One of the primary aims of the consultation process was to identify opportunities for collaboration with organisations that have a complementary brief to that of the Centre. Many opportunities for collaboration emerged from the discussions and the possibility of future alliances was welcomed, without exception, by the organisations consulted. The potential for collaboration exists within all six groupings interviewed, the Social Partners, the Industrial and Economic Policy Community, Agencies charged with dispute resolution, Public Sector Bodies and Expert Bodies.
In the first instance, the Centre will work in close collaboration with the Social Partners at multiple levels of its activities. Operational programmes relating to key areas such as research and policy development, training, facilitation and project development will take account of the identified needs of the Social
Partners. The Centre will work closely with the Social Partners, in particular IBEC and ICTU, in the development of materials and case studies to concretise the benefits of partnership and to provide support for its implementation. An assessment of the scope for updating and relaunching of existing materials will also be a priority.
The possibility of co-operation between the Centre and the industrial and economic policy community was welcomed by the organisations consulted. Much of the effort of the industrial policy community is now directed towards increasing organisational flexibility, innovation, capacity building and competitiveness. In the case of multi-national companies the focus is on renewing existing mandates and moving these companies higher up the value chain. Clearly, the role of the Centre in promoting partnership and facilitating organisational change and improved performance is complementary to these goals. The work of the Centre in providing evidence-based analysis of the role of partnership in organisational change management and improved performance will be crucially important to organisations such as Forfás, IDA and Enterprise Ireland in their efforts to improve competitiveness and support enterprises in competing in a global marketplace. The Centre will benefit from liaising with executives from these organisations who are in direct contact with national and multi-national companies and using these channels and networks to promote partnership and to identify opportunities for case studies of best practice and project development.
The agencies charged with dispute resolution were concerned that the Centre would work with them in analysing current trends and in identifying a new way forward. They envisaged a co-ordinating role for the Centre, working with the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, in focusing the efforts of the different agencies and government departments towards an effective system of relationship management and dispute avoidance in the workplace. They offered assistance to the Centre in the development of a clear vision of partnership in the context of a new model of industrial relations for the future.
These agencies also expressed a willingness to collaborate with the Centre in utilising their intelligence more fully, particularly in identifying emerging trends and patterns and inputting into policy development and implementation. This knowledge and expertise may also assist in the identification of sectors and organisations that may benefit from a partnership approach and equally in the identification of organisations where best practice can be observed. In addition, in discussions with the Advisory Service of Labour Relations Commission, it was suggested that there was a need for collaboration with the Centre in developing
an operational model of partnership intervention that could guide the work of the Advisory Service in fostering partnership and that could also be of more general applicability.
In consulting with bodies involved in health, education, and local government the main focus was on establishing progress made to date and on identifying how the Centre might assist in accelerating the pace of organisational change through partnership. In the course of these discussions opportunities for collaboration also emerged. Organisations such as LANPAG and the Health Services National Partnership Forum were concerned that the Centre should develop criteria for benchmarking progress in respect of their initiatives, as well as developing a national standards framework, particularly in the areas of training and facilitation. The experience and expertise of these groups will be invaluable to the Centre, as will their networks of trainers and facilitators. LANPAG and the Health Services National Partnership Forum were eager to work in close collaboration with the Centre in furthering the work of both organisations and in contributing to the development of a national benchmarking framework and national standards.
The need for achievement skills training for partnership trainers and facilitators was also identified. In this, as in other areas where expertise and particular competitiveness are required, the Centre will identify opportunities and explore priorities with major providers such as ETS, IPC and the training and consulting sector.
The analysis of environmental trends, presented in Chapter 2, and the consultative process outlined in chapter 3, point towards a series of challenges, opportunities and threats that provide focus for the strategic response of the NCPP. These are outlined in this chapter and they inform the proposals presented in chapter 5 in relation to the positioning, mission and strategic priorities of the Centre.