Bradford Trident

What Was the Stimulus?

Bradford Trident is one of 38 New Deal for Communities (NDC) partnerships throughout England. The NDC programme is part of the Government's strategy to give some of the poorest communities in the country the resources to tackle their problems in an intensive and co-ordinated way. Bradford Trident has a 10-year budget of £10m.

Each partnership is expected to be robust and inclusive, taking responsibility for tackling the problems of social exclusion and making a lasting improvement to their neighbourhood. Success depends on harnessing the active involvement of the local community - not only during the lifetime of the programme, but afterwards as well. NDC partnerships have an important role in the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, in finding out what works ("joined up solutions to joined up problems"), and generalising the lessons to influence the delivery of core public services.

Given their responsibilities they have for strategic decision-making and overseeing programme performance, it is crucial that NDC partnership boards are highly effective. However, the starting point in Bradford was one where the board members had widely varying levels of skill and experience, and many of the representatives of local residents (14 out of a board of 25) had had little or no previous exposure to the business of steering and reviewing the partnership, the ways of the public sector partners, etc.

The public sector partners accepted that lasting change for the NDC area depended on the programme being resident-led - and this would require a different way of working on their part. The agencies have on the whole not been accustomed to focusing their service delivery on the needs of specific neighbourhoods and sharing control with community representatives.

Board members recognised that they would have a lot to learn if they were to be successful, and instigated the need to identify and address learning needs within the partnership. The approach they adopted is along the lines of the "learning programmes" now expected of all NDC partnerships (see Department for Transport, Local Government and Regions (DTLR) guidance, on "Delivering Change"). DTLR encourage all involved in NDC partnerships to "develop the learning habit", pursuing regular opportunities to gain skills and knowledge to do with neighbourhood renewal.

How Was The Need Tackled?

Bradford NDC started with a needs analysis, reviewing with each board member what skills and knowledge they needed to gain or enhance. A modular approach was developed which would best fit partnership and personal needs. Aside from specific board development activity, individuals can choose from a range of learning opportunities in pursuing their own priorities.

Learning opportunities on offer have included:

• personal skills (eg, chairing, listening, participating in meetings)
• knowledge for regeneration (eg, changing policy agenda)
• good practice (eg, on crime, education and health)
• how things work locally (eg, induction on partnership structures and decision-making, directors' responsibilities)

Learning needs have been met through a variety of routes, eg:

• in-house events (eg, Dealing with the Media, Legal Responsibilities of Company Directors)
• computer training programme (10 x 2 hour sessions)
• day seminars and short courses
• certificated university courses (eg, at Bradford University)
• site visits

Speakers have been brought in from professional backgrounds (eg, solicitors) and practice ("people who've done it before"). On average, there is some kind of training of training activity going on every week (including external seminars attended, visitors from other partnerships/ projects and visits elsewhere). Events are open to all members of the Board.

Several awaydays have been run for the Board, which have concentrated on reviewing and steering the Bradford NDC programme and reflecting on how Board members work as a team. Facilitation techniques have been used in these, to make the events participative, fun and productive. These have included, for example,

• the "Synectics" approach to creative problem solving, with brainstorming, assessment of ideas and clear ownership of problems and solutions
• "Human Percentometer" - with participants lining themselves up to show very clearly where they stand on a particular issue

Bradford Trident staff have been very aware of the need to provide practical opportunities which will appeal to individuals and build their confidence - and develop trust and respect across the partnership. Running a quiz demanding local knowledge was one way of bringing out the contribution that local residents can make that the public agencies rarely can.

Bradford NDC staff also act as "buddies" to board members, acting as a guide and sounding board rather than as a mentor whose style is to pass on their personal experience/ expertise).

What Were the Outcomes?

The public sector partners (typically at director level) have learnt from local residents, about local needs, what is likely to work, and needs for improvement in services. They also have learnt to adopt a style characterised as "knowing when to sit back and when to sit up", open to challenge and understanding when and how to contribute. They have listened hard and taken community views on board.

What Was Learnt?

• the need to ensure that each individual should get a personal benefit from the learning activities, while ensuring that group needs are met at the same time.
• it has been important to "tune in" - are people comfortable? do they feel that their needs are being met?
• the willingness of the senior representatives of the public sector partners to 'let go' and to learn from their community partners
• a significant investment of staff time is needed - "to make it successful, you've got to organise it to the nth degree"
• don't neglect the social side (mixing in the bar - and making sure to involve non-drinkers). Ban talk about work on these occasions. "Food is the key: make sure it's what people want" (eg, from preferred Asian restaurants)
• make it fun
• in developing learning activities in the partnership setting, "the bottom line is often about building relationships"

Contact

Steve Hartley
Bradford Trident Ltd
Mercury House, 4 Manchester Road
Bradford BD5 0QL

tel: 01274 757781
fax: 01274 757453

Steve.Hartley@bradford.gov.uk

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