Public/Public Partnerships
|
Everyone knows the public sector’s ability to come up with salami-slice savings each year is disappearing fast. It’s no surprise to us that many organisations look to get the benefit of economies of scale through collaborating with partners from the public sector. And the absence of a profit requirement means all of the operational cost savings can be retained by the partners. But these relationships bring their own challenges whatever the model of partnership – in the short term: location, governance, resilience needs to be dealt with in a manner that satisfies all partners ; whilst in the longer term new product development, technology refresh and potentially dealing with divergent politics will require a drive from the partners as customers. You simply cannot rely on the partnership itself to find its own way to improve. We believe that the discipline of contracting for outputs and outcomes should not be foregone simply because both customer and provider are part of the public sector. A clear separation of the business of managing a partnership (through governance) and articulating each party’s requirements through a robust agreement and performance management mechanism will provide everyone with clarity as to what they need to do to ensure a successful and sustainable relationship. Running a partnership on a properly commercial footing also allows direct comparison with other providers of similar service. As more public sector organisations enter into shared service relationships and partnerships, we believe those that truly understand their own performance and that can articulate this to others will be the ones that thrive and grow business. |
We can help you
|