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Information,Advice andGuidance StrategicBoard Papers

Paper One:Working in Partnership withKey Stakeholders

September 2005Of interest to members of local IAG Strategic Boards

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This is one of a series of themed papersdesigned to support Information,Adviceand Guidance (IAG) Strategic Boardmembers. We hope that the ideas here willbe used as a focus for discussion inStrategic Board meetings and to supportthe development of effective IAGstrategies in local Learning and SkillsCouncil (LSC) areas.

This first paper focuses on some keyprinciples for effective partnership workingand provides some examples of ideas andactivities that Strategic Boards have alsofound useful.

Local LSCs should use the content of thispublication to inform discussion anddebate at local Strategic Board meetingson Information, Advice and Guidance.

Of interest to members of local IAGStrategic Boards

September 2005

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ISSUES

03

First mooted in the LSC strategy for ‘CoherentIAG Services for Adults’, published January2003, local Strategic Boards for IAG have beenconvened by the LSC at local level, to ensure amore strategic approach to:

• delivering the seven key objectives of the LSC strategy for Coherent IAG Services for Adults

• planning and ensuring delivery of coherentlocal IAG services in line with the NationalPolicy Framework for IAG

• targeting of local priority groups whileensuring the universal entitlement is met

• contributing to and drawing on findings of LSC Strategic Area Reviews as they relateto IAG

• the effective integration of all LSC IAGfunded provision including IAG core funds,IAG delivered through Further Education,Adult Community Learning,Work-basedLearning and Workforce Development.Thisshould also include Local Intervention andDevelopment Fund and European Social Fundco-financing, including locally fundedguidance provision

• working with key stakeholders and partners including Business Link and HigherEducation to ensure integrated ‘joined up’services in their local area.

Feedback from members of local StrategicBoards has highlighted a desire for a series ofoccasional papers to help stimulate localdiscussion and debate on a range of IAG issues.This first paper focuses on some key principlesfor effective partnership working and providessome examples of ideas and activities thatStrategic Boards have found useful.

Introduction

Clarify what is expected ofStrategic Boards

Board members need to understand theGovernment’s expectations of IAG so that localplanning is in line with relevant cross-governmental policies and so that they areclear about how IAG supports meeting policyobjectives.Arrangements should also be inplace to monitor how local IAG deliverysupports meeting national objectives.

In order to ensure Strategic Board membersdevelop specialist knowledge, key nationaldocuments need to be regularly reviewed.Specific examples include:

• Realising our potential – Skills Strategy (DfES March 2004)

• Welfare to Workforce Development (NEP February 2004)

• National Policy Framework for IAG for adults(DfES March 2004)

• LSC Coherent IAG services for adults (LSC, reprinted February 2005)

• Action Plan for meeting the Learning andSkills Council’s Strategy for CoherentInformation and Advice services (February 2005)

• Skills: Getting on in Business, getting on atwork (DfES March 2005).

The LSC document ‘Coherent IAG Services forAdults’ describes the role of the Strategic Boardfor IAG and sets out seven key objectives fordelivery of a successful IAG strategy for adults.

Copies of all of these documents are availablefrom the LSC website: www.lsc.gov.uk

Good idea

Specific partners could review relevantpublications from their national body andpresent key points/discussion items as anagenda item to enable other Board members toagree local actions. For example, a JobcentrePlus representative could give a presentationon Welfare to Workforce Development;TUCrepresentatives could present on UnionLearning Academies.

Strategic Board members could go on to sharelocal and regional priorities and developmentwork and agree what this means for planningand delivery of IAG services in their area.

Paper One:Working in Partnership with Key Stakeholders

Some Key Principles

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Understand other organisationsand the role of other partners onthe Strategic Board

As a member of a local Strategic Board do youreally understand the remit and priorities ofother member organisations? For example:

• Who are they?

• What policy developments drive their work?

• What are their priorities?

• How are they funded?

• What IAG do they provide?

• What drives their planning and does IAGfeature in the planning process?

• How will IAG help them achieve theirobjectives?

• How do they see their relationship andcontribution to the Strategic Board?

• Do partners work on a local, regional national basis?

Most of the key partners represented on localStrategic Boards have websites that set outtheir role and remit.The LSC has produced aseries of ‘Working Together’ documents inpartnership with national stakeholders andthese set out principles and good practice forworking together.These are available throughthe LSC website (www.lsc.gov.uk) or nextstepwebsite (www.nextstepstakeholder.co.uk).


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‘Working Together’ publications have beenproduced for Connexions, Jobcentre Plus,Higher Education, and Trade Unions, and are agood starting point for Strategic Boards toreview how they will take forward developmentwork with these organisations.

Other useful websites are:

• Connexions – www.connexions.gov.uk

• Jobcentre Plus – www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

• Higher Education Institutions – Associationof Graduate Careers Advisory Services(AGCAS) – www.agcas.org.uk

• National Offender Management Service –www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk

• learndirect – www.learndirect-advice.co.uk

• Business Link – www.businesslink.gov.uk

• Learning Partnerships –www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/llp/

• TUC – www.learningservices.org.uk

• Voluntary and Community sector –www.nacvs.org.uk.

These are national websites but there may belocal or regional sites that provide moredetailed local and regional information. Itwould be a good idea to share these details andcirculate them to staff within yourorganisations.

Good idea

The LSC has regular keep in touch (KIT)meetings with Board members outside theformal board infrastructure to develop a betterunderstanding of how organisations conductIAG in the context of their core business.

Good idea

Arrange geographic clusters of larger deliveryagencies within the local delivery network tomentor smaller ones as they develop their IAGprocesses. Suggest individual Board memberslead each cluster and regularly report to theBoard on issues identified and solutionsimplemented.

Good idea

Take a thematic approach to meetings,identifying topics useful to all Board members– for example the Employment NationalTraining Organisation could present on thematrix quality standard, or learndirectprovide an update on the learning directory andthe engagement of local learning providers.

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Make links and work closely withother local and regional structures

IAG Strategic Board members need to have aclear understanding of how IAG fits within, andcontributes to, local and regional policy andplanning structures. For example:

• Is there a clear route for the Board tocontribute recommendations and actions forIAG to the LSC and other organisations andpartners’ planning arrangements?

• Do all Board members have clear idea ofwhat this route map looks like?

• Is the reporting route formally andsufficiently integrated into policy anddecision making structures at local andregional level? For example, is there a clearlink to planning for adult skills?

• How is the Board proposing to work withother Strategic Boards in their region? Forexample, the Regional Development Agency(www.consumer.gov.uk/rda ), Regional SkillsPartnerships, Learning Partnerships, andSector Skills Councils (www.ssda.org.uk).

Good idea

Consider a regional meeting of StrategicBoards.There is a lead LSC person responsiblefor IAG in each region who could help identifyareas where regional collaboration wouldcontribute to the development of coherentapproaches to IAG.

Use local demographic data andknowledge of existing provisionto extend the range of servicesavailable

Map provision of IAG services from all fundedsources and obtain information from allStrategic Board members on IAG provisionwithin their organisations.

Share more detailed information betweenstakeholders and partners about areas ofgreatest need to help planning for IAG services.

Think about the potential of mapping IAGprovision and delivery against national sourcesof data, such as the indices of deprivationpublished by the Office of the Deputy PrimeMinister (ODPM) at www.odpm.gov.uk.

Think about how you can improve informationon learning, training and work across allpartners and stakeholders.


Think about how partnershipworking and collaboration isvisible at all levels of eachorganisation and for service users

Identify whether there are opportunities forshared delivery on each other’s premises.

Develop systems (formal and informal) for staffto communicate with each other at all levels.

Identify if referral systems are in place,whether data is shared on how effective theyhave been and agree any actions for furtherimprovements.

Discuss the potential for shared targets and agree mutual responsibility for theirachievement.

Develop innovative projects to meet specificlocal needs and consider the potential forcollaborative funding applications.

Build joint training anddevelopment opportunitiesacross partner organisations tobuild coherence and sharedstandards

The LSC published ‘Competence and Capacity:Enhancing Information and Advice DeliveryPotential’ (February 2005)(www.nextstepstakeholder.co.uk).Thisidentifies three priorities to underpin the LSC’snational Continuing Professional Developmentstrategy (CPD) for IAG.These are:

• strategic development of IAG servicesincluding leadership development,understanding and applying labour marketinformation and the use of performance datato inform strategy and service development

• using business acumen to improve servicedelivery; and

• coherence in service delivery.

The Strategic Board may wish to take thesethree priorities as the starting point forconsidering local CPD priorities and actions forIAG across partner organisations.

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Agree how you will promote IAGwithin partner organisations andto service users

How will you dovetail IAG marketing into othercampaigns such as Adult Learners week andSkills for Life, for example?

How will you coordinate promotion andmarketing of IAG across each of the partnerorganisations?

What role will the Strategic Board play inpromoting and embedding the ‘nextstep’brand?

Good idea

Consider whether a regular bulletin on IAGmatters could be shared (perhaps electronically)between Board members and other partners.


Work out where improvementsto IAG services are needed, agreewhat would constitute successand how to recognise you haveattained it.

For example:

• Who will carry out monitoring andevaluation of activities across organisations?

• How will you provide evidence of addedvalue and share success stories acrosspartners?

• Could you consider agreeing some sharedmeasures of success over and above specificorganisational targets?

• How will you actively encourage IAGpartners and providers to become accreditedto matrix?

• How will you prepare for IAG services beinginspected through the Common InspectionFramework?

Related PublicationsCoherent Information, Advice andGuidance (IAG) Services for AdultsPublication reference LSC-P-NAT-050025

Competence and Capacity:Enhancing Information and AdviceDelivery PotentialPublication reference LSC-P-NAT-050009

Working Together: Connexions andAdult Information, Advice andGuidance ServicesPublication referenceLSC/AA000/1183/04

Review of Framework Agreements for IAGPublication referenceLSC/AA000/11028/04

Working Together: The Learning andSkills Council, Jobcentre Plus andnextstep ServicesPublication reference LSC-P-NAT-050010

Working Together: nextstep and Trade UnionsPublication reference LSC-P-NAT-050008

Working Together: nextstep Servicesand Higher EducationPublication reference MISC/0686/03

Useful website www.nextstepstakeholder.co.uk

Learning and Skills CouncilNational Office

Cheylesmore HouseQuinton RoadCoventry CV1 2WTT 0845 019 4170F 024 7682 3675www.lsc.gov.uk

©LSC September 2005 Published by the Learning and Skills Council.

Extracts from this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial educationalor training purposes, on condition that thesource is acknowledged and the findings arenot misrepresented.

This publication is available in electronic formon the Learning and Skills Council website:www.lsc.gov.uk

Publication reference: LSC-P-NAT-050503

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