1-year into the Delivery Associates Network programme

Lessons learned

The Delivery Associates Network (DAN) has been working with the MHCLG and grant recipients for a year now – we have really enjoyed learning about the amazing projects and initiatives that are being delivered, making an impact on the deliverability of projects, and helping unlock capacity and capability for grant recipients. 

Some of our interventions have been small but had a big impact, some have taken more input to see that impact realised, and some especially complex projects have required lots of support – in each case, we have tailored our work to meet the needs of the specific grant recipients.

As we have been working in such different ways, with different grant recipients and MHCLG colleagues, we thought a year into the programme it would be useful to reflect on things that have worked particularly well for us.

Two main threads have been running through our most successful support: trust and connection & communication.

Trust

We have worked to build trust in the Delivery Associates Network, and ultimately MHCLG’s commitment to delivering these projects.

We have also built trust in our relationships with the grant recipients – the most impactful outcomes have generally been those where we have been able to build a trusting and transparent relationship, which has helped deploy quick support and tailored our approach to the specific needs of the delivery challenges. These relationships have also unlocked further opportunities for us to support beyond the immediate critical need, helping to prevent further delivery challenges later down the line.

Building these strong relationships has been facilitated particularly by local authority teams that are well integrated across departments, or where we have been able to facilitate that integration and communication.  We have mirrored this by bringing in multidisciplinary teams of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), where the differing perspectives and priorities in the DAN and grant recipient teams has allowed a single conversation to view the challenges and solutions holistically.  This has enabled fast decision making and creative solutions to the delivery challenges faced, as well as considering how to mitigate other delivery blockers later down the line.

This has been even more beneficial where we have been able to visit sites in person and meet the grant recipient team, helping us understand the challenges faced and the local considerations.

Connection & communication

Fundamental to our support across all the interventions has been creating connections & communicating well with stakeholders – notably, our stakeholder engagement Knowledge Hub events have been some of the most well attended.

We have informed grant recipients and MHCLG on the priorities of each party, which has improved the communications and information sharing allowing more efficient decision making. As a third party, we have been able to bring a fresh perspective on delivery blockers. This has allowed us to make connections between project teams and departments within local authorities to enable improved working practices, sharing lessons learned and knowledge.

We have also facilitated connection between similar projects across different grant recipients through our Knowledge Hub working groups. These have worked particularly well in creating long-term networks and knowledge sharing forums – we have been inspired by the positive and creative way grant recipients have approached these forums.

Stakeholder engagement has been a common theme, and we have been able to unblock multiple projects where stakeholders were standing in the way of delivery by facilitating the connection and communication with these groups.  These have been especially effective where grant recipients have leaned on and embraced our ‘third party’ role, using us as a mediator and fresh perspective in the challenging discussions.

What’s next: long-term change

It has been a pleasure writing this blog post – reflecting on the positive ways of working, as well as the impact the Delivery Associates Network, grant recipients and MHCLG have made by working together on delivering these incredibly exciting and positive projects. Over the course of the programme, we have developed strong working relationships to build the capacity and capability within grant recipients that we initially set out to do.

As a final comment, it has been incredibly rewarding to act in the critical friend role to grant recipients and MHCLG. Where we have been able to take the time to bring subject matter expertise to the problem solving, alongside Delivery Associates acting as a form of coach, we have supported grant recipients and MHCLG in creating forums and ‘brain space’ to resolve delivery challenges themselves rather than a top-down, short-term ‘intervention’. 

The focussed conversations where we have provided a forum to think beyond the crisis challenge and instead consider how to mitigate potential upcoming challenges will have a long-term impact on how the immediate projects are being delivered. Considering how these projects will facilitate the next phase of capital investment, whatever form that will take, will have a long-term benefit in tackling regional inequalities across the UK.

Ellen Sanderson-Clark has over 10 years experience working in regional towns and cities providing strategic real estate advice on regeneration projects. As a town planning consultant by background she helps clients navigate and overcome challenges to their projects to secure deliverable strategies, regeneration frameworks and planning consents for major and complex projects. 

If you have any questions on this topic, or would like support, please contact your Delivery Associate, or email DeliveryAssociatesNetwork@Arup.com