Developments in partnership working

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of partnerships in the delivery and governance of welfare. It examines the types and nature of partnerships and reasons for the growth of partnership working, and their status as a distinct mode of governance. Using examples from a number of areas, including education and health and social care policy, it examines the rationale for partnership working. The chapter also assesses the evidence relating to the impact of the use of partnerships. A number of terms are used alongside or instead of ‘partnership’, including ‘joined-up working’, ‘inter-agency working’, ‘inter-agency collaboration’, ‘multidisciplinary partnerships’ and ‘hubs’. Petch et al (2013, p 624) note that it is easy to become ‘mired in issues of definition’ when discussing partnerships. The Audit Commission (1998, p 16) referred to ‘partnership’ as ‘a slippery concept that is difficult to define precisely’ but suggests that partnerships can be seen as ‘joint working arrangements where parties who are otherwise independent bodies agree to cooperate to achieve common goals, create new organisational processes or structures, implement a joint programme or share relevant information’. A number of factors account for the increasing focus on partnerships and more formal cooperation in the governance and delivery of welfare. These include calls to ensure the better integration of services to users and changing thinking about how public services should be organised and delivered, and by whom. While responsibility for welfare services was traditionally placed across a range of organisations, all with separate governance and funding systems and different cultures, the needs of users frequently crossed these organisational boundaries.