Problem Solving Toolkit

A large part of good practice is doing properly those things which we know all about but usually don't get round to doing. The following are a few examples. There is nothing new here - but how often do you really do them?

What's the problem? No. 1

Time

Define the problem

What can you do about it?

If you haven't done this sort of work before ask someone who has - and get into detail.

Make a realistic estimate of the time needed and talk your line manager through it - s/he may not have personal experience of policy delivery through partnership working - it is not the same as running conventional meetings.

Be careful about the way specific objectives in this area are written into your job description. Indicate in advance that you may want to focus on the time issue at mid-way reviews. And don't wait till the end of year review if the demands on time start to get out of hand.

If you are seriously anxious about getting sufficient time, in the sense that you think the success of the programme could be jeopardised, tell someone.

What's the problem? No. 2

Are you free to be a real partner?

Are you really clear about what your role in the partnership is meant to be?

Do you know what other partners think your role is?

Is the reality that you are carrying roles that are mutually incompatible, such as being both an advisor and a evaluator? (e.g. can anyone think you are saying I've got some good advice for you - do as I say or lose your funding!")

Are you a full partner or are you there for the Director to make sure things happen as planned?

Do you have authority at partnership meetings to speak for your department?

As partnerships develop a life of their own their objectives, if not their overall aims, may change - does your position allow you to cope with that?

What can you do about it?

Clarify the scope that you have for action at partnership meetings.

Remove any ambiguity in your own mind about your role and make sure that others in the partnership understand your position.

Clarify for them what your relationship is to be with whatever is to be the monitoring and evaluation process. If you are part of it, don't fudge the issue.

Establish with your own organisation/department what the absolute 'bottom lines' are in relation to the partnership's operations.

What's the problem? No. 3

Good participation in the partnership requires cross-organisational work.

Define the problem

Is the partnership high on your agenda but not on their's?

Do issues relate to more than one person in the other organisations/departments?

Is the key person senior to you?

Do other departments relate to the partnership area/function in a different way from you?

Are other organisations/departments familiar with the sort of role you are trying to play?

What can you do about it?

Get as clear as you can about the issues that may affect other organisations/departments i.e. who at what level needs to be kept informed or asked for opinions, and continue to work on it.

Work out with the others who needs to know what and be scrupulous about keeping them up to date.

Write minimalist but effective e-mails - they can come back for more information if they need to.

Go as far as you can in trying to work out with the others what you can say in partnership meetings without referring back to them. Constantly having to refer back will look to partners like stalling and not being joined-up.

What's the problem? No. 4

Your agency is demanding results from the partnership but not, according to the other partners, putting in the resources needed to deliver them.

Define the problem

Is there 'new money' or not?

Is the aim of the programme to get mainstream budgets used differently? If so, whose nose is this going to put out of joint as a result?

Is it a genuine attempt to achieve leverage or, in someone's eyes, is it "just another example of short-termism"?

Is the main dimension of the resources problem the actual scale and nature of the resources or is it the way they are perceived?

Is a focus on resources an easy way for some partners to avoid their own difficult issues?

What can you do about it?

Make sure you are as clear as you can be about the overall resources available to the partnership and how their use could be changed.

If you are a gate-keeper to resources work out how will you handle this role and be honest about it.

If the aim of the partnership is more to influence the way that mainstream resources are used than to provide new resources, work out what the leverage is that the partnership can have on them.

Know about any relevant resources issues elsewhere.

No matter how difficult it is, be as straightforward as you can be about resources.

Be aware of the power issues that lie behind resource control.

What's the problem? No. 5

You are under pressure to show results.

Define the problem

Are you working to deadlines and time-scales that are not of your making and which are inappropriate?

Is someone else's credibility on the line?

Does the pressure come from the need to spend money within the financial year?

What can you do about it?

Give as much advanced warning as possible of impending problems e.g. don't say "We have 5 partnerships in operation" if what you mean is "We have have 5 partnerships but in 4 of them the members spend most of their time knocking chunks out of each other". This includes possible under-spends.

Make sure that your line manager understands the issues about working with partnerships.

Establish what is expected of you. Get realistic expectations agreed and recorded in your job targets. Build in a realistic set of opportunities to review expectations.

Establish a way of recording progress, or the lack of it, which deals with target issues but allows for legitimate diversions which the partnership takes from its original spec.