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Best Practices and Approaches in Service Planning and Multi-Sector

Collaborations

A Review of Literature

Local Employment Planning Council

March 2016

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This report was researched and written by:

On behalf of:

The Local Employment Planning Council is a project supported by the partnership of:

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

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Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Section 1: Service Planning ........................................................................................................................... 3

Process-Related Elements of Service Planning ..................................................................................... 3

Task-Related Functions of Service Planning ....................................................................................... 10

An Approach to Effective Service Planning ......................................................................................... 13

Skills Required for Effective Service Planning ................................................................................... 14

Available Tools, Resources and Training ............................................................................................. 17

Section 2: Multi-Sector Collaborations ............................................................................................... 19

References ........................................................................................................................................................... 20

Attachment A: Multi-Sectoral Collaborations Best Practices Literature Review .......... 24

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Introduction As part of the Local Employment Planning Council’s start up activities and to ensure an evidence-based research approach, a review of literature was undertaken to identify best practices and approaches in service planning and multi-sector collaborations. This report is organized into two sections: the first pertains to service planning, and the second to multi-sector collaborations. Section 1: Service Planning This section of the report first provides key findings in four areas and then highlights available service planning tools and resources. The four areas covered in this literature review include:

1. Process-related elements of service planning 2. Task-related functions of service planning 3. An approach to effective service planning 4. Skills required for effective service planning

Process-Related Elements of Service Planning Many articles have been written which document the key process-related elements required for effective service planning. This section of the report presents two tools/ frameworks, along with identifying common elements from the literature. The Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) developed a tool for municipal service managers to use in integrated service system planning for the prenatal-to-12 child and family service system (OMSSA, June 2010). This tool details four foundational elements that need to be considered first when developing an integrated service system plan and then details a further 14 structural elements to consider in the integrated service planning process. The four foundational elements are: 1. Vision: Where a community is headed. The ultimate goal to

be achieved as a result of the work of the group

2. Outcomes: What will be different as a result of the work of the group. What success looks like

3. Guiding Principles: The common values of the

organizations working together that guide the actions of the group

4. Common Language: A shared understanding of the

different vocabularies brought to the service planning table

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When communities first come together to plan in an integrated way, these are the first four steps which must be taken. The 14 structural elements should help to structure the integrated service system planning process. These include:

The National Network for Collaboration (2005) has also developed a framework for collaboration which outlines elements of the process of collaborative service planning. The core foundation represents the common ground of understanding and it focuses on creating a sense of common purpose. This first step in the framework sees the development of a vision, mission, values and principles for the group. “Together, the vision, mission, values and principles describe why the collaboration matters and how it fits in the larger world” (p.7). The delineation of outcomes is another element in the collaboration framework. “Outcomes are the desired “conditions” for the community” (p.7) and reflect the success of the group in moving toward achievement of its vision. Once a group has identified the outcomes it wants to achieve it must then identify how it will measure the achievement of these outcomes. The contextual and process factors represent elements that can either enhance or inhibit the work of collaborations. Process factors “focus on the “how to” aspect of the collaboration and cover specific skills and components which are necessary to build effective working relationships” (p.7). Contextual factors “are conditions that either exist or are lacking within an environment which can enhance or inhibit collaborations” (p.7). The major process and contextual factors are noted in the table below (pp.11-15).

Process Factors Contextual Factors Understanding the Community, including its people, culture, values and habits

Connectedness – linkages between individuals, groups and organizations

Community Development – the process of mobilizing communities to address important issues and build upon strengths of the community

History of Working Together/Customs – the community’s past with regard to working cooperatively or competitively

Effective Leadership – who is in power and those who can impact change

Political Climate – the history and environment surrounding power and decision making

Inclusive and participatory process

Transparency Local flexibility Effective leadership Governance Stakeholder engagement Relationship building

Build on what exists Time Effective meetings Quality Evaluation based on

outcomes Alignment Funding

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Process Factors Contextual Factors Open and Clear Communication Policies/Laws/Regulations – collaborations

are more likely to succeed when supportive policies, laws and regulations are in place

Research and Evaluation – is the group meeting the desired outcomes?

Resources – four types of capital (environmental, in-kind, financial and human)

Sustainability – need a system that provides sustained membership, resources and strategic program planning

Catalysts – the reason for the collaboration to exist must be seen as a situation that requires a comprehensive response

There are a number of common elements between OMSSA’s and the National Network for Collaboration’s frameworks. They are both vision and outcome driven versus being driven by problems and issues. A shared vision and outcomes provide a clear sense of direction to a group. Once a group has defined its vision (what it ultimately wants to achieve) and outcomes (what will be different as a result of its work) the group can very easily identify what actions it needs to take to move toward achieving these two things. In addition to the above, other key elements/factors, identified through the literature, for creating successful service planning coordination processes are as follows (e.g. Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, 2012; Borden, 1999; Bryson, 2006; Center for Collaborative Planning, n.d.; Frost, 2009; Lasker, 2001; Marois, 2002; Nissan, n.d.; Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2011; Project READ, 2012; Region of York, 2010; Resources for Learning Circle, n.d.; Sexual Assault Centre London, 2012; Surman, 2006; The Working Centre, 2012; Thomson, 2006):

Key Process-Related Elements/Factors

Description

Time to Plan Have a unifying purpose, set measurable goals and objectives and then develop a workplan to achieve them. Make sure meetings are effective.

Start with a unifying purpose (Resources for Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1)

Have a clear purpose and connect it to the people involved (Nissan, n.d., p. 7)

Purpose, goals and desired results (Nissan, n.d., p.7) Set measurable goals and objectives (Resources for

Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1) Effective meetings (Center for Collaborative Planning, n.d.,

p.46) Create a workplan (Region of York, 2010, p.42) Concrete attainable goals and objectives (Nissan, n.d., p.19) Set goals and objectives that are concrete and attainable

(Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2011, p.19)

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Key Process-Related Elements/Factors

Description

Governance Establish a terms of reference for the planning group, including mandate, guiding principles, leadership, membership, roles and responsibilities, decision making structure, guidelines for working together, etc.

Partners who seek to collaborate must understand how to jointly make decisions about the rules that will govern their behaviour and relationships; they also need to create structures for reaching agreement on collaborative activities and goals through shared power arrangements (Thomson, 2006, p.24)

Broad purpose, mandate, commitment of resources, designation of formal leadership, description of members, decision-making structure and built in flexibility for dealing with local changes and conditions. Need to draft this agreement using a highly participative process that involves key stakeholders and implementers (Bryson, 2006, p.47)

Create a Terms of Reference (Region of York, 2010, p.42) Develop guidelines for the planning body, including

objectives, guiding principles, membership, roles and responsibilities, meetings, making decisions (Project READ, 2012, p.13)

Open, shared and informed decision making (Marois, 2002, p.5)

How partnerships make decisions and do their work influences the extent to which partners’ perspectives, resources and skills can be combined (Lasker, 2001, p.195)

One of the factors that impacts the success of collaboration is network governance (The Working Centre, 2012, p.40)

Leadership Effective leadership of the planning group is critical. The planning group leader should be boundary spanning and portray a collaborative and inclusive style.

Talented, driven, intuitive individual to lead and support the work of the group (Nissan, n.d., p.7)

People in leadership positions need formal and informal authority, vision, long-term commitment to the collaboration, integrity, relational and political skills (Bryson, 2006, p.47)

The leadership facilitates and supports team building and capitalizes upon diversity and individual, group and organizational strengths (Borden, 1999, p.1)

Identify leaders for collaboration who are open minded, willing to share leadership and empower others (Resources for Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1)

Generative leadership throughout all parts of the system and not just centralized (Surman, 2006, p.12)

Facilitative leadership that is shared, capacities are recognized and used, ideas of all members are heard and respected and success is celebrated (Marois, 2002, p.5)

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Key Process-Related Elements/Factors

Description

The leader should be charismatic, visionary, well connected, respected, credible, passionate, influential, strategic and innovative (Region of York, 2010, p.42)

Choose an individual who portrays a collaborative, participatory, inclusive and dialogic style (Region of York, 2010, p.42)

Good group facilitation is essential to the process. It requires skillful facilitation and a focus on the ultimate goals of the collective (Frost, 2009, p.64)

Need a boundary spanning leader who understands and appreciates partners’ different perspectives, can bridge diverse cultures and are comfortable sharing ideas, resources and power (Lasker, 2001, p.193)

Specific leadership qualities that are conducive to successful collaboration are suggested in the literature as being boundary spanning, flexible, tolerant of ambiguity, outgoing and capable of articulating the collaborative vision (The Working Centre, 2012, p.44)

One of the factors that impacts the success of collaboration is organizational leadership (The Working Centre, 2012, p.40)

Collaborative leadership: a highly skilled and experienced person that clearly understands their role and purpose. Responsibilities would include: facilitation, conflict mediation, project development, planning, strategy, partnership development, fundraising, incubation (Surman, 2006, pp.9-11)

6 competencies are required for community leaders: agent of change, commitment to continuous improvement, big picture thinking, catalyst for citizen responsibility, quality of life advocacy and applies community development planning strategies (Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, 2010, p.1)

Inclusivity Membership in the planning group must be open and a common language should be developed.

Membership is open, representative and culturally diverse, meetings are user-friendly and workload is shared (Marois, 2002, p.5)

Develop a common language (Project READ, 2012, p58) Developing a common language. The exercise gave

members a foundation upon which to communicate and build plans (Project READ, 2012, p.58)

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Key Process-Related Elements/Factors

Description

Communication Open, clear and frequent communication and information sharing is required.

Open and frequent communication between participants, from and with leadership and carried to and from the partnering organizations (Nissan, n.d., p.7)

The collaboration has open and clear communication. These is an established process for communication between meetings (Borden, 1999, p.1)

Foster open and honest communication – remember that everyone needs to be heard (Resources for Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1)

Effective communication (Marois, 2002, p.5) Market, communicate, educate and build community

capacity (Region of York, 2010, p.42) One of the factors that impacts the success of collaboration

is communication and information sharing (The Working Centre, 2012, p.40)

Open and frequent communication will help to engage partners and facilitate the resolution of issues that arise (Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2011, p.19)

Relationship Building Strong working relationships need to be built. Positive working relationships are founded in trust, mutual respect and understanding. Conflicts are resolved in a respectful manner.

Mutual respect, understanding and trust (Nissan, n.d., p.7) Look for a congruency in vision, mission and values

(Nissan, n.d., p.7) Trust facilitates the work of the collaborative and it holds

the collaboration together. Trust building is an ongoing requirement for successful collaborations. Build trust by sharing information and knowledge, demonstrating competency, good intentions and follow through (Bryson, 2006, pp.47-48)

In collaboration, individuals often demonstrate a willingness to interact collaboratively only if other partners demonstrate the same willingness. Trust is a central component of collaboration, but building trust takes an inordinate amount of time and nurturing (Thomson, 2006, pp.27-28)

Show respect for members of the collaboration (consider people’s time, transportation, child care needs, access and comfort, acknowledge the contributions of others, and be flexible) (Resources for Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1)

Trust and relationship amongst the group (Surman, 2006, p.12)

Solid and preventative conflict mediation skills (Surman, 2006, p.12)

Conflicts are resolved in a respectful manner, using an agreed upon process (Marois, 2002, p.5)

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Key Process-Related Elements/Factors

Description

Foster positive relationships among members (Region of York, 2010, p.42)

Collaboration ultimately depends on trust (Mintzberg, 1996, p.70)

Need to build strong working relationships (trust, respect, power differentials, conflict) (Lasker, 2001, p.192)

The importance of effective relationships and trust is widely documented (The Working Centre, 2012, p.41)

One of the factors that impacts the success of collaboration is relationships among stakeholders (The Working Centre, 2012, p.40)

Carry out activities that can promote the development of mutual respect, understanding and trust among partners. Be willing to compromise and be flexible to sustain the relationship (Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2011, p.19)

Strategies for conflict resolution and rules of engagement need to be established between partners (Sexual Assault Centre London, 2012, p.27)

Resources Key resources must be in place for the planning group to achieve success. Key resources include: leadership, funding, staff, materials and time.

Sufficient funds (Nissan, n.d., p.8) Talented people capable of working together (Nissan, n.d,

p.8) The collaboration has access to needed resources.

Resources refer to 4 types of capital: environmental, in-kind, financial and human (Borden, 1999, p.1)

Secure funding, ensure sustainability and momentum (Region of York, 2010, p.42)

It is by combining resources in various ways that partners create something new and valuable that transcends what they can create alone (Lasker, 2001, p.189)

Ensure that the key resources needed for success are available. Skilled leadership, sufficient funds, staff, materials and time to carry out activities are critical resources required for partnerships to thrive (Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2011, p.19)

Results and Evaluation The planning group must evaluate its results. Is it achieving the outcomes it has delineated?

Evaluate and share the results (Nissan, n.d., p.8) The collaboration continues to collect data to measure goal

achievement (Borden, 1999, p.1) Obtain feedback and evaluate the efforts of the

collaboration (Resources for Learning Circle Five, n.d., p.1) Create an evaluation framework (Region of York, 2010,

p.42)

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Task-Related Functions of Service Planning The tangible product at the end of a service planning process is a plan – whether it is called a service plan, a community plan or a strategic plan. Rowen (1999) notes in his report, People over Programs, “there are a number of functions which, it would appear, all communities have to engage in order to develop a coherent approach to integrated system planning and delivery” (p. V-6). A number of articles present these functions (see below). As noted in the Learning Networks of Ontario – Western Region’s February 2012 position paper, “Service planning is a systematic and participatory process which requires specific tasks to be undertaken and specific skill sets and tools in order to be successful. As part of effective service planning, learning networks should be engaging in activities such as: Conducting an environmental scan (consideration and contemplation of the context

within which the service planning is being undertaken). This could include an analysis of labour market trends, demographic trends, service trends, political trends, etc.

Completing an analysis of client demand and organizational capacity Profiling current learners and analyzing client outcomes from the previous year Facilitating strategic discussions Creating and maintaining relationships with literacy service providers, other

Employment Ontario providers and other community stakeholders Identifying strategic priorities, goals, outcomes and performance measures for the

coming year Aligning the work of the literacy sector with the broader Employment Ontario system

and Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities’ (MTCU) goals” (p.7). OMSSA notes in its document, Integrated Service System Planning for the Prenatal-to-12 Child and Family Service System: Background Educational Materials (2010), “service plans help to answer the following three questions: Where are we today? Where do we want to be? How will we get from here to where we want to be?” (p.7).

OMSSA provides a template for an integrated Early Years Service Plan (2010, p.24). This template includes sections for:

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Vision Guiding Principles Community Consultation Process Environmental Scan Service Model Service Priorities and Action Steps Financial Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Rowen (1999) also outlines the functions required for integrated service planning and delivery in his report, People over Programs: Determining the Needs and Priorities for Services: The development of community

profiles and an analysis of needs is a basic part of any service planning approach Designing Services to Meet the New Priorities Allocating Funding to Service Providers Delivering Services Evaluating and Improving Service Delivery (p.V-18).

Ramsay et. al, through their Enhancing Pathways project (2010), identify a four step planning process (see visual below). Phase two of this project also details the eight step Literacy Service Planning cycle (p.16):

1. Gather environmental information, consult with the community, consider past feedback

2. Discuss and analyze environmental scan 3. Review service delivery from past year. Review accomplishments and challenges 4. Discuss target groups, delivery locations, times, services and rationale 5. Propose service delivery 6. Submit report to MTCU

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7. Distribute plan to the community for feedback. Provide services and programs 8. Analyze and integrate evaluative feedback from all sources, including self-evaluation

The community planning cycle is also defined by Project READ in its document, Planning Together: The Final Report of the Literacy Community Planning Process (LCPP) Development Project: Literacy Service Planning Guide (2012). This document notes the functions conducted through the planning cycle include (p.44): Environmental scan: Gathering information by examining demographics, labour

market, travel patterns, and other issues and trends relevant to the community. Analysing information to identify needs Creating a plan in response Implementing the plan and evaluating and reviewing it Evidence-based planning is also important. The Counting the Beans project was established in 2001 (Goforth Consulting). This project noted that different skills are needed for each of these functions and identified a general need for training in analysis and interpretation of statistical information. This project pointed to the need for an evidence-based planning process (p.2). The resulting report from this project delineated a sub-cycle in the overall planning process for making data decisions (see below) (p.4). In 2009, Literacy Link South Central and the Employment Sector Council London/ Middlesex began working together to more effectively plan for services that cut across both the employment and literacy sectors. This project resulted in the development of an integrated service plan for those clients who have both literacy and employment needs. This integrated service plan focused on how “these two service systems must work together to meet the needs of clients with both literacy and employment needs” (p.3). The functions carried out through this integrated planning approach include:

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Development of a vision and guiding principles Delineation of the scope of the integrated service plan Community consultation process Environmental scan Integrated service model Service priorities and action steps Financial impact Monitoring and evaluation plan A planning framework using a community development approach is presented by Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (2010). This community development approach to planning is currently being utilized by the Active, Creative Engaged Communities (ACE) initiative in Alberta and the Child and Youth Network in London. This framework, which outlines 10 steps in the planning process, includes both functions and process elements in the coordinated planning process (see visual below, p.4) Based on the above review of the literature, the following are common task-related functions required to conduct a coordinated service planning and delivery process and develop a service plan:

1. Develop a vision and guiding principles 2. Conduct an environmental scan 3. Determine needs, service priorities and

outcomes including a consultation process 4. Develop a coordinated service model 5. Determine financial impact, if any 6. Implement 7. Evaluate and review

An Approach to Effective Service Planning The process-related elements and task-related functions presented in this report do not stand alone as separate entities and are woven together to create an approach to coordinated service planning. There are functions (what steps need to be taken) and

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1. Invite organizations to the table2. Get clear on purpose and design

how you will work together3. Develop a shared vision and

guiding principles4. Conduct an environmental scan

5. Define priorities and shared outcomes, including performance

measures6. Develop a coordinated service model, including financial impact

7. Implement the model8. Evaluate and review

Leadership

Inclusivity

ResourcesCommunication

Relationship Building

process-related elements (how the functions should be accomplished) that combine to build an overall approach to coordinated service planning. The actions which need to be taken in a coordinated service planning approach include:

1. Invite organizations to the table 2. Get clear on purpose and design how you will work together 3. Develop a shared vision and guiding principles 4. Conduct an environmental scan 5. Define priorities and shared outcomes, including performance measures 6. Develop a coordinated service model, including financial impact 7. Implement the model 8. Evaluate and review

Each of these actions needs to be supported through leadership, inclusivity, relationship building, communication and resources (see the visual below for further details). Skills Required for Effective Service Planning Based on the tasks and process-related elements to be accomplished and considered as part of service planning there are a number of skills in which groups need to be proficient.

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Frank (2000) in her document, The Partnership Handbook, outlines the basic or necessary skills needed in partnerships. These include (p.48): Managing Partnerships Negotiation Skills Group Processes and Team Building Planning Skills Evaluation Skills Problem Solving and Conflict

Resolution Time Management Financial Management Managing Outside Help Working With Volunteers Stress Management

The Learning Networks of Ontario – Western Region paper, Literacy Service Planning: A Case for Additional Funding, also identified a specific set of knowledge and skills in order for Regional Networks to be effective at service planning. These include (2010, pp.7-8): Facilitation and active listening Creating and maintaining linkages, relationships and partnerships Strategic planning Conceptual thinking Communication, including written and oral communication skills, and report,

proposal development and computer skills Performance measurement, including the development and measurement of

outcomes Research and evaluation, including issue identification, needs, gap and data analysis Program management and development, including knowledge of logic models Advocacy and negotiation Knowledge of LBS and Employment Ontario systems, the political systems, the non-

profit sector and awareness of key stakeholders in each community In addition to certain skill sets, groups will also need to have a knowledge base in a number of areas. The following table outlines the skills and knowledge required for each of the tasks and process-related elements in the coordinated service planning approach.

Tasks and Process-Related Elements

Skills Required Knowledge Required

Invite organizations to the table

Creating and maintaining linkages, relationships and partnerships

Organizational skills

Key stakeholders in the community

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Tasks and Process-Related Elements

Skills Required Knowledge Required

Get clear on purpose and design how you will work together

Facilitation skills Time management skills Planning skills Active listening skills Group process skills

Mission statement Terms of Reference Decision making structures Facilitation methods and

tools Governance options System integration

Develop a shared vision and guiding principles

Planning skills Facilitation skills Active listening skills Group process skills

Strategic planning Vision Guiding principles

Conduct an environmental scan

Research skills Issue identification skills Needs assessment skills Gap analysis skills Data analysis skills

Relevant data to collect Workplans Research methods and

tools Analyzing data Consultation processes

Define priorities and shared outcomes, including performance measures

Outcome development skills

Priority setting skills Performance measurement

skills

Outcomes Performance measures Methods to set priorities

Develop a coordinated service model, including financial impact

Managing partnerships Negotiating skills Problem solving skills Conflict management skills Financial management

skills Program development

skills Creativity Innovation

Logic models Workplans Options/models of

coordinated service delivery

Implement the model

Project/program management skills

Communication skills Managing partnerships

Evaluate and review

Evaluation skills Performance measurement

skills Research skills

Evaluation frameworks, methods and tools

Relationship Building

Team building skills Stress management skills

Processes that build trust and respect

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Tasks and Process-Related Elements

Skills Required Knowledge Required

Group process skills Trust building skills Conflict management skills Interpersonal relationship

skills

Conflict management

Leadership Advocacy skills Relational skills Group process skills Innovation Facilitation skills Communication skills Strategic thinking skills

Community development Planning processes System integration

Inclusivity Facilitation skills Communication skills

Common language Diversity

Communication Written communication skills

Oral communication skills Report writing skills Presentation skills Computer skills

Communication tools

Resources Managing partnerships Financial management

skills Proposal development

skills

Potential community resources

Available Tools, Resources and Training The skills and knowledge required to be proficient at service planning are transferable to many sectors and situations. Due to this there are a number of tools, resources and training opportunities available to support this. Some of these are listed below. Tamarack (http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g3.php) Tamarack offers many tools and resources through its Learning Centre. The organization hosts events, offers free tele-learning seminars and online audio seminars and has an online resource library. See below for examples of some available resources: Events: The Communities Collaborating Institute (CCI), Tamarack’s signature, week-

long learning event, provides a unique opportunity to join a dynamic learning community of practitioners from across Canada and beyond who are committed to deepening their capacity to lead community collaborations (held in October 2012 in Kitchener at a cost of $1,695.00)

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Online audio seminars created from previous live tele-learning sessions hosted by Tamarack and Vibrant Communities include: Making Collective Impact Work, The Art of Innovation, Enhancing Collaborative Leadership, Innovating Together

Resource Library: resources are available on community engagement, community-

based strategies, communities collaborating, movements for change and sustaining social innovation.

Active, Creative, Engaged Communities (ACE) http://acecommunities.arpaonline.ca/community-builder/archive/ Provides a webcast on the 10 step planning framework using a community development approach (Building Communities through Effective Planning). Other potential tools to support the development and enhancement of skills required for service planning include:

Integrated Service System Planning for the Prenatal-to-12 Child and Family Service System: A Tool for Municipal Service Managers

http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36632

Integrated Service System Planning for the Prenatal-to-12 Child and Family Service System: Background Educational Materials

http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36633

A Guide to Thinking about Human Services Integration

http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?fileid=3518 2

OMSSA’s Early Years Service Plan Template http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36905

OMSSA’s Community Partners Checklist Template

http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36906

Child and Youth Network Integration Assessment Tool

http://www.london.ca/Child_Youth_Network/PDFs/IntegrationAssessmentTool.pdf

A Quick Guide to Community Literacy Needs Assessments

http://www.sk.literacy.ca/pdf_links/comLitNeedsAssessments.pdf

Community Partnerships Toolkit http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2001/12/Community-Partnerships-Toolkit.aspx

The Partnership Handbook http://www.forumpartnerships.zsi.at/attach/TND_00_G_HRDC_Partnership_Handbook.pdf

The Community Toolbox http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/index.aspx

Collaboration Toolkit http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/first5careadiness/collaborationtoolkit.asp

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Meeting Tools, Communication Tools, Community Development Tools

http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/About_London/orgdevelop.htm#Meeting_Tools

Making the Path: A Guidebook to Collaboration for School Readiness

http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/First5CAReadiness/materials/collaboration/CollaborationGuidebook.pdf

Section 2: Multi-Sector Collaborations As the Local Employment Planning Council is based on multi-sector collaborations, a review of literature was undertaken to identify best practices to help guide this work. As part of this review thirteen articles were reviewed. Key highlights from this review include: Multisector collaboration is based on cooperation rather than competition When people collaborate, they need to take the time to learn to work together Promote community empowerment Start with the ends in mind and design processes, structures and their interactions in

such a way that desired outcomes will be achieved and required accountabilities met The involvement of committed, boundary-spanning leaders is important (sponsors and

champions) Need the ability to frame the issue at hand so that diverse partners can understand its

importance and its relevance to them Ongoing learning is an important feature of successful collaborations Effective relationships are central to successful collaboration…Relationships take time

and effort to establish, nurture and sustain (build relationships through formal and informal activities)

It’s imperative to manage meetings well Attachment A contains a detailed accounting of the relevant details in each of the articles.

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References Alberta Recreation and Parks Association. (2010). Becoming a Community Builder. Retrieved from http://acecommunities.arpaonline.ca/files/BACB-session-6.pdf. Bolland, John M. and Jan V. Wilson. (1994). Three faces of integrative coordination: a model of interorganizational relations in community-based health and human services. Health Services Research, 29(3), 341-357. Borden, Lynne M. And Daniel F. Perkins. (1999). Assessing Your Collaboration: A Self Evaluation Tool. Journal of Extension, 37(2), 1. Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/1999april/tt1.php. Bryson, John M., Barbara C. Crosby and Melissa Middleton Stone. (2006). The Design and Implementation of Cross-Sector Collaborations: Propositions from the Literature. Public Administration Review December Special Issue, 44-55. Bunger, Alicia C. (2010). Defining Service Coordination: A Social Work Perspective. Journal of Social Service Research, 36, 385-401. Center for Collaborative Planning. (n.d.). Collaboration: Concepts to Consider. Sacramento, California. Retrieved from http://www.connectccp.org/library/title/collaboration. Center for Right Relationship. (2005). Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching Manual. Decoda Literacy Solutions. (2012). Community Literacy Planning Guide: Working Together for Literacy. British Columbia: Decoda Literacy Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/com_lit_plan_guide_2012/com_lit_plan_guide_2012.pdf. Edmonstone, John. (1999). Integrated workforce planning: The acid test for the education commission consortia? Journal of Management in Medicine, 13(1), 33-40. Ermshoff, James G., Adam J. Darnell, Doyanne A. Darnell, Steve W. Erickson, Stan Schneider and Rebekah Hudgins. (2007). Systems change as an outcome and a process in the work of community collaborative for health. American Journal of Psychology, 39, 255-267. Frank, Flo and Anne Smith. (2000). The Partnership Handbook. Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. Retrieved from http://www.forumpartnerships.zsi.at/attach/TND_00_G_HRDC_Partnership_Handbook.pdf. Frost, Lynda and Susan Stone. (2009). Community-Based Collaboration: A Philanthropic Model for Positive Social Change. The Foundation Review, 1(1), 55-68.

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Goforth Consulting. (June 2001). Counting the Beans: Project overview and recommendations. The Mid North Network. Goforth Consulting. (June 2001). Counting the Beans: Data for Decisions. The Mid North Network. Human Services Integration Committee. (September 2007). A Guide to Thinking About Human Services Integration. Retrieved from http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?fileid=35182. Human Services Integration Committee. (June 2010). Community Human Services Planning: Moving Forward. Retrieved from http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36636. Kata, Jennine Agnew, Anne Marie Curtin, Sara Gill, Anne Ramsay, Lorri Sauve, Matthew Shulman and Jane Tuer. (March 2012). Enhancing Pathways Phase 2: The Literacy and Language Continuum. Project READ Literacy Network. Retrieved from http://www.enhancingpathways.ca/EP2_report.pdf. Krebs, Valdis and June Holley. (n.d.). Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving. Retrieved from http://www.orgnet.com/BuildingNetworks.pdf. Lasker, Roz D., Elisa S. Weiss and Rebecca Miller. (2001). Partnership Synergy: A Practical Framework for Studying and Strengthening the Collaborative Advantage. The Millbank Quarterly, 79(2), 179-205. Learning Networks of Ontario – Western Region. (February 2012). Literacy Service Planning: A Case for Additional Funding. Literacy Link South Central and Employment Sector Council London/Middlesex. (March 2010). Literacy and Employment Integrated Service Plan for London and Middlesex County. Malone, Thomas W., and Kevin Crowston. (1994). The Interdisciplinary Study of Coordination. ACM Computing Surveys, 26(1), 87-119. Marois, Deb. (October 2002). Making the Path: A Guidebook to Collaboration for School Readiness. California: UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities in partnership with Center for Collaborative Planning, Public Health Institute. Retrieved from http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/First5CAReadiness/materials/collaboration/CollaborationGuidebook.pdf. Martinson, K. (1999). Literature review on service coordination and integration in the welfare and workforce development systems. Washington D.C.: Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=408026&renderforprint=1.

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Mills, Kathy, Joanne Kaattari and Christine Prieur. (May 15, 2012). Strengthening Connections between Literacy and Basic Skills and Employment Services. Employment Ontario Leadership Summit. Retrieved from http://www.nald.ca/clo/resource/pdfs/strengthening_connections_lbs_es_services_presentation.pdf Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (June 2011). Building our Best Future: Realizing the Vision of Ontario Best Start Child and Family Centre. Province of Ontario. Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (July 2011). Defining Integration: A Best Start Working Paper. Province of Ontario. Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). Employment Ontario: 2012-2013 Literacy Services Planning and Coordination. Province of Ontario. Retrieved from www.eopg.ca. Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). Employment Ontario: 2013-2043 Literacy Services Planning and Coordination (draft). Province of Ontario. Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. (April 2, 2012). Literacy and Basic Skills: Service Provider Guidelines. Province of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/publications/2012_lbs_sp_guidelines.pdf. Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. (December 2011). Literacy and Basic Skills: Support Organization Guidelines. Province of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/publications/lbs_support_organization_guidelines_2012.pd. Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. (October 2011). Supporting Learners through Service Coordination and Referrals. Province of Ontario. Mintzberg, H., D. Dougherty, J. Jorgensen and F. Westley. (1996). Some Surprising Things About Collaboration. Organizational Dynamics, 25(1), 60-72. National Network for Collaboration. (2005). Collaboration Framework – Addressing Community Capacity. Nissan, Luana G. and Dwight F. Burlingame. (n.d.). Collaboration Among Institutions: Strategies for Nonprofit Management Education Programs. The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Retrieved from http://phildev.iupui.edu/about/collaborationfinal.pdf. Nylen, Ulrica. (2007). Interagency Collaboration in Human Services: Impact of Formalization and Intensity of Effectiveness. Public Administration, 85(1), 143-166. Ontario Literacy Coalition. (November 2011). Approaches to Service Coordination. Toronto: Ontario Literacy Coalition.

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Ontario Literacy Coalition. (October 2008). Constellation Model in Support of a Provincial Strategy for Family Literacy. Toronto: Ontario Literacy Coalition. Retrieved from http://s.socialinnovation.ca/files/Ontario%20Literacy%20Coalition%20version%20of%20Constellation%20model_0.pdf. Ontario Municipal Social Services Association. (June 2010). Integrated Service System Planning for the Prenatal-to-12 Child and Family Service System: Background Educational Materials. Retrieved from http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36633. Ontario Municipal Social Services Association. (June 2010). Integrated Service System Planning for the Prenatal-to-12 Child and Family Service System: A Tool for Municipal Service Managers. Retrieved from http://www.omssa.com/lib/db2file.asp?file=36632. Pascal, Charles E. (June 2009). With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario. Province of Ontario. Project READ Literacy Project. (updated January 2012). Planning Together: The Final Report of the Literacy Community Planning Process (LCPP) Development Project: Literacy Service Planning Guide. Project READ Literacy Project. Ramsay, Anne, Lorri Sauve and Matthew Shulman. (October 2010). Enhancing Pathways: The Literacy and Language Continuum. Project READ Literacy Network. Retrieved from http://www.enhancingpathways.ca/EnhancingPathwaysFinalReportFeb2011.pdf. Region of York. (June 2010). Community Collaborative Planning Guide: Weaving Collaboration into a Tapestry of Change. Retrieved from http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/j7q63momt2gb6ovci5el5nvzhxhtmfuojmfv2ujjbrtxa66t663b7w7cfgyqpb26hdxxbzeid22qzbnpm4b43vjnug/rpt+5+cls+5.pdf. Resources for Learning Circle Five (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/pass/learning-circles/five/LearningCircleFiveResources.pdf Rowen, Norman S. (December 1999). People over Programs: Some Characteristics of More Integrated Planning and Delivery of Employment and Training Programs and Some Possible Directions and Supports for Communities. Sexual Assault Centre London. (March 2012). Exploring Models of Service Coordination for Survivors of Sexual Violence in London and Middlesex County. Simmons, Annie, Rebecca C. Reynolds and Boyd Swinburn. (2011). Defining community capacity building: Is it possible? Preventive Medicine, 52, 193-199.

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Sowa, Jessica E. (2008). Implementing Interagency Collaborations: Exploring Variation in Collaborative Ventures in Human Service Organizations. Administration and Society, 40(3), 298-323. Surman, Tonya. (2006). A model for multi-organizational partnership. Centre for Social Innovation. Retrieved from http://s.socialinnovation.ca/files/Constellation%20Model%20Description%20June%209'06.pdf. The Working Centre. (March 2012). Employment Service Partnerships: Creating a Culture of Collaboration. Thomson, Ann Marie and James L. Perry. (2006). Collaboration Processes: Inside the Black Box. Public Administration Review December Special Issue, 20-32. Westley, F. and J. Waters. (1988). Group Facilitation Skills for Managers. Management Education and Development, 19(2), 134-143.

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Attachment A: Multi-Sectoral Collaborations Best Practices Literature Review

Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

Article #1: Developing Multisector Collaborations

P. 1 – A multisector collaboration is the partnership that results when government, non-profit, private and public organizations, community groups, and individual community members come together to solve problems that affect the whole community. P. 3 – Multisector collaboration is based on cooperation rather than competition. Q. How can a community be led through a facilitated session in which this is acknowledged? So that it’s not just the “same old, same old” approach but being masqueraded as “collaboration”? P. 3 “…when people collaborate, the need to take the time to learn to work together…” Q. What happens when time is extremely limited? P. 3 “…ordinary people from diverse sectors of the community must be actively engaged in voicing their opinions, providing leadership, and lending their expertise to solving problems.” P. 5 – Steps to take in building a multisector collaboration: 1. Train leaders in all sectors that have the vision, commitment, and respect necessary to lead a collaborative. 2. Identify a facilitator to bring the different groups together 3. Find the information necessary to understand issues and possible solutions

BUILD – Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development – approached the Greater Baltimore Committee (the town’s primary business committee) to solve problems that affected the whole community, such as high unemployment, a failing educational system, and an unskilled workforce.” Looked up BUILD’s site at http://www.buildiaf.org/ but the website was unavailable. Implications for strategic plan development? How do we push past the tier of management to get frontline opinions? What is the overarching need that the LEPCs are trying to address? Is the general agreement on this need?

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4. Promote community empowerment – this will be very important for our initiative as we have 4 separate communities. How do you support community empowerment? Preliminary preparation includes:

• Mobilizing community support • Forming coalitions • Learning process skills • Developing leadership • Developing a vision and a mandate • Setting priorities

Establish procedural ground rules…

Q. What might this training look like? An opportunity to work with the other LEPC pilots? Give to all the circles in our visual diagram? -Adherence to vision, instilling confidence, wielding influence, handling crises, moving the process forward…process skills are very important (how to work together effectively) Hartford, Connecticut, has such a program Identify all data (community reports, stats, etc.) and note how it will help us understand issues and identify possible solutions. We need to focus on bullets 3-6 – essentially resulting in our strategic plan/deliverables. “Community residents should be represented by their own organizations or coalitions of community organizations, rather than larger non-profit institutions that have the appearance of representation.” These ground rules may need to go beyond standard Terms of Reference documents.

Article 2: When a Collaboration Stumbles: The Opportunities Niagara Story

Collaborations can stumble because of: • Lackluster outcomes • Limitations of the model – some models take up so

much energy in sustaining themselves that the model gest in the way of achieving cost-effective outcomes. There is a need to identify outcomes that are tangible and easy for all to understand.

• Insufficient resources • A weak support environment

Q. Is the LEPC model more about governance or about collaboration? If the latter, more people will be involved in decision-making. It’s critical to be able to track the progress of the LEPC, which means it needs strong and clear evaluation.

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

• Fragile leadership Article 3: Working Better: Creating a High-Performing Labour Market in Ontario

P. 7 – “…many of the government policies, programs and labour market interventions intended to improve conditions for employers and workers rest on an outdated notion of hoe people get jobs, keep jobs, and advance from job to job through the course of a career.” P. 8 – “The hourglass economy – more knowledge jobs and entry-level jobs, but fewer middle jobs” P. 9 Message for employers: “…employers may have difficulty filling jobs calling for specialized skills (both hard and soft) if their human resources strategy depends on just-in-time hiring for a precise set of skills and experiences, and they have not cultivated a pool of promotable people within their organization who understand the company’s culture and have been groomed for advancement.” Reference to the “demise of the traditional career ladder” P. 10 Issues:

• The lack of accurate, timely, and actionable local labour market data

• The need for effective employment services and workforce development programs (including apprenticeship programs)

• The aging workforce and its implications for Ontario’s economy

• Policies to encourage more middle-level jobs that can support middle-class incomes

P. 12 “Employment services that help the unemployed find work…still tend to operate as if the old labour market model was still in place. As a result, they have increasingly focused more on the deficiencies of those seeking employment, rather than on what has happened to jobs and careers.”

Q. Could this be a question to ask of employment counsellors, the service provider table and the Central Planning Table? Q. What is accurate, timely and actionable local labour market data? What does this look like? Is there consensus? …and including literacy/upgrading programs – the shortest route to a job is no longer the best route. Q. What are the implications of the aging workforce? Ask during the strategic planning: What does a good job mean? What are your career aspirations for your children?

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

P. 13 “The emphasis on individual career management, for example, makes it harder to forget strategies that engage the range of stakeholders and participants who need to be involved in the solutions to current labour market mismatches.” P. 24 “Career ladders have become fragmented.” P. 61 “…we should at least base our deliberations on an understanding of what is know to work and not work elsewhere. These include topics such as:

• Effective supply-side labour market programs • Effective demand-side labour market programs • Mechanisms for managing workforce development

at a local level P. 63 We need: 1. Clarity about the labour market 2. Workforce development mechanisms – what might be appropriate mechanisms to coordinate workforce development at a local level? How should they be connected to economic development efforts, to the training and education infrastructure, to industry sector councils? What should be the role for the current structure of local training boards? 3. Local labour market data – how can we generate more timely, useable local labour market data? 4. Publicly-funded employment services – what are the implications for the focus of our employment services and the strategies and methods them apply? 5. Robust evaluations – we do not know how effective our employment services and training programs are. 6. Apprenticeship system 7. Middle jobs 8. Aging workforce – how will this affect our labour force?

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9. Internships and volunteer work – appropriate? A viable solution? P. 66 – “Employment services would have a far more profound impact if they were mandated to work with employers on workforce development, not simply job placement.” P. 67 – “…identify particularly promising industry sectors and/or occupations, in that way develop8ing an extensive expertise about a single field of work in order to identify appropriate strategies that would benefit stakeholders.” P. 68 – the role of a “workforce intermediary” P. 69 – the role of career ladders – new and in response to the changing needs of the labour market

Article 4: Designing and Implementing Cross-Sector Collaborations: Needed and Challenging

P. 647 – “Collaborating parties should take a design approach to cross-sector collaboration. This means starting as much as possible with the ends in mind and designing processes, structures and their interactions in such a way that desired outcomes will be achieved and required accountabilities met.” P. 648 – “We define cross-sectoral collaboration as the linking or sharing of information, resources, and capabilities by organizations in to or more sectors to achieve jointly an outcome that could not be achieved by organizations in one sector separately.” P. 648 – remedying power imbalances comes us a feature of several papers on collaboration P. 649 – “Governance at the intersection of processes and structure is a feature of each framework.” “Noticeably, most of these early frameworks do not pay special attention to outcomes and accountabilities, but they do offer important insights…most argue that evaluative

Q. What is the process we are proposing? Q. How do we define a sector? Q. to what extent is there a perceived or actual power imbalance because of the ways in which the LEPCS were awarded/announced? What might this mean for our work going forward? Note: We should not use the word “collaboration” per se, but rather note that cross-sectoral

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

assessments should consider substantive as well as process outcomes for individual participants, member organizations, the collaboration as a whole, and the community.” P. 650 – “…the importance of formulating ‘authoritative texts’ that can include implicit norms of cooperation or bylaws, mission statements, and memoranda of understanding. These texts indicate the collaboration’s general direction and what it is on track to accomplish. Ideally, these texts will marshal the willing consent of partners, attract other resources, and help collaborators exercise collective agency.” “…the need for a collaboration to rectify significant power or resource asymmetries, acknowledge interdependence among members, and mitigate negative prehistories.” P. 652 – “Especially important is the involvement of committed, boundary-spanning leaders, whom we call sponsors and champions…Also needed is the ability to frame the issue at hand so that diverse partners can understand its importance and its relevance to them.” “The role of prior relationships or existing networks is also important because it is often through these that partners judge the trustworthiness of other partners and the legitimacy of key stakeholders.” “Requests for proposals, plans, projects, various technologies, and consequential incentives all were drivers in one or more of the case studies because they facilitated collaborative efforts.”

collaboration will be important to effecting change. Q. To what extent do other community members believe that cross-sector collaboration is even required? Note: there needs to be agreement on what it is the LEPC is intended to achieve. And what the various committees/tables are to achieve. Q. What is a consequential incentive?

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

P. 653 – deliberate, formal planning versus an emergent approach P. 654 – a collaborative capacity builder is “someone who either by legal authority, expertise valued in the network, reputation as an honest broker, or some combination of the three, has been accorded lead role in the network’s problem-solving exercises.” Three broad leadership tactics for developing collaborative governance: framing the agenda; convening stakeholders, and structuring deliberation. P. 656 – “…intergovernmental partnerships appear to increase effectiveness, efficiency and equity; government-business partnerships appear to decrease effectiveness, have little effect on efficiency, and decrease equity; and government – non-profit partnerships appear to have no impact on effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.” Immediate effects – the creation of social, intellectual and political capital; high-quality agreements; innovative strategies Intermediate effects – new partnerships, new physical facilities, coordination and joint action, joint learning that extends beyond the collaboration, implementation of agreements, changes in practices, and changes in perceptions. P. 657 – Ongoing learning appears to be an important feature of successful collaborations.

We will likely have to use an emergent approach

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

Article #5: The collaborative push: moving beyond rhetoric and gaining evidence

Specifically, {this paper} examines the drivers for collaboration, dominant structures and mechanism adopted, what has worked and unintended consequences. This paper differentiates between cooperation, coordination and collaboration. P. 15 A variety of data collection instruments including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and network linkage surveys were used to construct the cases. P. 16 “The semi-structured interviews tapped into respondents’ experiences and expectations of integration, perceptions of successes and failures, as well as core collaboration competencies. P. 20 – “Effective relationships are central to successful collaboration…Relationships take time and effort to establish, nurture and sustain.” Informal relationship building methods include: shared meals, organized social events, team and trust building retreats, site visits to one another’s organizations. Formalized mechanisms include: effective meeting procedures and decision-making processes, including the appointment of skilled facilitators and training programs. P. 22 Use of the term “collaborative thuggery” – forcing or manoeuvring people toward the action required P. 23 “the emphasis in these collaborative case studies was on ‘doing things differently’”

Cooperation – sharing of information Coordination – the pooled use of resources and joint planning and operation, requiring a higher level of commitment ad well as the agreed loss of some autonomy, increased risk and resources Collaboration – means that organizations can no longer make changes at the margin of how they operate; collaboration is about finding new ways for developing new systems and/or designing new institutional arrangements to get tasks accomplished. Interviews and focus groups were transcribed, coded by two people working independently and a supplementary textual analysis tool (Leximancer) was used to confirm the manual thematic analysis Q. Does the LEPC require cooperation, coordination or collaboration? Perhaps all 3?

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

P. 24 – Important leadership skills include the ability to see and build connections between people and resources, build coalitions, negotiate, energize others, work to multiple goals and political savvy. Also big picture thinking, coaching, mediation, negotiation, risk management, strategic thinking, interpersonal communication and team building

Q. We’d have to know what was happening initially to know if things are being done differently as a result of the LEPC Implications for staff training

Article 6: the Partnering toolbook: An essential guide to cross-sector partnering

Why partnership? “Single sector approaches have been tried and have proved disappointing. Working separately, different sectors have developed activities in isolation – sometimes competing with each other and/or duplicating effort and wasting valuable resources Risks:

• Reputation impact • Loss of autonomy • Conflicts of interest • Drain on resources • Implementation challenges

Rewards:

• Professional development of key personnel • Better access to information and different networks • Greater “reach” • Improved operational efficiency • More appropriate and effective products and

services • Greater innovation • Enhanced credibility • Increased access to resources

Note: We need to document who/which agencies/collaboratives are involved in the LEPC and what their roles are… Q. Can we/should we use any of these risks and rewards in either our strategic planning or in our evaluation? Consider for evaluation:

• Impacts that the project had on society • Value of the partnership to the individual

partner organization • Actual costs and benefits of the

partnership approach

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

Other leadership roles: • Acting as guardian of the partnerships’ mission and

being prepared to stand up for its values • Coaching each other in good partnering behaviour

and partnership/project management • Challenging each others’ ways of looking at the

world, of doing things, and of approaching difficult or contentious issues

• Empowering other members of the partnership to be proactive, to innovate and to be allowed to make mistakes

• Creating hope and optimism when the process seems to be stuck

It’s imperative to manage meetings well. Allow opportunities for social interaction, invite excellent guest speakers, use the meeting for enhancing learning, end meetings with a review of what worked well and what didn’t.

Article 7: Activation policies for more inclusive labour markets

P. 107 – “A central role of the PES (Public Employment Service) is to match jobseekers and employers…Across the OECD, the PES aims to have a strong market position as a job broker…” “Work experience and labour market training improve employability. Evaluations have increasingly tracked employment outcomes for five years or more after entry to training programmes, finding evidence that they have a long-term positive impact on participants’ employment and earnings. Ideally programmes are focused on identified employer needs.” P. 108 – “Increased integration of PES services with those of other public actors such as health, childcare, or social services and education institutions, can enhance the service offer.”

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

P. 114 – “Across all age-groups, educational attainment and skills have a large impact on the likelihood of being employed.”

Article #8: Active labor market programs – employment gain or fiscal drain?

P. 1 – “Governments have been responding to the crisis (unemployment) through active labor market programs (ALMPs) like subsidizing employment and providing training and employment services.” P. 5 – “According to Calmfors (1994), the direct effects on employment, unemployment and earnings act via three mechanisms: (1) an improved matching process; (2) increased and enhanced labor supply; and (3) increased labor demand.”

Article #9: “Striking out”: Shifting labour markets, welfare to work policy and the renegotiation of gender performances

P. 3 – “Firstly, in emphasizing the need to improve people’s skills, the government’s conception of the problem focuses almost entirely on the ‘supply side’, with very little space being given to considering potential interventions on the ‘demand side’.

Article #10: Young women on the margins of the labour market

P. 412 – “Neighbourhood variations in the reasons for worklessness, even among highly employable young women, suggest that the multiple issues affecting disadvantaged groups are also influenced by local job markets. Occupational segregation and clustering into particular industries are added constraints for young women which are largely ignored in welfare policies seeking to address youth unemployment.” P. 414 – “This [churning trap – whereby young people move between periods of low paid, insecure employment and periods claiming benefits] …suggests that rather than focusing on employability, more needs to be done to up-skill young people so that they can access higher quality jobs.” P. 415 – “In order to obtain a more detailed understanding of both the supply and demand factors which influence the

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

employment position of young women living in poor neighbourhoods, the article discussed the scale and nature of labour market marginalization for this group. This includes exploration of social factors as well as the constraints these young women face in the context of changes in labour market.” P. 416 – “Participants were asked for views about education, local services, job opportunities, their experiences of work and unemployment and their aspirations for themselves and families.” P. 424 – “Focus group discussions revealed adequate support from local services including Job Centre Plus, Connexions and local colleges and many highly employable young women expressed concerns about being abandoned by the system” “Interviews with local stakeholders found that job search agencies were not fine-tuned to the particular problems of the locality and were insufficiently responsive to address the complex difficulties of young women living in poor neighbourhoods.” P. 425 – “Employment potential was often curtailed by the way in which services tended to discourage aspirational young women and to channel qualified applicants into lower paid and less secure jobs.” P. 426 – “…for disadvantaged young people the nature of the local labour market is more important than for others, who are more likely to access the wider national, or even international, labour market.”

Article #11: Extending Employability or Solving

P. 341 – “However, there is widening acceptance that policies for employability can provide a link between the

TK – This article suggests a role for demand-led training, but suggests further that such training is

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

Employers’ Recruitment Problems? Demand-led Approaches as an Instrument of Labour Market Policy

supply and demand sides of the labour market. This implies the involvement of employers in the design of skills training and work experience programmes, and for these to be related to employment sustainability and career progression…It [this paper] concludes that in most cases demand-led schemes in the UK have been less about improving employability than meeting employers’ short-term labour needs.” P. 342 – “This is not to imply that skills training and the securing of qualifications are not important in improving people’s prospects of securing employment. However, in many sectors of the economy, staff recruitment practices can be extremely discriminatory and the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the population are most likely to suffer as a consequence.” “For dimensions of employability. Three of these concern the individual member of the workforce, involving personal work-related assets, presentation of these in the market place and deployment of a range of market place skills. All three are then contingent upon the operation of the fourth dimension – namely, contextual factors such as the nature and extent of labour market demands, employer recruitment and selection practices and personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities.” P. 343 – “the key point to note is the integration of wider socioeconomic factors such as labour demand and employer behaviour into the employability equation. In promoting the idea that employability is a much more multifaceted concept than merely equipping job seekers with a wider range of skills, it illustrates that it can provide a vital link between the supply and demand sides of the labour market. The importance of this link has been translated into a call for

not appropriate for all – an important consideration (potentially) for the LEPC. Also – an interesting connection to Career Ladders Could further research the Wildcat Corporation in New York

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employers to be more directly involved in the design of skills training and work experience programmes, both for existing and potential employees. “In broad terms, this means that labour market intermediaries (LEPCs?) perform three key functions:

- They help to reduce transaction costs for both employers and job seekers

- They assist in building social and business networks - They help employers and workers to meet the need

for adaptability and flexibility, and hence to manage the increasing risk characteristic of modern labour markets

P. 345 – “…they [demand-led approaches] should not be seen as a panacea for all disadvantaged job seekers, and their inappropriateness for those who have low motivation, lack qualifications and have limited basic skills should be acknowledged.” P. 347 – “Interestingly, for the first time most of the approved projects were set up to run for three years, rather than the one-year lifespan of projects in previous rounds. This was in recognition not only of the severe operational difficulties imposed by such a short time-scale, but also the longer time required for effective employer engagement, organizational change and programme development.” P. 352 – “The evidence presented suggests that the process of enrolment, training, work placement, recruitment, post-employment support and job retention all involve overlapping sets of social and organizational relations that vary not only between regions and sectors, but within them as well…In other words, it may be more fruitful to conceive employability in relational, rather than individual, terms and in doing so to recognize that all parties in the equation have

“…overlapping sets of social and organizational relations that vary not only between regions and

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a contribution to make in providing the conditions where it can flourish.”

sectors, but within them as well” – key work for the LEPC

Article #12: The design of active labour market policies: Building in effective incentives

P. 463 – “…technological change that is based in favour of skilled labour, combined perhaps with a globalizing economy, has led to a structural collapse in the demand for unskilled workers. This collapse in demand, together with a downwardly rigid wage structure, cause high unemployment to be concentrated among the less skilled, who experience long spells of unemployment. Long-term unemployment here results from a lack of demand for the services of low-skilled workers, rather than from a process inducing negative duration dependence in the unemployment exit rates.” P. 471 – “Work experience programmes that place participants in jobs not requiring much training induce (public or private) employers to keep participants for as long as the subsidy period lasts. After that time, employers who have not invested in the participants (e.g., by training them), have little incentive to keep them.” P. 473 – “They suggest it is more important to ensure that programme administrators are not affected by adverse incentives, than to introduce an explicit performance-based system to induce programme administrators to comply with the programme’s objectives.” P. 477 – “It [this paper] emphasizes first that the optimal design of these policies crucially depends on establishing the main causes of unemployment persistence.”

Article #13: Reworking Development: Chicago’s Sectoral Workforce Centers

P. 166 – “To complement their network of comprehensive One Stop workforce centers, which provide job search and matching assistance to all types of workers and employers, and more than 20 community-based organizations that work

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Article Relevant Points Potential Application/Tie to Local Data Source Review

with specific workforce populations (e.g., offenders, youth)…” “The primary task of the centers was to provide employers in their targeted industry sector with recruitment assistance, training resources, labour market information, and other types of value-added services.” “In theory, this would allow the Sector Centers to better serve the employers by letting them identify the best candidates for a job, not just the candidates that it was responsible for getting placed.” P. 167 – “A second goal was to promote more integrated service delivery within the WorkNet Chicago system.” “WIA (our version of ES) providers closely guarded their employer contacts to maximize the likelihood of placing their jobseekers and achieving favourable job placement outcomes. Although this made sense for individual providers, it was less than optimal for the system as a whole.” “A central objective for these groups was to reassert the importance of occupational skills training linked to career ‘ladders’ or ‘pathways’… “Although the language was relatively broad, the inclusion of job quality standards was an important indicator of the intention of local officials to use the Sector Centers to promote progressive labour market outcomes for disadvantaged jobseekers.”