Invitation to co-create a tool/resource for multisector collaboration between the community and public sectors in Wales

In the next phase of WCPP’s work on Connected Communities and as part of the Resourceful Communities Partnership (RCP), we are commissioning the development of a tool, or resource, that enables users to build, improve, or sustain multisectoral collaborations. We are seeking to commission a partner to lead the prototyping, testing and refinement, and delivery of the tool/resource, building on the research and stakeholder engagement underpinning this tender. We are open to joint applications from existing collaborations/partnerships, consortium bids, and/or bids with the potential to evolve into a strategic partnership from public, third, and/or private sector organisations.

The broad goal of this project is to develop a tool/resource that supports public and community sector actors to reflect on their collaborations and take evidence-informed-actions that strengthen their multisector collaborations aimed at improving community wellbeing.

As part of the RCP, WCPP seeks to steward this process and broker relationships but is looking to commission a partner with a fresh perspective, relevant skills, and who can maximise project impact and longevity (in terms of relevance and uptake of what is delivered). Recent engagements helped us develop key principles for how we would like to work together with our partner:

• Take a co-productive approach that mobilises practice-based expertise and fosters collective ownership of the final output.
• Take a flexible approach to enable a wide-range of Welsh public service stakeholders to input at various points throughout the development process given the networked nature of the RCP and range of interests in this tool/resource.
• Avoid duplication and keep stakeholders informed and engaged by ‘working out loud’.

The need for this commission is underpinned by our previous research with the RCP on the role multisector collaboration plays in improving community wellbeing. The research highlights the critical ‘ingredients’ for initiating and sustaining multisector collaboration as well as actions that can foster those ingredients. A key output from that research was a Framework for Action which, while useful, stops short of supporting potential users to assess which actions are most suitable for their collaboration and context as well as providing practical tools and sources of guidance which could support them to take action. Through deeper engagement, we learnt that what’s needed to address this isn’t to make this research more engaging and accessible, rather, to develop a tool/resource that bridges the gap between evidence and action.