Decision making

75  Partnerships either take executive decisions themselves, or make decisions that will affect executive decisions in another arena. They need clear lines of accountability and transparent decision-making processes, particularly for the decisions on committing and allocating partnership resources.

76  LSPs can expect to influence spending among their constituent organisations - the so-called bending or mainstreaming of their separate resources towards partnership objectives. If no one takes any meaningful decisions, then nothing changes as a result of partnership working and the partnership should not continue.

77  Decision making is a principal function of non-executive directors in corporate bodies. However, this role is not always clear in partnerships, unless its legal structure requires it - as in, for example, a charitable trust or company limited by guarantee - or it is a role chosen by a councillor or a voluntary sector representative.

78  It is important that agents representing an organisation have the delegated authority to take decisions on its behalf and that those decisions are scrutinised and challenged effectively. Some organisations are represented at appropriate levels and delegates are empowered to take decisions, but many are not. Some partners may become de-motivated because the real business between partners takes place elsewhere and the formal partnership decision-making process is short-circuited.

'Where partnerships are nested within the framework set by the LSP and are working to aims that are clearly defined as Council corporate objectives/ community strategy, consistency of purpose with Council corporate objectives is more likely to prevail. Where this relationship is less well defined, some partnerships appear to have developed a life of their own.'
(Extract from 2003 Audit Commission report for a London borough)

79  Our research on partnerships shows that, while the balance of representation is generally good, roles and responsibilities can be unclear. This is especially so in relation to the basis and authority on which representatives participate and make decisions. Partnership members are not always clear whether they are representing themselves as individuals, their organisation, a cluster of organisations or a particular sector.