The National Picture Neil Coulson

The A-Z of Consortium-Working BirminghamBlackburn CoventryDoncaster LeedsLondon KnowsleyPreston SalfordSheffield StockportWakefield 19 May 2011

Drivers Scale Joint working at the frontline – improved services for client groups Driving up standards Building capacity Strengthening competitive position 16 April 2014

Scope Sector-wide or sub-sector Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) Membership ownership and control Commissioner investment 19 May 2011

Challenges From culture of entitlement to culture of enterprise Seeing ‘the bigger picture’ In it for the long haul 19 May 2011

Greater Together CYP Consortium across Lancashire Idea emerged in 2011 Set up as formal consortium (‘super provider’)

Vertical Alliance Commissioner Managing Body Frontline VCS Providers

Horizontal Alliance Frontline VCS ‘Super Provider’ Commissioner

Benefits of a horizontal model Grass roots ownership and ‘buy-in’ Level playing field – mutualism, co-operation Peer-to-peer mentoring/capacity building Shared risk and reward Creating a step change in VCS delivery capability

Greater Together’s approach to Localism ‘Local Rootedness’ criterion within Membership Prospectus Large and small National and local

Successes Over 70 members Investment from Lancashire Children and Young People’s Trust Board first contract secured - £700k for targeted youth support 2013 – investment from Social Investment Business/second contract secured - £2.5m for Early Support services 2014 – currently going for £3m Domestic Abuse contract

Critical Success Factors Strong value proposition Clear Theory of Change Building on track records of constituent members Proactive, entrepreneurial working group/board Focus on innovation/new ways of doing things Calculated approach to risk Critical mass Capacity building support from the second tier Receptive commissioners