Partnership Working

Partnership principles

In 2022, the Department of Rural and Community Development launched the Values and Principles for Collaboration and Partnership Working with the Community and Voluntary Sector , which copper-fastened the relationship and partnership between Government and the sector, highlighting its centrality in addressing the crises of recent times.

Developed by the sector, in partnership with Government, the aim is to support values such as social justice and active participation along with principles like respect, collaboration, and value for money.

The Values and Principles provide a blueprint for cross-Government and cross-sectoral working, as emphasised in the Programme for Government. Central and local government, as well as state bodies, all use the Values and Principles as a basis for their interactions with the community and voluntary sector in pursuit of the best outcomes for all communities. They provide a basis for respectful, inclusive engagement to reach our common goals.

We want to see full commitment by Government to social and community dialogue in line with the Values and Principles and, in turn, support and resource its rollout across Government.

Commissioning

‘Commissioning’ describes the way Government in Ireland operates across a range of sectors such as health and social care, children and young people, and education. Community and voluntary organisations who provide services and supports sometimes receive grants directly, and other times must bid to undertake the work. Many government departments and agencies have made significant changes to the way they undertake commissioning in recent years. Engagement in these development processes has been a particular area of focus for The Wheel, as it impacts on a large number of our members and has wider implications for the relationship between the state and the sector as a whole.

We believe that ‘commissioning’ means agreeing the outcomes required rather than competitively tendering everything that governments used to fund by grants. Over the years, we have undertaken several pieces of research in this area, demonstrating the benefits of a values-led, not-for-profit approach to service provision in Ireland. This includes Let’s Commission for Communities, produced with Clann Credo Community Foundation for Ireland.

The discussion around commissioning led to the development of the Values and Principles and the Independent Review Group/Catherine Day report, which explored reform of funding processes in health and social services. This report resulted in the establishment of the Health Dialogue Forum, chaired by Peter Cassels, and charged with improving the relationship between the sector and the Department of health towards implementing the recommendations in the IRG Report.

National Economic and Social Council report

In the National Economic and Social Council’s (NESC) 2021 report Building a New Relationship between Voluntary Organisations and the State in the Health and Social Care Sectors , the Forum emphasised the importance of a stronger relationship between the State and the voluntary healthcare sector.

The Health Dialogue Forum, of which The Wheel is a member, has made significant progress on identifying measures to support positive relationships, introducing changes to support essential services, reviewing and simplifying service agreements so that they support autonomy and accountability, avoiding duplication in reporting, and moving to multi-annual budgeting.

Additionally, The Wheel sits on the Tusla Commissioning Advisory Group , alongside several organisations who provide child and family services across Ireland. This group works collaboratively on a range of issues such as commissioning processes, data protection policy and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).  To ensure effective partnership working between the state and the sector, as well as efficient delivery of services and supports, we recommend

  • meaningful, cross-governmental implementation of the Values and Principles
  • outcomes-based commissioning models across government that support a values-led, not-for-profit approach to service provision in Ireland.

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