New Governance Structures in Stockport

By Russ Boaler | 17 November 2022 | TAGS: Stockport, Local Pilot

Stockport are one of several GM localities that have been working towards absorbing the Local Pilot (LP) principles and values, ways of working, and prioritisation of physical activity into new embedded, integrated policy landscapes. 

Our working assumption is that to achieve this there is a need to focus resources.

We need a shared sense of purpose and collective duty through new processes to promote and facilitate physical activity across all organisations, institutions, and departments.

In July 2022, we disbanded the Stockport’s Local Pilot Steering Group which was a practical step towards phasing out the language and structures of the LP and further integrate approaches across the system.

The ONE Stockport: Active Communities Strategy 2022-2030 shows how the elements for successfully integrating PA and LP principles may be practically adopted in a governance structure.

Six key actions are identified:

1. Policy and programmes to support physical activity
2. Built and natural environment to facilitate physical activity
3. Work across partners to embed physical activity for all
4. Support community groups to enable physical activity
5. Develop partnership interventions in communities to enable physical activity
6. Use insight from communities to develop interventions and programmes to support physical activity

Extensive consultation in the preparation of the strategy has led to shared ownership because people feel their views have been incorporated into the vision.

Having a senior strategic leader alongside some long-standing LP group members has supported the translation of some of the principles into the new structures.

People like this have clarity about what is needed, experience, and confidence of what has worked in the past which imparts confidence onto others.

Practically dismantling the structures surrounding the LP was important as it indicated that this was no longer an experiment, sitting outside other roles and responsibilities.

Now it is integrated with existing and familiar structures.

In addition, new structures are supported to ensure routine engagement and involvement of all relevant stakeholders including communities and voluntary sector organisations.

Speaking to other boroughs has reinforced these assumptions stressing the importance of strategic decision makers to be involved, dismantling unhelpful processes and/or language that position the current pilot work as outside the system.

A shared sense of purpose and collective duty has been instilled through sustained engagement with partners, and clarification of ways of working, roles, reporting structures, and responsibilities.

This is an important foundation which provides a degree of psychological safety upon which people can be innovative and make decisions in their sphere of influence.

For a one page summary of this story please download the infographic.

Questions you could consider:

• To what extent do we have strategic leadership involvement and investment in structures that absorb the principles and objectives of the pilot into business as usual across all of our places?
• How might we support the absorption of LP principles and objectives into wider system practice?

The full report here provides further detail, including first-hand testimony in the form of audio-visual recordings linked to passages in the report as well as self-contained and more detailed deep dive case studies.

Downloads

• New Governance Structures Infographic