Membership: Members must meet all of these criteria:
health, well-being and/or social care organisation delivering public services
social enterprise
base in northern England – from the Scottish border to north Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire
commitment to actively participate
Form of the network:
an informal network of members
an independent secretariat function to facilitate the organisation of meetings and events, as well as the coordination of information to be shared within the network
individual member organisations may set up special purpose vehicles with each other in order to bid for contracts, but this will be outside the remit of the network
Functions of the network:
a forum for sharing ideas and learning
quarterly mixed agenda meetings for chief executives (or senior deputies)
a larger day-long event for a wider group of people from member organisations at least once a year
round tables focussed on specific topics for in-depth discussion, at least twice a year
Peer support / mentoring:
informal and reciprocal peer mentoring, recognising the value that smaller member organisations can bring in areas such as innovation
Collaborative bidding:
the network has a “bringing together” role to enable collaboration between members on individual opportunities
each organisation will complete a simple proforma outlining their organisational capabilities, transferable skills, areas of specialism, and potential geographical operating area to help other members identify possible partners for bids
there will be ample time at network meetings for informal networking to discuss opportunities for partnership working
Competition:
The principles with regard to competition are:
treat others as you would want to be treated
honesty and openness between members
consider partnership with other members first
take account of others’ specialisms and operating area
Financial contribution:
members should be willing to make a financial contribution to the facilitation of the network, appropriate to the size of each organisation
Adopted - 27 June, 2014.
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