Events And Conferences

Strong and Prosperous Communities; Beyond Reorganisation

17th September 2009 at 10:00 AM until 17th September 2009 at 1:15 PM

Location:

Magherafelt District Council Offices, 50 Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt, BT45 6EN

solace CEF lgsc

'Beyond Reorganisation’ is the theme of the next in a series of half-day workshops for those charged with building and delivering strong, local public services

The theme of this the third session in the 2009 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' series is 'Beyond Reorganisation' and is, about the challenges that, post reorganisation, senior managers have to confront. Having moved to new structures, what then are the challenges? Three chief executives will reflect on their very personal experiences and on their visions for the futures of the organisations they lead. They will discuss the ways in which they are looking to take advantage of new arrangements and the regrouping of expertise to deliver better services, better focused on the needs of local areas.

This session and the series overall is set a against the background of the outworking of the Review of Public Administration which, over the next couple of years, will see a much greater emphasis on securing positive local outcomes that take account of local priorities. The big external driver will be the state of the economy and the fiscal tightening that will ensue.

In helping to build social cohesion and communities that are self sustaining, managers responsible for the wide range of public services administered and delivered locally will be expected to work together in a much more integrated way. As professionals many can expect to spend more of their time working across organisational boundaries. In taking account of local and varying needs and circumstances they will be expected to develop new, collaborative ways of working and, inevitably, parallel lines of expenditure that take account of shared agendas and agreed priorities. Working in partnership with other public agencies and others should produce better and more broadly based outcomes; while establishing priorities that are grounded in the needs of local communities should, through co-ordinated efforts, produce significant efficiencies and so help ease the pressures on individual budgets. However, greater collaboration across budget, service and organisational boundaries could also transform the extent to which local services and delivery systems are duplicated. It would help avoid unnecessary costs when economic uncertainty raises threats to local services and the public sector as a whole.

The 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' series looks to the outworking of this agenda. It aims to bring locally based managers together so that, on the basis of those interests and concerns they share, they can get to know one another and begin the process of developing the sort of mutual understanding and personal regard that underpin successful collaborations. Each workshop in the series will ask them to reflect, not just on the functions and services they are individually responsible for, but more generally on ways in which local managers representing different agencies can better work together to achieve positive outcomes for the communities they serve.

**OUTLINE PROGRAMME**

10.00am	Registration
	Refreshments on arrival
10.30am	Introduction and Welcome
	John McLaughlin Chief Executive Magherafelt
	Speakers will provide personal insights into the challenges that post re organisation brings for senior managers
	‘Personal Experiences’
	• Steve Stewart
	Chief Executive, Northumberland County Council
	• John Wilkinson
	Chief Executive, Land and Property Services
11.55am	Coffee and Networking
12.15pm	• Dr Eddie Rooney
	Chief Executive, Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland
12.45pm	Discussion
1.15pm	Close and Lunch

All bookings should be made via the Chief Executives' Forum website.

PLACES ARE LIMITED AND ARE FREE OF CHARGE

For More Information contact

Kim McKnight (T) 02890 542966 (DIAL 42966) (E) mail@ceforum.org

Diana Stewart (T) 02890 313200 (E) Diana.stewart@lgsc.org.uk

Christine Horner (T) 02890 796966 (E) christine.horner@solace.org.uk

« Back to Events list