Below are excerpts from an evaluation report conducted by
The London Centre for Leadership in Learning (LCLL) on pilot Collab
courses run for Children's Services in the UK.
Preface by Andrew Cozens, Strategic Adviser, Local
Government Group
IDeA (now Local Government Improvement and Development)
commissioned Common Purpose to conduct four pilot Collab courses
for Children's Services in Wigan, Sheffield, Hastings and
Reading.
The aim of the pilot courses was to encourage greater
collaboration and understanding between all the different agencies
and organisations - private, statutory and not for profit - who are
involved either formally or informally in working with children,
young people and their families at a local level.
All four pilots were very successful and exceeded the
expectations of the four Directors of Children's Services (who were
the local commissioners). There were a number of factors that
contributed to this success:
- The diversity of individuals and organisations that Common
Purpose brought to each event which allowed for new connections and
collaborations to be made.
- The event was about doing and not about theory. This made the
event very practical reflected in the very high scores on value for
time in all 4 pilots.
- Through the collaborations and connections that were made at
these events new approaches and ways of working have been explored
and duplication identified and challenged.
The report goes on to share the strengths of the Collab
process with regard to aims, structure, impact on participants and
impact on collaboration and partnerships.
The structure of the course was praised by all those interviewed
and participants were engaged positively and in a creative way
throughout the session the evaluator visited.The real advisors were
a key resource here and enabled participants to learn about roles
and challenges of their adopted organisation.The
negotiation period deepened this learning and extended participant
knowledge of the aims and challenges across the sectors.
It is very clear that participants felt they had gained a great
deal by the end of the Collab. Individuals talked about the event's
'vibrancy' and the 'chance to explore partnership in practice'.
"The Children's Services Collab in Reading had important and
real benefits for us. At a time of budget cuts and low morale it is
even more important to have clear direction and a shared
understanding of the priorities. The Collab event got us to the
point that we had a clear mandate on our key priorities going
forward. It also helped to raise levels of trust between the
participants representing many different interests so they can work
together more efficiently and effectively. The Common Purpose team
listened to what we needed as outcomes from the Reading Collab as
specific local goals. They were flexible in incorporating our
priorities into a coherent process. Not only did we come away with
a shared sense of direction, we also established a context in which
people could build relationships on the basis of better mutual
understanding."
Anna Wright, the Director of Education and
Children's Service for Reading Borough Council
