Maintaining commitment

Partners entering into this work need to be prepared for the fact that there will be staff turnover at many levels and the work may move or be delegated from departments or divisions necessitating additional effort to revisit the purpose and vision that inspired the partnership in the first place.  

The act of senior leaders going ‘above and beyond’ remains critical to any systems change initiative as they are essentially ‘providing cover’ and backing a different way of working from the norm. The importance of this kind of sponsorship of innovation should not be underestimated, even if the key role is to hold back opposition and resistance.  

Progress from the vision to implementation needs a willingness to take calculated risks by all partners and use a partnership approach to work in uncomfortable spaces to get to better results.  The authorising environment that enabled the planning of the Schools as Community Platforms needs to be maintained throughout implementation.

When setting shared deliverables and reporting arrangements, incorporate measures that reflect the original shared goals from the core partners and provide regular summarised updates on project progress, milestones, and outcomes.

Our Experience/Learnings

It is important to factor in regular contact with senior leaders to update them on progress.  In addition to including senior leaders in circulation of key reports and publications and significant launches, individual meetings once or twice a year has been an important aspect of maintaining the relationship and provided opportunities to share stories of impact and acknowledge the shared contribution of the partners.

Keep senior leaders involved and invested in the project by regularly providing tangible evidence of the value and benefits the project is having in relation to the outcomes in the theory of change as implementation progresses.  We have found occasional site visits that provide opportunities to hear from other stakeholders to be invaluable for both reconnecting early champions and as an induction when there is a change in personnel in the senior roles.

The multi-tiered governance structure for the work of Colman Education Foundation and The Bryan Foundation established regular touchpoints with Senior Leaders in government to monitor progress and share learnings while providing an appropriate forum for local level planning, monitoring, and reflection that involves senior leaders from the core site partners.

Making time with senior leaders to focus not only on KPIs and progress – which is important but also on reflection and learning about the work and the enablers of success and future implications for their area of service or policy has maintained the relevance of engagement of senior leaders beyond being champions or signatories.