The national Making Partnerships Work programme was established in late 2004 to support the role of the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the development and provision of mental health services. In addition to a small national team hosted by NIMHE East Midlands, there are regional leads in each Regional Development Centre.

This is a cross-cutting programme with the aim that the voluntary and community sector should be key partners in all areas of service delivery. It is therefore essential to the success of the programme that the sector is represented and involved in all aspects of NIMHE's work in supporting service development and redesign (especially in programmes such as commissioning, primary care, community teams, social inclusion, service improvement, choice etc.).

The programme in Eastern Region aims to:

• support the voluntary and community sector and mental health systems and commissioners to develop a better understanding of one another
• support the whole range of voluntary and community sector groups and organisations, from large service providers to small local organisations and community groups
• identify links beyond what have previously been seen as mental health service providers and groups into more mainstream organisations and groups (e.g. providing employment services) as part of the more general social inclusion agenda
• ensure that the voluntary and community sector are effectively engaged in all of NIMHE's own activity
  

Key Activities:

• Networks and partnership to support the effective engagement of the range of organisations in local planning and decision-making settings to work more effectively in partnership with one another thereby strengthening the voluntary and community sector's collective voice
• Specific work to develop and support good practice in mental health commissioning, develop commissioners understanding of the potential of the voluntary and community sector and support the voluntary and community sector to better understand mental health commissioning practices and requirements
• Partnership development and capacity building: through training, sharing good practice, and direct and ongoing support, this strand aims to build voluntary and community sector capacity to work in mental health systems, and to form strong partnerships both with one another and with statutory sector organisations. The main vehicle for this is the new Equal Partners Programme which is based on the Trailblazers model
• A conference on Voluntary Sector Commissioning in early 2006 will bring together examples of good practice in partnership working including those developed through the Equal Partners
  Programme
  

Key Contacts:

Chris Rowland, Social Inclusion Programme Manager

Ian Hartley, Regional Fellow for Voluntary Sector Involvement in Commissioning

Thelma Wadsley, Regional Fellow for Voluntary Sector Networks and Partnerships