We developed the Smarter Partnerships interactive website to help users improve partnership skills and performance, on behalf of the Employers Organisation for Local Government which at the time had responsibility for skills development in the sector. When this became part of the Local Government Association the site unfortunately was no longer maintained, despite evidence of continuing use.Smarter Partnerships provided:
- tools to assist individuals, cross-agency teams and partnerships assess both (i) partnership development and (ii) individual and team learning needs.
- on-line resources: case studies, tools and links to help users address learning needs and improve partnership working
Smarter Partnerships was unusual for a diagnostic tool, in that not only did it help the user clarify their needs, but also provided practical suggestions for actions to take tailored to their particular needs.The project was originally funded by the then Department for Education and Skills, and built on a ‘state of the art’ review in 2000 of partnerships and local government.We also made presentations and run workshops linked to Smarter Partnerships, eg, for Bedfordshire Strategic Service Delivery Partnership, CIPFA Scotland, Essex County Council (Scrutiny), HM Treasury ‘Invest to Save’ annual conference, and the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Department.