Key considerations
This page explores some of the key considerations when taking account of sustainability in partnerships:
- What are the benefits of partnership working and engaging others?
- Why is it important to engage stakeholders in relation to sustainability?
- How can we build sustainability into Public Finance Initiatives (PFI) projects?
- How can we build sustainability into our Local Strategic Partnership and Community Strategy?
1. What are the benefits of partnership working and engaging others?
There are a number of benefits that can be derived from partnership working and engaging with others. These apply generally, not just in relation to sustainability. They include:
- Being able to draw on knowledge, expertise and capacity from outside your organisation;
- Improved information base by accessing information held by other stakeholders, not just those promoting the project;
- Improved decision making, validation of approaches, and enabling scrutiny and testing;
- Development of consensus by identifying and acknowledging shared views and objectives. Acknowledged agreement to a recommendation increases its legitimacy;
- Establishing stakeholder buy-in and ownership of the decision-making process and its outcomes;
- Resolution of differences of view through early and open discussion and through clear, transparent processes and procedures;
- Extending stakeholder understanding of technical issues; and
- Establishing links and networks useful in further implementation of recommendations.
To explore a case study showing how the Metropolitan Police successfully worked with partner organisations to address crime levels in Hayes through a community led approach to tackling environmental degradation.
The SDC is a useful source of information on how to ensure effective engagement with others and the benefits that such partnerships may bring.
2. Why is it important to engage stakeholders in relation to sustainability?
Stakeholder engagement is important in relation to sustainability in the same way that it is important more generally. Asking people what they think is important enables you to understand what they expect of you. This understanding will enable you to develop an approach that reflects all stakeholders’ priorities. It also helps to facilitate the buy-in of key constituencies. Glasgow City Council set a good example in their engagement of stakeholders and working with partners to deliver a flood prevention scheme.
3. How can we build sustainability into Public Finance Initiative (PFI) projects?
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, in conjunction with the Office of Government Commerce, the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, have produced a paper entitled Green Public Private Partnerships, which focuses on how to include environmental considerations within PPPs and PFI projects. The paper emphasises that PPP/PFI projects and sustainability can be complementary given that both look to the long term and consider whole life costs. DWP are a case study demonstrating how sustainability may be driven through a PFI project.
Many of the principles that apply to sustainability and procurement will also be relevant here, for example in relation to contract specification and contract management.
4. How can we build sustainability into our Local Strategic Partnership and Community Strategy?
According to Preparing Community Strategies, Government Guidance to Local Authorities, one of the four key objectives of a Community Strategy should be to:
contribute to the achievement of sustainable development both locally and more widely, with local goals and priorities relating, where appropriate, to regional, national and even global aims.
The WWF has produced a presentation entitled 'Putting Sustainable Development at the heart of the Local Strategic Partnership and Community Strategy'. It addresses how to integrate sustainability into Local Strategic Partnership policy, including setting out a checklist that can be used to ensure that key opportunities are not being lost. It also emphasises the importance of sustainability appraisal throughout the plan/programme development, and suggests indicators which can be used to measure performance.