Appropriate Processes and Structures to Support Delivery
To support the delivery process, the partnership could consider how the opportunities for joint working can be managed in order to deliver effectively. In particular, the partnership could consider developing the following:
Action Groups: These may consist of personnel from many different partner agencies that have been tasked to address particular issues (thematic) across a number of neighbourhoods or formed to address a number of issues in one neighbourhood (geographic). In practice, the distinction between the two approaches is more flexible with the respective groups addressing combinations of both.
The group could focus on supporting delivery of initiatives and incorporate business processes to capture community information and monitor outcomes as part of their core business. This information can be extremely valuable from a strategic perspective as the intelligence from this group can support the process of monitoring the progress of particular initiatives and be used as a means of detecting new challenges.
The work of partnership action groups could be co-ordinated with the work of existing police tasking and co-ordination meetings and local action groups set up by neighbourhood policing teams. Effective co-ordination prevents duplication of effort by different groups and helps to manage resources efficiently.
Neighbourhood Policing Teams offer an ideal opportunity through a joint approach with the partnership to deliver partnership priorities and solutions to address crime, disorder and substance misuse by:
- Interventions – joint action with communities and partners to solve problems.
- Answers – sustainable solutions to problems and feedback on results.
Because Neighbourhood Policing Teams focus on the needs of the community and the issues that affect neighbourhoods by involving them in identifying priorities and solutions, partnerships should consider how they can be used effectively within their delivery structure.
Tasking and Co-ordinating Group: Co-ordination can be facilitated by introducing a tasking and co-ordination group (T&CG) to manage delivery. The T&CG is a decision making group with control over resource allocation and responsibility to ensure that delivery is always relevant to the partnership plan. They can hold to account those responsible for taking action, resolve problems, and ensure progress. Some partnerships already use a T&CG to co-ordinate their problem solving work. A T&CG could work by co-ordinating a range of action groups. Alternatively, the T&CG could co-ordinate problem solving activity directly instead of separate action groups. However, problem solving could still be co-ordinated with the work of existing police tasking and co-ordination meetings and local action groups set up by neighbourhood policing teams.
In a partnership where the T&CG is effectively co-ordinating problem solving activity, it may become overly bureaucratic to also hold a police tasking and co-ordination meeting. Before running joint tasking and co-ordination processes, the local police commander could ensure that the partnership process meets the needs of the local police area and the specific demands on that organisation. If the police in an area decide to close their police tasking and co-ordination meeting, they should satisfy themselves that they are involved fully with the partnership process. Furthermore, the police must ensure that the partnership process satisfies any requirements the police have to meet under the NIM minimum standards for tasking and co-ordination as laid out in ACPO (2005) Guidance on the National Intelligence Model.
The regulations do not prescribe what constitutes an action group(s) or their composition, but partnerships may find it useful to consider the following:
- Functions and responsibilities of the group.
Members of the group could make decisions about day–to-day resource allocation and could be responsible for ensuring that delivery is relevant to the partnership plan. They could hold people to account for taking action, resolve problems, and ensure progress. - Membership, roles and level of representation.
Experience suggests that members should be those who can directly assist in the resolution of issues being discussed. They should also be able to commit resources to specific problems and make decisions about what needs to be done. An example might be the manager of the local council housing department. They can decide which of their staff are able to carry out specific actions to assist in one, or a number of problem solving initiatives being discussed at the meeting. At the next meeting, that manager would then provide an update on progress against agreed tasks. - Frequency and nature of meetings.
Again, experience suggests that meetings should be regular enough to ensure that problem solving activity stays focused on the partnership plan. This can also form part of the wider approach to performance management adopted by the partnership. They could also be at appropriate intervals to allow time for some activity to take place, but ensure that too much time does not elapse before reporting on progress for the agreed tasks. T&CG Meetings are guided by a tactical assessment that uses information shared within the partnership to update current problems in relation to the partnership plan and identify emerging ones.
Action groups may mobilise around particular issues or responses and disassemble when the project has been completed. Likewise, as a key part of being responsive, the nature and constitution of the action groups should be reviewed regularly and modified to meet changing requirements and needs.
In the following diagram, we depict how a partnership may structure its delivery, including roles and responsibilities at different levels. This is a suggested structure only and we recognise that effective delivery structures will depend on local characteristics.
