Strategic partners’ experience of collaboration with particular reference to the involvement of the third sector in health, care and well-being planning in Wales: A phenomenological study of Regional Partnership Boards 2018-2023
This is an inductive, phenomenological study of the third sector’s role in shaping health and care planning in Wales via Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs) during their first strategic period of existence. RPBs are multi-agency partnerships that are statutorily required by the Social Services and Well-Being Act in Wales. Their purpose is to enable collaboration as regards the planning of health and care services to improve the well-being of people in the region. As a professional doctorate, it links with the practice of the researcher, a County Voluntary Council Chief Executive and Chair of a Regional Partnership Board. The study reviews the current body of learning regarding multi-agency and cross sectoral partnerships. It traces the history of initiatives under different government administrations, and specifically in Wales since devolution, which have sought to include non-statutory agents as partners in strategic partnerships. It reviews the literature in relation to governance arrangements and the nature of partnership, alongside emergent issues of equality, trust, power, control and representation within such arrangements. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with strategic members from three RPBs representing adult social care, health boards and the third sector, together with RPB leads from the same regions. Participants described their experiences within an analytical framework shaped by the themes that emerged from the literature. This enabled an analysis of the extent to which the experience of RPBs converged or diverged from existing learning, thereby creating new knowledge and fresh understanding. The study finds that RPBs have struggled with the same frustrations, impediments and barriers that have beset similar initiatives in other contexts. These include unclear governance arrangements, power rivalries and unrealistic expectations of non-statutory members. It draws attention to the essential importance of partnership development to underpin effectiveness; and highlights the benefits of a partnership that is required by statute and a vehicle for significant amounts of funding. Issues of representation are important, questioning the role of third sector umbrella bodies. The impact of COVID has been significant in offering the third sector an opportunity to demonstrate its significance and competence, thereby securing a higher level of involvement within decision-making arrangements.
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