Document name:
Building stronger partnerships with
third sector strategy
Document type:
Corporate Development Strategy
Staff group to whom it
applies:
All staff within the Trust
Distribution:
The whole of the Trust
How to access:
Intranet and internet / ward folder
Issue date:
January 2011
Next review:
January 2013
Approved by:
Executive Management Team
Trust Board
Developed by:
Head of Involvement and Social
Inclusion
Director leads:
Director of Corporate Development
Contact for advice:
Phil Walters- Head of Involvement
and Inclusion
1
Building stronger partnerships with the Third Sector Strategy
1. Background and Objectives of the Strategy
The Trust has made clear its ambition to develop as a partnership organisation
through the decision to change the name of the organisation on authorisation to
South West Yorkshire Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust. Partnership working is a
key strand in the 4 & 2 business model adopted by the Trust to support
organisational success through the delivery of a strategy based on consolidation of
core pathways, geographical expansion, sub-specialisation, development of forensic
services and thought leadership.
Although our current/potential partners do include other statutory agencies and
private sector organisations’, the aim of this Strategy is to develop a framework
supported by an improvement plan that would ultimately lead to stronger
partnerships between South West Yorkshire Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust
and third sector organisations’ including social enterprises in this definition, in the
areas we cover. We will need to empower and guide the third sector to participate in
and contribute to shaping services and this will create an environment where all
voices are heard at all levels. We will need to develop meaningful and productive
partnerships and strengthen effective working and communication with third sector
organisations and this will enable contribution towards common goals.
In the course of developing this paper, the political landscape has changed
significantly, with the election of a Coalition Government has already introduced the
NHS White Paper, the concept of the “Big Society” and support for the development
of social enterprises being particularly relevant to this piece of work.
This strategy has been developed through consultation with third sector and
Trust staff, a Key Objective being to improve our engagement with service
users, carers and the wider communities in which we work: we can do this by
empowering and guiding third sector organisations to participate in and
contribute to shaping services and by creating an environment where all
voices are heard at all levels- This work is critical for achieving excellent services
that meet everyone’s needs and will be particularly important in terms of our
marketing strategy. Third sector organisations can help us to be more in touch with
the needs and priorities of service users and carers and importantly, to build bridges
with sections of the community who currently do not access our services, such as
groups that are marginalised in decision making, due to disadvantage or
discrimination. There are organisations, communities and individuals who do not feel
their voices are heard adequately, and there are those who feel overwhelmed by the
volume of communication and consultations they are asked to be involved in.
We should Activity focus on balancing these differences, reaching and
understanding the multiplicity and diversity of voices within the third sector.
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Another key objective is to develop meaningful and productive partnerships
and strengthen effective working and communication with third sector
organisations. This will enable contribution towards improving the care
pathway and thereby improving outcomes for service users and carers.
Third sector organisations can provide support to service users and carers who
currently take up a lot of clinician time but don't require clinical expertise -.This could
potentially make clinical workloads more manageable, efficient and cost effective,
potentially reducing the overall cost to the health and social care system. We need
to express our commitment to work in partnership with third sector organisations to
support the development of healthy and vibrant communities. This will help with
problem solving, and creating new ways of working, and challenging personal
behaviour and organisational conduct. It sets a backdrop for partnership working
which is essential for delivering our Vision.
2. Definition of Third sector:
The Government defines the third sector as “non-governmental organizations” that
are value driven and which principally reinvest their surpluses to further social,
environmental or cultural objectives. There is a wide variety of organisations that
make up the third sector, these include: charities, community groups, social
enterprises, co-operatives, mutual’s and voluntary organisations.
3. National/broader context
Over the last 10 years there has been a drive by the previous Government towards
creating a framework for working in partnership in which the third sector can
contribute and flourish, be strong and independent. Following national research,
various programmes, such as Futurebuilders and Capacitybuilders have been
introduced as a driving force in developing the capacity of the third sector and have
helped develop the infrastructure to support the third sector which requires helping
them deliver better services.
The Coalition Government has renamed Office of Third Sector the office of Civil
Society and is putting emphasis on local or neighbourhood based community
organisations. The emergence of social enterprises from PCT provider arms is
blurring traditional boundaries between the voluntary and public sectors and we may
see more of this locally. The cuts in local government budgets are having an impact
on voluntary sector infrastructure. Wakefield voluntary Action and Kirklees Voluntary
Action have lost local authority funding already this year. This may make it more
difficult for local organisations to thrive and may mean we see bigger national
organisations like Turning Point expanding because they already have robust
infrastructure and governance arrangements.
White Paper Equality and Excellence- Liberating the NHS
The Government’s ambition in this paper is to achieve healthcare outcomes that are
among the best in the world. They say quite strongly that this can only be realised
by involving patients fully in their own care, with decisions made in partnership with
clinicians, rather than by clinicians alone. The system will focus on personalised
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care that reflects individuals’ health and care needs, supports carers and
encourages strong joint arrangements and local partnerships.
The government aims to create the largest social enterprise sector in the world by
increasing the freedoms of foundation trusts and giving NHS staff the opportunity to
have a greater say in the future of their organisations, including as employee-led
social enterprises.
A number of key policies of the previous Government set out the importance of
working with third sector organisations over recent years.
‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’
(The Department for Communities and Local Government 2006)
This paper suggests that the expertise of the third sector should be harnessed and
developed to enable local partnerships to shape local services. This will be achieved
by recognising the diversity of the sector, by empowering and building capacity and
by listening to local representative organisations, service users and community
groups to identify priorities and meet needs. The broader community benefits are:




Local people shaping their community
Building social capital within communities
Connecting people to shape their communities
The reform of public services
‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’
(Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services DoH 2006)
Sets out “a vision to provide people with good quality social care and NHS services
in the communities where they live” and acknowledges the role of the third sector in
shifting the balance of provision closer to where people live.
New Horizons- Promoting multi-agency collaboration
(New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health. DoH February 2010)
New Horizons, as a national cross-government strategy, sets out the shared values
and approaches necessary for change to happen locally. It recognises that only a
robust partnership across the public, private and third sector working with local
people will deliver the necessary change to improve mental health and wellbeing for
individuals, families, carers and communities of all ages and backgrounds. New
Horizons promotes personalisation as fundamental to the recovery process and the
main way of addressing the needs of individuals, especially amongst more
vulnerable groups. It is seen as a way to ensure all members of our communities will
have access to care and services irrelevant of background and will promote equality
throughout system. Empowering people to have more say and control of their health.
Compacts
The Compact was launched at a national level in 1998 and local authorities have
since been encouraged to develop Compacts at a local level. Compacts are an
agreement between the public and third sector organisations to improve their
relationship for mutual advantage and community gain. Organisations enter into the
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Compact voluntarily; it is not legally binding, but by doing so agree to work by key
principles and undertakings.
The idea behind the Compact is to form a genuine partnership that allows each
partner to achieve more. The local statutory partners and the third sector use the
Compact as a framework for partnership working because it recognises and
supports the contribution they can each make to improve the lives of individuals and
communities. Working together in this way also brings wider benefits, such as the
creation of stronger working relationships across all sectors, underpinned by mutual
understanding, trust and respect. This provides an authentic and distinctive voice for
residents and service users. This will build mutually supporting relationships within
neighbourhoods and communities. Developing and delivering services, based on
direct knowledge of community needs.
4. The benefits to the Trust of working with third sector organisations.
The advent of New Horizons and the development of the personalisation agenda
create new opportunities for third sector organisations, which could present both
opportunities and a potential threat to the Trust’s income stream. Third sector
organisations within the broader region play a significant role in providing housing,
support to employment, leisure opportunities and social care. Links with third sector
organisations could offer access to different expertise and to alternative sources of
income, including grants.
Working with the third sector organisations that provide employment or protect the
interests of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities is also
consistent with the Trust’s values and has the potential to create sustainable
communities.
Key features we would expect to see in potential partners:
We would expect third sector organisations to have a positive approach to
partnerships and a strong understanding of local communities. We would want
organisations to work with an enabling\empowering ethos and be very value driven.
We would expect organisations to be prepared to share the risks. In successful
partnerships the structure should not drive partnership, it should be relationships
that do and it's the depth of relationship and mutual respect that counts. As an
organisation we should always be looking for opportunities that will promote
partnership working. Partnership has to become instinctive it cannot be just outcome
generated and it has to be a two-way dialogue. Partnership will not work if we
always want to achieve 100% of our agenda.
5. The threats to the Trust of not working with third sector organizations
A recent example where a third sector organisation challenged the Trust’s market
position is Turning Point in Wakefield wining the contract to deliver the IAPT
services in direct competition with the Trust. The personalisation agenda, combined
with expectations of commissioners to competitively tender services, pose an ongoing threat to the Trust’s intention to retain services which it would consider to be
5
part of the core pathway. Working in partnership with potential competitors enables
the Trust to mitigate this risk.
6. The benefits for third sector organisations in working with us
We could offer support to their risk and governance arrangements, as a large well
governed and financially stable organization, this could offer a greater stability than
that, which is often found and difficult to manage in smaller organisations. We could
also offer support to develop partnership working skills to enable small organisations
to negotiate better. Through our large membership base we could provide service
user insight across the local health economy. There would also be more support for
business development and planning, growth and cultivating a stronger market
position through partnering with us in the development of our service offer and
consolidation of the care pathway as set out below.
7. Key areas for joint working:7.1 Consolidation of the core pathway- Working in partnership with other
organisations could enable the Trust to diversify its offer in terms of either the shape
or range of services it provides and to extend the pathway. This might include
working in partnership with organisations that specialise in employment or housing
to provide pathways to work or supported accommodation, enabling people to move
on from mainstream services to increase efficiency within the system and extend the
current pathway.
The Transforming Community Services agenda offers huge potential for working
with partners to develop alternative models of service provision as an extension or
enhancement of the current pathway through partnerships with the third sector or
social enterprise. The Trust is already exploring the potential to develop creative
partnerships with arts based organisations to support the Trust in developing
alternative ways of delivering services and to support staff development.
Third sector organisations are often in a good position to understand what people
want and how their needs can be met. By working together and co-designing
services, The Trust and the third sector can deliver policies, strategies and ultimately
services that are built around communities and individuals, meeting their needs and
reflecting their choices.
7.2 Developing New Business-This would include growth through subspecialisation, geographical expansion or development of forensic services. Service
growth relates to expansion through the development of our service partnerships in
order to realise an improved service offer, and ultimately an improved individual
offer. By providing individual ways to evaluate each component and determining
who could provide what aspect, could make us more competitive.
This could include the development of existing services to enhance or complete our
pathways, for example the expansion of our district learning disability low secure
service into a sub regional service. It will also be possible to grow through sub
specialisation, for example the development of autism spectrum disorders teams.
6
Growth through the development of new services could include areas such as child
and adolescent mental health services, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.
This will also include the growth opportunity from the Transforming Communities
agenda. There is potential to work with partners who may bring benefits in terms of
specialist expertise to support service growth.
Third sector organisations are often in a good position to understand people’s needs
and to provide innovative solutions to those needs. Involving third sector
organisations in designing new programmes and services, and focusing on results,
can help the trust provide the right resources, identify risks and solutions, and
achieve better outcomes. The Trust is already exploring potential partnerships in the
third sector to support growth, although the extent to which these ideas have been
developed is variable. Some examples of potential partnerships include:
 Partnerships with third sector organisations to develop new services that
enhance or complement the existing pathway, such as supported
accommodation or employment.
 Work with third sector organisations through a ‘Creative Partnerships’
approach in support of an arts strategy to enhance the service offer and
support staff development and public engagement
 Work with social enterprise organisations to provide clinical or support
functions, such as the existing arrangement with Catering Plus to provide
restaurant and hospitality services.
 Voluntary groups can help us to improve Community engagement by
improving our reach into BME communities and with younger people – This
increases the diversity of our members, members Council, Associate
Hospital managers, Non executive Directors and staff as well as engagement
with service users and carers.
7.3 Thought leadership- A major benefit of third sector partnership to support the
Trust’s position as a thought leader is through securing a position of influence with
organisations whose role affects the lives of people with mental health problems and
learning disabilities.
Strengthened relationships with these organisations, enhances the Trust’s ability to
ensure the needs of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities are
being met.
7.4
Working together for equality and involvement-In order to work towards
our delivery equality and involvement objectives, the Trust needs the insight and
knowledge of third sector organisations working at the front line with people who are
often the most excluded. These groups have unique experiences and different
issues around access to services and involvement, which have to be taken into
account in policy making and service development. A good working relationship
between the third sector and the Trust will help to meet the needs of the people we
serve and reduce inequality. This will:
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 Help fulfil our statutory obligations for consultation and involvement on key
strategies and initiatives, particularly in relation to seldom heard groups:
 Help provide expert guidance for both scoping and full equality impact
assessments (EIAs)
 Help determine effective approaches to identify and address inequalities in
mental health provision and improve outcomes for specific sections of the
community.
 Help develop good community relations which are about how we act together
as partners to ensure that our collective impact on communities fosters
inclusion and creates the conditions for good relations to thrive.
 Local community organisations could play a brokerage role to improve trust
in our services within the community. This could be a particular focus where
we have no service users from a particular section of the community or we
are not well engaged with that community. This should be identified by
equality impact assessments and action plans developed.
 Voluntary groups can also help us to get information out into the community
so that those needing help are more likely to come to us earlier - e.g. for
support with dementia.
7.5 Developing Social Enterprise-One component of the Trust’s sustainability
project and part of the wider change management programme is being a good
corporate citizen. This includes building social capital and acting in a social
responsible way. We need to ensure smaller community groups have access to
funds and expertise to build capacity, and to prepare and deliver projects. We need
to Identify groups that are in danger of being marginalised, excluded, or are currently
under represented and put in place measures to promote their inclusion.
The Trust can support service user led community groups to become social
enterprises. The support structures and mentoring for social enterprise could be
provided by our quality academy offering services such as human resources, payroll
etc. Clearly we have to balance the benefits with the cost, but this could be
considered part of service provision. An example of being a good corporate citizen is
the facilitation of social enterprise services Catering Plus to run catering service on
Trust sites.
8. Where are we now?
The starting point for building stronger partnerships with third sector organisations
was to establish a baseline position by mapping out our current links and
relationships. A mapping exercise was carried out that identified current third sector
provision inline with a broader wellbeing framework (see appendix 1) that supports
mental health services in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. It is intended that the
results of the mapping exercise included over a 150 organisations, will be published
on the Trust website and intranet.
This will ensure there is broader awareness of the community resources that can
support\sustain resilience and promote increased well being of people who use our
services. This approach will help the organisation build broader mental health and
well being outcomes, which are linked into community solutions.
8
We are already involved in some 3rd sector institutes such as:
 Sub contract with Mental Health Matters for IAPT Employment coaches in
Kirklees
 We are a key partner in WISMS providing substance misuse services in
Wakefield
 We provide specialist support and advice to Kirklees commissioners for their
range of 3rd sector contracts that are currently being tendered.
 Currently exploring partnership opportunities with Cygnet and Priory, who
compete with some of the bigger 3rd sector organisations like Turning Point
 Undertaking a joint bid for European funding to establish new Social
Enterprises across our 3 districts.
9. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Organisation
already has
good
working relationships with some third
sector
organisations.
-
Weaknesses
- Would require some
financial and staff time
investment
both
-
Could impact on core business, distraction.
This could be a unique selling point in
developing
services
-
Getting staff on board and supporting this
work
Greater
served.
-
knowledge
of
community
-
Increased contact with hard to reach
groups.
-
Builds social capital, delivering more
for less.
-
Increases our public reputation by
being a good corporate citizen
Gaps in capabilities
-
Helps develop market intelligence.
Opportunities
- Enhance service pathways.
Weaknesses
Third sector organisations set themselves
up as direct competition.
-
New business partnerships.
-
Work together to develop new and
more innovative services.
-
organisation is out of step with broader
political agenda
-
Help development of more specialist
niche markets.
-
competitors develop new products and
innovate
-
Helps with development of information
and research.
-
Sustaining internal capabilities.
-
Supports geographical expansion.
Risk to reputation if partner does not
maintain standards.
-
Increases
marketing
communication.
-
Good Tactical position
reach
and
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10. GAPS
The SWOT analysis above shows that the organisation is in a reasonably good
position to take advantage of the opportunities that can arise from developing
stronger third sector partnerships. We already have a good reputation for working
with the third sector and we need to use this strategy to build on our good name. In
conducting research for this paper, there are few Foundation Trusts carrying out
such work and we seem to be at the forefront in this work.
The gaps we have identified have been developed into objectives and incorporated
into attached action plan (Appendix 2). These objectives will be addressed through
the implementation of the action plans and monitored through the governance
arrangements set out below.
11. Governance
The Director of Corporate Development has lead responsibility for the overall
management of the Third Sector Partnerships Strategy. The delivery and
effectiveness of the Strategy will be co-ordinated and promoted by the Equality and
Inclusion Trust-wide Action Group (TAG), and supported by the Equality and
Inclusion team. The local Equality and Inclusion action groups will drive this agenda
at an operational level in individual communities. (Appendix 3)
10
Appendix 1 Full details of all third sector organisations identified will be published on Trust’s website
Third Sector Wellbeing Partnerships Mapping
Framework for Mental Health and Learning Disability
Creative
Partnerships
ARTS
SPORTS
LEISURE
CULTURE
DESIGN
THERAPY
Vocational
Partnerships
EMPLOYMENT
ENTERPRISE
VOLUNTEERS
EDUCTION
LETS
SELF-HELP
Spiritual
Partnerships
RELIGION
BELIEF
FAITH
CULTURE
Communication & Co-Production
-Enhanced
service
pathway in
line with New
Horizons
-Enhances
organizational
reputation for
creative
approaches
-Enhanced service
pathway
-Strong potential
for business
development and
co production
-Greater
understanding of
individuals needs/
-support
-Enhanced service
pathway in line
with new Horizons
Community
Partnerships
SUPPORT
HEALTH
THERAPY
HOUSING
INVOLVEMENT
ADVICE
ADVOCACY
THERAPY
-Greater
integration of
service provision
into community
life
-Helps challenge
stigma and
promote positive
images
Equality
Partnership
s
GENDER
RACE
DISABILITYSEXUAL
ORIENTATION
AGE
TRANSGENDER
CARERS
-Ensures we
meet statutory
duties
- Ensures we
deliver services
that meets
peoples diverse
needs
Inclusion
Partnerships
YOUNG PEOPLE
OLDER PEOPLE
HOMELESS
BME
DUEL DIAGNOSIS
OFFENDERS
ARMED FORCES
-Greater
understanding of
people who are
often excluded
-Enhances
organizational
reputation with
regard
accessibility of
services
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Appendix 2 – Action Plan
Objective
Steps to Achieve
Outcomes Required
Timescale
Lead
1. We need to
understand and use
existing structures
already supporting and
developing
partnerships such as
Local Compacts and
forums
The Equality and Inclusion
Action groups in each locality
need to have a stronger link with
compacts and forums.
Establish local champions in
local groups who will ensure
information flows between
organisations.
The Trust is a key player in existing
structures such as compacts/forums
and these are helping to build stronger
partnerships
Review 6
monthly
Head of
Inclusion
2. We need to develop
a system for better
communications
between the Trust and
third sector
organisations
This will involve developing
ways to effectively communicate
to the relevant third sector
organisations and individuals
using a variety of methods
including new technology and
more traditional methods.
Trusts website and intranet promotes
third sector organisations and a system
for registering new services. The
inclusion team will be responsible for
keeping the register up to date.
Review 6
monthly
Head of
Comms
3. We need to offer
information and
training to third sector,
community Groups and
trust staff, so there is
mutual understanding
of our organisations.
Set up mutual training sessions,
recognising that groups which
involve people who are most
excluded at community level
may be small or informal, and
engage with these groups in a
way that suits their working
methods.
Third sector organisations understand
the workings of the Trust better. They
will be able to answer our questions and
think strategically about the issues
affecting communities.
Review 6
monthly
Inclusion Team
4. We need to produce
a guide for services on
building stronger
partnerships with third
sector inline with
compact principles
There are lots of information and
toolkits available, but we need to
develop something that is
designed for our organisations
needs and using corporate
branding.
A guide produced and distributed.
Dec 2010
Head of
Inclusion
12
Objective
Steps to Achieve
Outcomes Required
Timescale
Dec 2010
Lead
Planning
Team
5. We need to produce
a guide to building
formal partnerships
with third sector when
developing new
business.
There are lots of information and
toolkits available, but we need to
develop something that is
designed for our organisations
needs and using corporate
branding.
A guide produced and distributed.
6. We need more staff
involved directly in
helping and supporting
third sector and
community groups.
More staff sitting on committees
and steering groups of third
sector organisations. This could
involve support from our quality
academy regarding business
development.
The Trust a good reputation for
supporting, developing and working with
third sector organisations
Review 6
monthly
Local E& I
Action
Groups
7. We need to identify
ways to ensure third
sector representatives
fed back information
from service users and
carers
Third sector organisations will be The Trust is able to hear the voices of
encouraged to feed into the
seldom heard groups
Trust current dialogue process
and focus groups may need to
be set up for seldom heard
groups.
Review 6
monthly
Inclusion
Team
8. Following the
mapping of existing
third sector provision
we need to prioritise
engagement and
address gaps including
the possible
development of new
Partnership
approaches
This work will be developed
through the Local Equality and
Inclusion Action Groups
The Trust has a comprehensive
understanding of third sector provision
and is in a good position to understand
gaps in provision
Review 6
monthly
Local E&I
Action
Groups
9. As part of being a
good corporate citizen
the Trust is committed
where possible to only
The inclusion team will develop
a list of third sector and partners
venues. These will be posted
on the Trusts website and
The Trust only uses where possible
third sector and partner venues when
staging events where Trust venues
cannot be used
Review 6
monthly
Inclusion
Team
Comms
13
Objective
Steps to Achieve
Outcomes Required
Timescale
Lead
Team
Procurement
team
using third sector and
partners venues when
staging events where
Trust venues cannot be
used
intranet. The procurement team
will draw up a list of preferred
providers to ensure compliance.
10. Establish a think
tank for the
development of social
enterprise and third
sector partner
approaches.
Group made up o trust, PCT,
LA, third sector reps is being
pulled together to explore this.
Could include the setting up of a
business hub, that would help
smaller community groups to
develop
The Trust will have a framework within
which to work for the development of
social enterprise and third sector
partnerships, and ensuring we do not
breach our constitution.
Establish by
Sept 10
Director of
Corporate
Development
11. Explore the
possibility of
developing a business
hub for supporting the
development of social
enterprise
A bid to Yorkshire Forward to
support his development is
being put together and a group
to co-ordinate the work is being
set up.
The Trust will have a business hub for
supporting the development of social
enterprise.
Funding bid
End of
August 2010
OT Lead
Enterprise
Group
12. How do we fully
understand the
community make-up of
the separate districts
the Trust covers with
regard to partnerships?
The E&I action groups are in the
process of developing key
priorities for the next 12 months
and this work needs to be
included in this planning
The Trust has an individual approach to
developing stronger partnerships in
each of the districts the Trust covers.
A local plan
to be
developed
By April
2011
Business
Delivery
Units
Local E&I
Action groups
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Governance Framework for Equality
and Inclusion
Members
Council
Trust Board
DRIVERS
Service Improvement
Community Empowerment
Equality & Diversity Strategy
Single Equality Scheme
Revised Involvement Strategy
Quality Care Commission Standards
Key Performance Indicators
New Horizons
World Class Commissioning
Trusts Five Year Plan
Calderdale
Equality & Inclusion
Action Group
Clinical Governance & Risk Sub
committee
Equality & Inclusion Trust-wide
Action Group
Service Improvement
Kirklees
Equality & Inclusion
Action Group
Equality & Inclusion Team
Equality is about creating a fairer
organisation in which everyone has the
opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Involvement is about ensuring everyone
has a voice
Inclusion is a major factor in enabling our
service users to live life to the full
SDG/Business Delivery
Units
Wakefield District
Equality & Inclusion
Action Group
Service improvement
Sub-groups
PLD & Older People
Forensic
Equality & Inclusion
Action Group
Service User and Carer Dialogue and Focus Groups
Community Empowerment/ Ownership
15
Equality Impact Assessment Template for policies, procedures and strategies
Equality Impact Assessment
Questions:
1
Name of the policy that you are
Equality Impact Assessing
2
Describe the overall aim of your
policy and context?
Who will benefit from this
policy?
Evidence based Answers & Actions:
Building stronger partnerships with third
sector strategy
The above paper sets out a business case in which
the Trust should develop stronger partnerships
with the Third sector organisations. Third sector
organisations have a unique and diverse expertise
in a range of fields such as employment, housing,
leisure and faith which can be utilised by the
Trust by building stronger partnerships with this
sector.
In essence by building stronger partnerships with
third sector organisations will mean enhanced
social and health care pathways which will result
in better outcomes for our service users and their
carers.
Kashif Ahmed & Phil Walters
3
Who is the overall lead for this
assessment?
4
5
6
Who else was involved in
conducting this assessment?
Equality & Inclusion Team
Have you involved and
consulted service users, carers,
and staff in developing this
policy?
We have involved and consulted staff and a range
of organisations in developing this paper. We
intend to involve service users in the development
of the action plan when approved.
What did you find out and how
have you used this information?
There seems to be a clear and strong consensus
among staff, commissioners and third sector
organisations, that building stronger partnerships
is what people and government want because it
will fundamentally improve services and better
outcomes for our service users.
We have not used equality data but the paper
identifies that equality groups are marginalised
and excluded and therefore to address this gap
will mean we will have to build stronger
partnerships with the Third sector organisations
What equality data have you
used to inform this equality
impact assessment?
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7
8
What does this data say?
Taking into account
information gathered.
the Where Negative impact
Does this policy affect one group
less or more favourably than
another on the basis of:
has been identified please
explain what action you
will take to mitigate this.
If no action is to be taken
please explain your
reasoning.
9a
Race
NO
9b
Disability
NO
9c
Gender
NO
9d
Age
NO
9e
Sexual Orientation
NO
9f
Religion or Belief
NO
9g
Transgender
NO
10
What measures are you
implementing or already have in
place to ensure that this policy:
 promotes equality of
opportunity,
 promotes good relations
between different
equality groups,
 eliminates harassment
and discrimination
Evidence based
Answers & Actions
Building stronger
partnerships with
third sector
organisations will
mean that the Trust
can closely work and
better on the equality
and human rights
agenda. This paper
and action plan has
an explicit strand
relating to equalities
which will ensure
that we deliver better
outcomes on per
equality group and
achieve compliance.
Overall this paper
will have an positive
impact on per
equality group
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Refer to answer from
question 8
Monitoring of any actions regarding this paper
will be through local action groups and by the
TAG. The Trust undertakes annual audits such as
count me in census, staff and service user opinion
survey, CPA audit and workforce audit reports
which identify equality issues and how we are
performing in relation to per equality strand.
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11
Have you developed an Action
Plan arising from this
assessment?
Equality action points are incorporated within the
partnerships action plan within the report.
If yes, then please attach any
plans at the back of this
template
12
Who will approve this
assessment and when will you
publish this assessment.
The Trust Board on the 28th September.
Paper published early November.
Dates of Assessment: 06/09/2010
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