this…however, it still seems strange that in 2014 local authorities are not connected up to enhance their collaborative working…

London unites local authorities on Public Services Network

London is the first region to connect all of its local authorities to the Public Services Network (PSN) through the London Public Services Network (LondonPSN). Read more >>>

This is a bit of a non-story, as Worcester have not been asked by Malvern and Wychavon if they want to have a ménage a trois leadership. However it still illustrates the un-popularity of shared  council CEOs. The potential number could be about 170, however there are less than 30…

We won't be sharing a boss with Malvern and Wychavon, says Worcester City Council's leadership

The leader of Worcester City Council has ruled out sharing a chief executive with Malvern and Wychavon - saying he does not want to get involved in the surprise talks. Read more >>>



Receive this Shared Service News Summary into your inbox every week. Just register on our website.  

Wednesday 21 May 2014

News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 21st May 2014



Hi everyone,

The Public Sector Transformation Network has sponsored a NLGN review of the Total Place/Pooled Budgets (or other trending names for these projects) called Break On Through. It opens with the statement that, “Service integration is the most exciting game in town…” . If you are doing the work, it probably feels more like one of the most complex games in town. Based on this report, if you are a recognised SSA or SS(PRAC) and you are looking for new areas of work, these projects are desperate for your skills. Here is a snip from the introduction:

“Government has made it clear that taking forward integrated working must be done locally; but progress and pace of change to date has been slow. Councils and their local partners are facing a series of barriers which are preventing them from acting…

…People believe that most of the barriers that areas are facing are overwhelmingly local and, more often than not, are about local relationships and leadership. The majority of these barriers cannot be busted by anyone except local partners themselves painstakingly building stronger relationships with one another.” 

The report concludes that better (collaborative) leadership and strong trust and vision are required to overcome the barriers to integration. They need some collaborative leadership skills development too.

Break on Through: Overcoming Barriers to Integration
Service integration is the most exciting game in town for local public services, providing a path to improved outcomes for communities and reductions in the cost of delivery. Government has made it clear that taking forward integrated working must be done locally; but progress and pace of change to date has been slow. Councils and their local partners are facing a series of barriers which are preventing them from acting.

************

Health & Social Care

 

Here is more evidence that social care is maybe experiencing the same collaborative challenges as those outlined in the NLGN report above. Again, if you are a recognised SSA or SS(PRAC) and you are looking for new areas of work, integrated care may welcome your skills…


NHS: Authorities using funds to keep services afloat rather than transform (Report)

A new report from the health policy consultancy MHP Health, reveals that local authorities are using funds from the NHS to keep existing social care services afloat, rather than transforming services and delivering more integrated care. Read more >>>

Pioneering integrated project could expand across UK

A pioneering integrated care project for people with long-term conditions based in west Cornwall could be rolled out across the UK. Read more >>>

************

Further/Higher Education

 

It may be helpful to know that HEFCE have updated their website with new materials on HE Shared Service working.

Shared services - HEFCE

The Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE) has published a number of shared service projects and case studies on its website. Read more >>>




Receive this Shared Service News Summary into your inbox every week. Just register on our website.  

Thursday 15 May 2014

News Summary of Collaboration and Shared Services from 14th May 2014



Thank you to all those who fed back on Alasdair’s analysis of the LGA Shared Services Map last week. If you missed it, click here to look at what the LGA map is really saying.

One of our students on the Postgraduate Certificate in Shared Services, who is based in a Kent Council, quite rightly corrected me for my error when I wrote that, “Where we have not taught the SS(PRAC) programme, for example in the South East, South West and North East, there are much smaller numbers of collaborations on the LGA map” . It should have read, “Where we have not taught the SS(PRAC) programme to hundreds of students, for example…”. Kent Connects has funded over 20 people through the programme in Kent, so to them I apologise.

However, my apology is a good way to promote the free, Friday 27th June, Collaborative Transformation Conference in Kent, hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University Business School in collaboration with Kent Connects and ourselves. The conference is highly practitioner focused and the majority of speakers are recognised Shared Service Architects and graduates of the postgraduate certificate who have been delivering on the frontline of collaborative working. So why not come down to beautiful Canterbury on the Friday for the conference, and stay in the city for the rest of the weekend?

************
Private Sector Collaborations
One of the most quoted stats in collaborative working is that in the private sector, between 50 to 70% of mergers and shared services fail to deliver on the promise of the business case, or promised shareholder value. The BBC pick this theme up in this article…

When firms get together: The secret of success

When two people decide to get married, they vow to stick together - "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer". Basically, as those vows acknowledge, marriage is tough and it takes two to make a partnership work. When it comes to company mergers it's no different. Read more >>>

It evidences that the collaboration skills we teach in the public sector are just as applicable in the private sector too.

************

Further/Higher Education

This is a helpful Guardian article, from a firm of solicitors punting for work in the world of HE shared services. But what grabbed my attention was the statement, “In 2014, with institutions having to respond to a further 3% reduction in funding…” – Only 3%?  Don’t bother going through the trauma of sharing if you only want to save 3%. However, don’t let that put you off the article, it is still a good scan...

Shared services: a brave new world?

Shared services are high up the agenda across the higher education sector. In 2013, Universities UK's modernisation task force identified "millions" of possible savings. Read more >>>

 

************
Local Government

The LGA review of Forest Heath and St. Edmundsbury councils’ collaborative working makes good reading for Shared Service Architects working at a strategic level. We follow Forest & St. Eds. work closely as they put almost 50 of their senior staff through the SS(PRAC) programme in 2011/12 and have been using the SSA toolboxes as part of the success of their collaborative working…

Shared services working in West Suffolk says peer review

The shared service arrangement between Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council has put the two authorities in a better financial position than most, according to a peer review. Read more >>>

************
Blue Light Services

Kent and Essex Police are one of the leading exponents of collaborative activity in the emergency services and here they are again, blurring the boundaries of regional policing…

ACC appointed to lead joint organised crime directorate

One of the largest specialist organisations for dealing with serious and organised crime in the country will come under new leadership, it has been announced. Read more >>>

************
Collaborative Leadership

The US public sector is leading on the application of collaborative leadership to solve their budget cut problems. This next article very much reflects the content of our new Harnessing Collaborative Leadership Across Communities session that is being adopted widely across the UK public sector….

Only collaborative leadership can make communities succeed

Strong political leadership and good managerial leadership do not have to be mutually exclusive aims. Read more >>>



Receive this Shared Service News Summary into your inbox every week. Just register on our website.