LSP Development in Waltham Forest

Between July 2006 and March 2007, Renaisi undertook a review of the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) ‘Waltham Forest Working Together’. The review was commissioned by the Council in response to the increased responsibilities for local authorities and their partners – as expressed in the Local Government White Paper – to help build and shape local identity and meet the many and varied needs and aspirations of local communities. These additional responsibilities and the powers that attend it, signal a considerable shift in the way local authorities and their partners, do business.

Waltham Forest had almost no history of strategic partnership working in the borough, so they agreed to a robust, systematic review of their structure, roles and responsibilities and governance arrangements in order to ensure the partnership was fit for purpose in moving forward and meeting local and national priorities. Renaisi worked closely with partners, officers, and the wider corporate team at the London Borough of Waltham Forest to develop:

- A reconstituted over-arching strategic partnership
- A reconstituted over-arching strategic partnership
- A rationale structure for the family of partnerships for mainstream services across Waltham Forest
- A clear understanding of roles, responsibilities and relationships within and across partnerships
- A clear set of evidence-driven priorities
- A new approach towards strategic commissioning
- A developed approach towards performance management
- A collective communications strategy between partners, with the community and external audience
- A firm understanding of the relationship with neighbourhood management arrangements and how these sit with the work of the strategic partnerships and family of partnerships
- A programme for capacity building to meet priority needs for the long term
- A staffing and servicing structure to maintain the partnership family

The result of the review was an LSP that was fit for purpose, more robust and more confident of taking on the responsibility of shaping Waltham Forest’s destiny over the next 20 years. Renaisi also supported the Council with its Place Shaping Visioning Exercise and preparation of the LDF Core Strategy.

For more information click here (This story links to the ‘A vision of Waltham Forest story in the Renaisi Review).

For more information about Renaisi’s Place Shaping Consultancy Services please contact Renaisi Chief Executive Kevin Sugrue on k.sugrue@renaisi.com