What are the challenges of partnership working in deprived communities?

Question

A presentation question for an interview next week. I'm hoping a wider point of view will make my (5min) slideshow more interesting. Thanks.

Answer 1

Presumably we are talking of rundown inner-city areas, which have all the usual social deprivation features (unemployment, poverty, crime and so on), and how different agencies use their joint resources co-operatively (e.g. local authority social services and the Benefits Agency undertaking home visits to review both benefit entitlement and financial assessments for domiciliary care charging).

I am not a social science expert, and so these are just my thoughts based on working and home life experience. These are the potential challenges:-
1. Overcoming ignorance. Knowledge and understanding is less developed in these neighbourhoods, so your clients are going to be confused if a service is supplied by a body other than the usual provider. Not all clients will be aware of planned changes, despite what you might consider has been an extensive publicity campaign.
2. Effective co-ordination. There will be a learning curve for any providers who are undertaking new work or expanding their operation into new and unfamiliar districts, and so a smooth transition to the changed arrangements may not always be possible from the immediate outset (no matter how good the prior training).
3. Understanding clients and their needs. Familiarity with the client base is important. If an employee (or volunteer) is only used to leafy suburbs, then having the resident's door opened to him/her by an unemployed alcoholic, or a Bengali family, or poorly educated single mother of various young children may come as a culture shock. How you deal with these clients will determine the success of the service provision.
4. Adequate monitoring. There are a whole load of monitoring exercises that could or should be carried out - the trick is to find a suitable balance between (on the one hand) appropriate information for managing the project, and (on the other hand) what a former boss of mine called "analysis to paralysis". I would suggest that useful statistics might include: number of visits (by officer), clients' take up of service (both as a trend analysis of the new arrangements, and as a comparison with the former set-up), financial economies (or even additional net costs) resulting from the partnership, and client surveys to assess satisfaction levels with the new service.

There are probably several other potential challenges, but hey, I'm not going to rack my brains for a complete stranger, and thus give a complete textbook standard answer with no copyright control. Sorry, but there is a limit to my philanthropy, but I hope this helps.

Answer 2

The same things in a upscale community, love, trust, open communication, a probably a little more patience and understanding. Good luck and God Bless