Working with other organisations

Working with other organizations

Waiting, and the journey to or from the stop or station, often provokes more anxiety than the time spent on-vehicle. And the problems experienced on public transport often reflect those which are present in the communities they serve. Wider problems, such as those caused by young people or by neglect of the physical environment cannot be addressed by the operator alone, but need to be the focus of a co-ordinated multi-agency effort.

Other agencies have a responsibility for such matters as street lighting, facilities for young people, dissemination of local information, support for victims of crime. Through a partnership approach such a range of resources and expertise can be brought to bear on the problems. A more secure public transport service will benefit them, through the generation of activity and overall prosperity in the neighbourhood. A multi-agency partnership can save duplication and ensure the targeted allocation of scarce resources.

But working in partnership is not without its problems. Your partners may have other priorities, and not be easily persuaded to tackle your problems too. They may delegate the task to someone who is not wholly committed, does not really understand what they can do, or may not have the authority to make the decisions you want them to. Workload and resource constraints may prevent them from giving the work the time and priority you feel it deserves. And being the lead agency - if you are the agency taking the initiative - can be a time consuming and demanding task, requiring patience and persistence.

A programme for action

It is helpful to have a framework to work to. It helps to ensure that you and your partners understand what you are doing and why, that action is followed through, and that progress is monitored. A suggested action plan is:

1. Identify issues

Analysis of the problem will help you to identify the issues. Other agencies will bring information which will place the problem that affects you in context, and enhance your understanding of the causes.

2. Agree priorities and objectives

It may not be possible to address all the issues at once. The partnership will need to agree priorities, so that efforts are focussed and co-ordinated. You may decide to start with something that can be achieved within a short timescale, before proceeding to a longer term objective.

3. Single agency action

Once priorities are set, each agency will need to identify what it can do to achieve the objective. In many cases, there will be things that each can do which do not require any joint work with other agencies. The partnerships function here is simply to share information and coordinate efforts.

4. Multi-agency action

There are likely to be some issues or tasks, however, which require coordinated action. In such cases it is helpful to set up a small working group of those involved. They are given the task of meeting and working together between full partnership meetings, when they can report back on the progress they have made.

5. The role of meetings

Meetings work best when they perform a balance of the following roles:

• receiving reports - from individual agencies and working groups,  
  and making decisions - based on information which is clearly set out, preferably in a written report, which all the agencies can agree to and act upon.