to benefit more than the other partners who would normally take the lead, in fairness they are the also the ones who stand to lose the most if it doest work out.


Laura outlined that in order to control costs and derive benefits from a collaboration programme it was essential that projects should not be overly complicated and that all the partners were focused on the objectives of the programme to ensure its successful implementation. Laura spoke about alternative models for the delivery of Collaboration Programmes each with their own merits/demerits; some of which might be a step too far at this stage for some public sector bodies but certainly worthy of further research and development.


Paul thanked all of the speakers in turn following their slots and as is ACES custom presented each of them with a gift as a token of his appreciation. The delegates were invited to retire for the evening and asked that we could reassemble on Friday morning.


On Friday morning the sun was again shining perhaps too brightly for the author having ensured that all the guests were entertained in the relaxed surroundings of the Goodwood Bar until the “wee sma hours”


The first speaker on Friday morning was Leslie Spiers whereby he talked on the subject of Leading Property Programmes and Building Relationships, I have to say that I was captivated by Leslie, his personal life experiences, his demeanour, his travel experiences and his very, very impressive CV. I was hooked on every word he said as was the assembled delegates, he spoke authoritatively and passionately about developing skills in leadership as a catalyst for successful collaborative projects. Leslie focussed on four key areas as a strategic tool kit for building relationships, namely; understanding the critical success factors which must be understood from the top to bottom of any organisation and strong leadership. Perhaps the most interesting from my point of view was the concept of learning from other societies, Leslie thinks nothing of packing a rucksack and travelling to far flung places to live amongst the indigenous population to get a better understanding of how they live in harsh and unforgiving environments and finally the need to develop good leadership within the Property industry.


Stuart Ladds from the Cabinet Office followed on from Leslie to tell us about “Central Government’s Readiness to Collaborate” Having heard Stuart speak I think it is fair to say that Central Government is amenable to any initiative in support of its insatiable drive to reduce costs and realise further efficiency savings. Stuart outlined a whole raft of programmes which has to be delivered in the next ten years which will see efficiency savings in the order of five billion pounds and the generation of twenty billion pounds of capital receipts. A very ambitious programme and only time will tell if it has been achieved. Stuart went on to tell us about the Governments directive in terms of how it holds its many property interests, getting out of leasehold properties if it could; aggressive negotiations at rent reviews and lease renewals to drive rents down thus driving revenue costs down by around 25%.


The penultimate speakers were Anna Hutchings and Mark O’Brien from the DVS on a searching subject entitled “What makes for good collaboration?” Mark was first up and gave us an insight into what he regarded as the key elements to a successful collaboration. Fundamentally there is a clear need


52 THE TERRIER - Autumn 2011


to think strategically, develop options and challenge each in turn and when you think you have a solution to challenge it again to ensure that it is robust and deliverable.


In any


collaborative working arrangement, there will undoubtedly be challenges, barriers, obstacles, hurdles call them what you will but as Mark outlined it is the identification of these at a strategic level so that they can be removed overcome etc, the key thing though is that all the partners work together to achieve this. Anna followed Mark and she talked about the community benefits which could be derived from good collaborative working, in addition using alternative delivery models for regeneration projects, of particular note was a project that Anna was involved in, which in the normal course of events would have required the promotion of a CPO. She explained in detail why she managed to avoid the use of a CPO in a particular regeneration project and deliver it within a very quick timeframe. She emphasised that this was only possible because all parties involved in the project came together in a true collaborative partnership to the benefit of all.


The final presentation was delivered by Patrick Blogg from Hampshire County Council on “Bringing it all Together –The Pathfinder Experience” In essence this focussed on case studies which he has been involved in during his tenure Hampshire County Council, full details of the case studies will follow in ASSET. The studies highlight the need for good partnership working and the careful management of expectations of each of the partners on what is and what is not achievable. Another important aspect coming out of the studies was the identification of customers or end users and the weight of importance to be placed on their expectations. Summing up Patrick shared with us the lessons learnt from the studies and gave us an insight of the next Pathfinder projects.


In his closing remarks Paul reflects on his theme “Beyond Property: Unlocking the Barriers to Property Collaboration” he summarised how each topic dovetailed with each other to give informed views on Property Collaboration. Paul warmly and sincerely thanked all the delegates, speakers and those who assisted him in the organisation of the conference as he bid farewell and safe home to all.


Any reservations I had need not have concerned me, the professional content of the conference did not equal the eminence of the venue it surpassed it and by no small measure either. Well done Paul.


Tom Fleming


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