Effective and Responsive Delivery Structures:

Milton Keynes CSP reviewed their structure and performance

Milton Keynes experienced a substantial increase in the volume of recorded crime in spring 2006. The pattern continued into the summer of 2006 and impacted on the partnerships ability to deliver on key performance targets. In order to address this, the partnership worked with a Partnership Support Programme Team from the Police and Partnership Standards Unit to being to review the structure and performance of the partnership. The majority of the recommendations incorporated in the ‘Health Check’ report were adopted. The partnership has now seen a decrease in the number of reported crimes in the area.

What they did

After experiencing an increase in the amount of recorded crime during the Spring and Summer of 2007 the partnership accepted the invitation of the Home Office to conduct a ‘Health Check’/PSP (Partnership Support Programme) currently developed and run by the Police and Partnership Standards Unit at the Home Office) to fundamentally review the partnership structures and processes with a view to improving performance. The ‘Health Check’/PSP monitored several aspects of the partnership and delivered recommendations on how to improve the performance of the partnership.communities a brief overview of their work and thus raise their profile.

What was involved?

Following the diagnostic phase of the ‘Health Check’/PSP and the delivery of a comprehensive report containing key recommendations the partnership undertook the following work:

1. Refocus of the partnership plan.
The plan has been re-aligned to assure that delivery is the main focus. This is underpinned by the development of the Joint Agency Tasking and Coordination Group (JATC); the development of a performance group and the employment of an Action Plan Project Manager; whose main responsibilities are ensuring that the objectives outlined in the plan are being embedded within the partnership and that delivery is the key focus.

2. The Joint Agency Tasking and Co-ordination Group.
This group comprises all key partners that are brought together once a fortnight to review local intelligence to highlight patterns and respond appropriately. This group was established prior to the ‘Health Check’ commencing but has been strengthened further since the ‘Health Check’ has occurred.

3. The Performance Group.
The partnership established this group to focus purely on monitoring the relationship between the partnership delivery groups and performance outputs. Regular meetings reﬂect on how well each delivery group is doing against the targets established; if performance is weak or the delivery groups are experiencing particular challenges the representatives of this group can introduce a series of actions to address and improve performance.

What impact did it have?

BCS crime has fallen 15% since the involvement of the PSP/‘Health Check’ process.
The re-alignment of the partnership plan has meant that the partnership is more focused as a team on delivery and performance.
The development of both the JATC and the Performance Group make it easier for the group to track and monitor performance and also to implement appropriate steps to address any major challenges.
The PSP/Health Check experience offered the partnership the opportunity to review and refresh the focus of all partners.

Lessons Learned

The PSP/Health Check process should not be viewed as another ‘audit’, rather as a means of working with experts to improve performance and therefore partners should not be fearful. The more up front and honest the partnership can be with the PSP team the more they will get back in terms of support.
The PSP process facilitates internal discussions within the partnership which acts as a catalyst to improving performance.
A new approach to working always produces challenges and this should be viewed as a normal part of the process of supporting change.