Working with integrated professionals on team development in a challenging urban area

Case study

May 2011

A team of professionals from a range of agencies in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire improved inter-agency collaboration by taking part in the Multi-Agency Team Development Programme (MATD).

Key learning

The team has achieved and will sustain cross-agency understanding and action.
Long-standing obstacles to data sharing have been removed and the team has agreed on criteria for action going forwards.
There are now enhanced opportunities for leaders to plan strategically across a range of professional agencies.
Leaders in the group now seek help from each other more readily, as one participant commented: “I have become more focused on finding joint solutions.”

Background

In a bid to drive collaborative working, 16 leaders from a range of agencies including children’s centres, Women’s Aid, early years education, speech and language therapists, specialist family support and health visitors embarked on the MATD programme.

Key challenges

A commitment to the programme

The programme has been designed to improve both individual and team behaviours, and draws on participants’ emotional and intellectual resources. Therefore a full commitment to the programme is essential for all participants.

Sustainability and diminishing resources

The ability to sustain the momentum and collaborative relationships is a concern that many inter-agency professionals face. With financial resources becoming significantly tighter over the coming years this is a real challenge for many children’s services leaders.

Solutions

Working together

As part of the programme, the team held four events. At each event, participants had an opportunity to reflect both individually and as a group on current progress and planned next steps. They used a wide range of reflective, analytical and collaborative techniques, such as Kolb analysis, reflective writing, ‘the still life sculpture’ and the brown paper exercise. Journal writing proved to be a particularly positive activity.

Overcoming barriers

The motivation and determination to make most of the opportunity helped participants to overcome any doubts and distractions. The flexibility and responsiveness of the programme allowed any issues to be addressed at meetings, and renewed everyone’s enthusiasm each time they met.

Participants became so passionate about getting results that they formed a second, smaller steering group to ensure that the work was sustained.

Applying skills

Learning from the programme can be used in other areas, one participant commented on her own team development work: “I have used specific things around how to identify high functioning teams for our joint access team development”.

Next steps

There is a determination to maintain the sense of collaboration and shared mission that was given coherence by the programme process. In practical terms, the emergence of the steering group will be crucial in continuing to build collaborative attitudes and practice. One participant commented that: “The steering group will be the hub of activity”.

The group will also build further links with agencies that were not part of the programme such as police, housing, and the district council.

Further information

For further information please contact National College providers HTI on 0247 641 0104 or visit their website at www.hti.org.uk.