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Glenn Jordan

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The Local Church and The Local Community
Norman Hamilton

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Graham Cheesman

Too Many Partnerships...not enough partners?
Maurice Kinkead

Community and Conflict...a Restorative Approach
Debbie Watters

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TOO MANY PARTNERSHIPS
...not enough partnership?

In Belfast, as in the rest of Europe, Partnerships appear to be everywhere. They distribute EU funding, co-ordinate local regeneration, promote business education links, and develop a vision for the city. These are a few of the tasks for which Partnerships have recently been established. There is obviously a real danger of confusion but, more importantly, a danger that in the establishing of so many partnership structures, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are actually working in partnership to address identified needs within our community.

Personally I believe that a partnership approach is essential in effectively addressing a complex issue such as urban regeneration, but such an approach will only work if we recognise that partnership is essentially a process, and not a structure. Setting up a Partnership will not achieve anything useful, but working in partnership has the potential to achieve much more together than we can ever achieve working alone or in competition.

The value of a partnership approach

Urban regeneration is the sort of complex task that demonstrates the value of a partnership approach. There are a wide range of interconnecting issues to be addressed, including education, health, housing, transport, economic development and training, and a mind-boggling plethora of organisations and agencies with an interest in, or responsibility for, each issue. Without a co-ordinated approach, contradictory action will be taken, agencies will compete on the same task, or gaps will develop in provision of services. It makes sense to co-operate as partners to address common issues in a co-ordinated fashion.

In Belfast, local area partnerships have been established within the Making Belfast Work initiative to co-ordinate urban regeneration by bringing together all key agencies and organisations from various sectors. This involves local councillors, public servants from relevant statutory agencies, community workers and business people all working together on a broad regeneration agenda at board level, addressing particular issues in working group type structures.

While not without its difficulties, the value of such an approach is clear. Take an issue like the declining main arterial routes into Belfast, which in the past have served as busy shopping areas, but are now in many cases 'run down', with vacant shop fronts, derelict sites, graffiti and poor lighting. Who should take responsibility for their regeneration? Who should be consulted? Who might have the best ideas? The answer is a very long list of possible contributors to a solution, which could include the Roads Service, Planning Service, NI Housing Executive, Belfast City Council along with local residents and traders, who may well be represented by various associations and elected Councillors. Each can address the issue from their own (often conflicting) perspective, and hope that the 'due processes' somehow work out to everyone's advantage (a very unlikely scenario). Or all can come together in a partnership arrangement to develop a solution to which they might be committed, and which together they have a much better chance of implementing successfully.

The advantage of working in partnership is that with all the 'players' around the table from the beginning, particular interests are not ignored, and a wider range of ideas emerges from which to develop workable solutions. However, in practice partnership is not so easy.

Difficulties with Partnership

While partnerships may have the potential to provide solutions to complex social problems, they are often by nature complex structures themselves, engaging in quite complex processes. The sheer challenge of organising a number of agencies to operate together is compounded by their very different nature, particularly the many different methods by which they make decisions. For example, attempting to reach consensus on an issue within a working group can be a very slow process if some members need to obtain their organisation's approval. In many cases the difficulty of making decisions in time to take any appropriate action can lead to frustration and disillusionment with the whole process.

A further problem with partnerships is that the mere act of setting up a partnership to address an issue can be a substitute for genuine 'partnership working'. Consensus and agreed action will not just happen; it needs to be worked at. Sometimes people can feel the task is more or less completed when all the right agencies have been brought together, whereas in reality the most difficult work is only just beginning. Allied to this can be situations where some 'partners' see their involvement as an end in itself, and do not see any need to engage truly with other partners. They have become involved because they think they should, or are expected to, but have no clear idea of the purpose or implication of their involvement, which leads to their lack of commitment to the process.

If a lack of commitment can cause problems, then so to can a perceived 'over commitment', where one or more partner is viewed as trying to use or dominate other partners. This often arises when statutory agencies, with all their resources, are seeking to work in partnership with community organisations, who can feel overwhelmed and under-resourced.

Issues for churches

Churches are a significant presence in urban communities, and yet are often obvious by their absence in partnership type structures seeking to address community needs. I believe there are a number of reasons why this is so, particularly within the Protestant churches.

Of course some churches do not see addressing social needs as part of their role; their purpose is to preach the gospel. While I do not intend to address the theological issues behind this position now - many have already done so elsewhere - I believe that their non-involvement deprives local communities of the significant contribution they can make.

Thankfully, most churches are involved in some way in responding to social needs within their communities, but why do so few do so in partnership with others? No doubt the reasons are many, and somewhat different in each case, but I feel there is a basic issue with which many church groups appear to struggle. In essence, partnership means working with partners who are in many senses different to ourselves. For churches this can mean working with groups and individuals who do not share their values and beliefs, and in many cases operate with values which they view as quite unchristian. They may feel that if they associate with such groups, this will reflect badly on the church, and may confuse others outside the church as to the church's values and beliefs.

Such fears are not irrational, because people will indeed be confused by churches working with a diverse range of 'partners' from within the local community. But not engaging with others to address community needs will also confuse those who genuinely feel the church should be involved. If churches are a part of the local community, along with schools, shops, pubs, and community organisations, then surely it will appear strange if they are not involved in activities aimed at improving the quality of life in those communities. Churches should also remember that they are not the only organisations with something to lose by entering local partnership arrangements - all partners are taking potential risks of confusing their identity or damaging their own interests. Indeed, on more than one occasion I have heard local community organisations express concern about entering into partnerships with local church groups, mainly because of suspicion of their real agenda!

Successful partnership

So with so many inherent difficulties, how can the potential of partnership be developed? What makes for a successful partnership? There is no simple blueprint to ensure success, and certainly partnerships, like all human structures, will never operate perfectly, but I believe there are a few basic principles without which partnership will not happen.

Partnerships can work if partner agencies:

1. Are clear about their own goals and values
2. Recognise that they and other partners always need to act in their own interests
3. Work hard at listening, learning and working together.

All agencies have their own agendas and interests. Partnership will not work if we pretend this is not the case. Partnership is not so much 'working for the common good'; it is more a case of each partner recognising that their own interests can best be served by co-operating with others to their mutual benefit. This may sound cold and calculating, but it is also a sound basis for genuine partnership working, and of course through the process, each partner can learn from, and be influenced by, the agenda and interests of others.

But even with clarity, and a recognition of each partner's interests, no partnership will happen without a lot of hard work and commitment to the process. People and agencies who come from different perspectives do not naturally understand each other, and often do not 'hear' what is really being said by other partners. Assumptions and interpretations are made on the basis of our own perspective. Time needs to be taken to listen to each other, to try to understand where others are coming from, and probably there is a need for some facilitated training to help in this process.

A partnership approach definitely has the potential to achieve much, particularly in contexts where there are a wide range of interested parties involved and inter-connected issues to address, but it will only happen if we make the effort. I personally hope that more churches will make the effort, and bring their contribution to the well being of the communities of which they are a significant part.

Maurice Kinkead - Chief Executive of the Greater East Belfast Partnership, a local area partnership established to lead the social, economic, environmental and cultural regeneration of East Belfast.

Further Reading
For those interested in exploring partnership further, the following publications may be helpful. All are available for reference in the information bank of the Greater East Belfast Partnership.

• McCabe A, Lowndes V and Skelcher C (1997) Partnerships and networks York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• McDonagh R (1995) A partnership approach to regeneration Belfast: Making Belfast Work
• Barker V (1994) Promoting partnership through consultation Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing
• N I Council for Voluntary Action report (1993) Partners or Adversaries Belfast: NICVA
• Walsh J, Craig S and McCafferty D (1998) Local Partnerships for Social Inclusion? Dublin: Oak Tree Press
• Wilson A and Charlton K (1997) Making Partnerships Work York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation