Key advice from the Cardiff University Cross-Sector Collaboration Day
Collaboration across sectors is not easy, but it can be a very effective tool in driving change.
At Practice Solutions, we’ve seen first hand the impact that collaboration with different sectors can have. This is why we were excited to attend Cardiff University’s Cross-Sector Collaboration event on Wednesday 19 February, which included a brilliant line-up of speakers sharing best practice.
Here were five key lessons we took from the day:
The importance of leadership
Dr Neil Bentley Gockmann OBE, chief executive of the Whitehall Industry Group, discussed the complex challenges facing the public sector: economic growth and productivity; delivering best-in-class public services; and the need to futureproof resilient organisations and institutions.
Dr Bentley explained that cross-sector collaboration can address these challenges, but only through sustained leadership and trust within our collaborative networks. As such, we need to support leaders, foster strategic dialogue, and build leadership capabilities.
To us, this means these national challenges are complex and interconnected, with no single sector hold the answering. We need leaders from all areas to step forwards.
It’s all about timing
Owen Wilce, public service innovation manager at Cardiff Capital Region, spoke about the transformative power of cross-sector innovation. Drawing on his experience with community initiatives in Monthmouthshire, he helped to create Infuse – an innovation hub that unites various sectors to address key challenges in the Cardiff Capital Region.
One key message was carving out time to make things happen is a fundamental challenge for us in Wales. We have to learn from our history of short sharp pilot projects and move to an experimental mindset – fail quickly, build knowledge, and foster consensus to move forward collaboratively.
In short, timing is crucial.
Social care cannot stand alone
Dr Yulia Cherdantseva is the co-director of Cardiff University Digital Transformation Innovation, a hugely useful resource for both academics and businesses. She talked about their aims to foster cross-sector collaboration by linking researchers, funding health and social care projects, and empowering SMEs with digital skills.
By working with both professional businesses and academics, they’re able to provide that crucial link between research and delivery. This is crucial to the sector, demonstrating the importance of academia in supporting true collaboration.
But there is one more essential voice needed for effective collaboration in social care: the voice of the individual. Care is all about collaborating to meet the needs of the individual, but in a cohesive system that has the flexibility to deliver to all.
The role of universities
Professor Peter Wells, pro-dean public value at Cardiff Business School, talked about the role of universities in public services. Broadly speaking, he said that universities should be supporting public services rather than delivering them. They need to demonstrate their public value, especially in these financially challenge times, but in a way that is sustainable and meaningful.
He explained that successfully contributing to public value needs more than internal support to workforces; it requires academics to connect with the wider community and have a broader impact. This requires universities to be connected and valuable to their communities, especially as less than one-third of 18-year-olds in Wales plan on attending universities.
If universities are truly going to prove their public value, then academic contributions need to extend traditional boundaries of research and journals. Cross-sector collaboration is vital.
More relevant than ever
This event felt particularly pertinent as we launch the new National Social Care Conference Network (NSCC Network) with ADSS Cymru. The challenges in care can only be achieved by collaborating across sectors – by leaders stepping forward, by carving out the time needed to make it happen, and by having the right balance of voices from across sectors.
This is something we have to challenge ourselves on, and we have to create a space that supports this collaborative approach. The challenges are too big and the need is too urgent to do this alone. The NSCC Network won’t be the only solution, but we hope it’s a good starting point to bring the sector together and drive forward collaborative change.
This all means the most vulnerable in our society can live better, healthier, happier lives.
Find out more about the NSCC Network
Find out more about Cardiff University Innovation Network events
