Why do we need the Centre for Partnering?

The idea of partnering covers a wide range of public policy issues which are the centre of academic and policy debate. That partnering is central to public policy is partly an inherent feature of open and mixed political and economic systems. The public sector does not itself deliver all public services. For decades they have relied on the capacity, capabilities, experience and expertise of the private and third sectors to build infrastructure, to deliver services or indeed to think about and design the future of public services themselves.

The Centre for Partnering Group exists to improve the way in which public, private and voluntary sectors partner with each other. Given the cultural obstacles that have historically existed, the CfP is firstly focused on promoting the development of relationships between partners ahead of formal contractual commitments. It supports a more structured dialogue with the evolution of joint partnering specifications to facilitate lower tendering costs. Secondly, the aim of the CfP is to balance socio-economic issues with economic independence. Its research projects focus upon large scale infrastructure projects where the benefits of drive the socio economic benefits within local communities.

Richard Smith
Centre for Partnering