2.19 There are scenarios in which a public sector body may choose to establish a JV company as an intermediary vehicle for a wider programme delivery or 'strategic infrastructure' partnership. This approach can be beneficial in reducing the risk, during the early years, of a failure of the partnership by limiting the necessity for comprehensive up-front commitment. Moreover, the case for using a JV may arise from an objective of establishing a self-standing and sustainable delivery organisation.
2.20 Strategic infrastructure partnerships (also referred to as incremental or programme delivery partnerships) might be considered where there is commitment to an extensive change programme, e.g. to modernise or process re-engineer a significant area of public service delivery capability. This approach has also been used in the cases of the NHS Community Health Partnership local LIFT vehicles and Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Local Education Partnerships (LEPs) to support the delivery of a long-term strategic vision partnership for transforming community health and educational outcomes.
2.21 Programme delivery partnerships of this type can be relatively complex and bespoke. As such this Guidance does not deal with them specifically although many of the same principles still apply. Further information on Community Health Partnerships 'LIFT' and BSF Local Education Partnership (LEP) models can be found on their respective websites15.
| Example 4: NHS LIFT and BSF LEP strategic infrastructure JVs An incremental partnership approach has been followed by the DoH to introduce capital investment into the health and social care sector through the NHS LIFT project. The underlying principle in NHS LIFT is the appointment, following an EU compliant competitive selection process, of a partner to form a JV company (LIFT Co) with public sector participants (generally PCTs and local authorities). LIFT Co contracts to deliver identified and priced specimen projects and also to provide services to the public sector participants by way of developing potential new projects against that initial framework. LIFT Co has a period of exclusivity during which it has the right of first refusal to deliver new projects. All new projects must be market-tested to demonstrate VfM pricing. A similar model has been introduced for investment in secondary schools (Building Schools for the Future or BSF). Source: CLG Structures for Service Delivery Partnerships, 2006 |
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15 www.communityhealthpartnerships.co.uk and www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk.