2. “ We’re urging every board of trustees to look creatively at ways of collaborating with others in order to make their funds work harder and to provide better value for their beneficiaries," Andrew Hind CEO Charity Commission WHY ?
3. Your Experience & Examples of Partnership What Was it For What Did it Achieve Would you Do it Again Would You Do Anything Differently
… the esteemed charities and I should add social enterprises that are listed here………… all operating successfully and independently under the robust stewardship of their CEOs…….next slide
… the esteemed charities and I should add social enterprises that are listed here………… all operating successfully and independently under the robust stewardship of their CEOs…….next slide
… the esteemed charities and I should add social enterprises that are listed here………… all operating successfully and independently under the robust stewardship of their CEOs…….next slide
pictured here on one of their better days………
And again with make-up for publicity purposes !! Why the 800 Group, I hear you ask ……..
Because between us we’ve been trading for 800 years and we were established in Liverpool’s 800 year …so it was karma ! Why do it as....... Trading successfully as individual orgs for sometime Made the transition from grant to contract many years ago Combined income of in excess of £55m Employing and deploying 3000+ staff and volunteers So why………..
Individually the partners had been analysing the markets – community, health & social care - in which they operate and wanted to continue to operate and innovate Although sizeable as individual organisation in the small local ponds we operate, we are not premier league on the turnover front and face scary competition ! 800 Group £55.21 million Bupa £4.24 Billion Capita £1.4 Billion Anchor £265 million NCH £210 million Barnados £150 million Mencap £127 million Housing 21 £92.5 million RSPCA £100 million ……… so grouping gave the partners greater scale and provided entry to an increased number of markets that were previously excluded from But we needed a focus, a starting point to mobilise effort
And that focus came to us in the form of Liverpool City Council & LPCT proposal to tender £20m worth of community support services for vulnerable people An exercise that was a risk for us all individually (as it included large chunks of our existing work) but also we felt, a great opportunity to
This tender brought 800 gp together explore tender opportunities and risks share knowledge, expertise provide a foundation for joint work maximise efficiency opportunities increase market share raise the profile of each partner and partnership influence the social and political agenda deliver the best quality of service by pooling resources Discussion began between 7 orgs early on in pre-tender stage We also, through infrastructure orgs, suggested “partnership” models should be explored by commissioners ….and this was contained in tender docs as an outcome
800 group operates under an Agreement of Understanding which states that we will Commit resources and creativity to develop the relationship. Communicate effectively and consistently internally and externally. Share responsibility Be sensitive to the commercial needs of each another And act as a beacon to other VCF organisations, sharing their knowledge, experience and resources to build sector capacity.
800 Group explored a range of models for working together Early on we considered the idea of establishing a hub, a new entity that we would all contribute towards either in cash money terms or by firing in resources e.g. staff, building etc Hub model – SLIDE – does seem to be the 1 which is being sold to the sector as the way to do “partnership” HOWEVER the practical reality is very different from the txt book….
800 group work in same sector but diverse group of orgs in size, structure & cultures Some partners already have close historical and/or commercial links Some are more central to development of 800 group A hub when created new entity has no trading history (compared to our 800) limited financial base is independent and if we did our job right would build a credible track record, financials and could actually become a competitor And A Hub adds cost! and potentially making our services more expensive/less competitive !
So our model of operation is based upon the principles of cooperation and making the maximum use of the assets we have. When we tender for new work we identify the most suitably qualified and resource lead contractor and appropriate subs from inside and out of the partnership Rather than creating, for instance, a purchasing hub, we identify the partner with the most skills, systems, resources etc and purchase that element of activity from them if required Looking to: reduce our management overheads invest in partners development and delivery
Partnership isnt Creating a new monster Quick or Easy An attempt to downsize The end of autonomy or a straight jacket to initiative or enterprise Controlled by any one organisation Lonely
The 800 Group is already working smarter together on the following areas of activity: Fundraising HR Involving people (The Supporting People QAF) Procurement of supplies Training & Quality Tendering & Bids Support Brokerage Contingency planning – what we can do to help each other and public services – rest centres, staff deployment, transport….
Benefits…. we have increased our profile and influence – we feel listened to our ability to respond to initiatives has increased retained our ability to be innovative There are issues…….slide Big one is individual organisation capacity to engage in 800 gp development - small v large partners…….go to the point of accepting each others ability to respond or not ! Other main challenge is around giving people from across our organisations permission to do stuff with partners – early days much of this is driven by chiefs ….at the stage now where we need to engage people from across our organisations