Stirling University was the chosen venue for the Scottish Partnering Forum’s (SPF) first conference on 20th September.

In the true spirit of partnering, CIPS West of Scotland Branch were joint hosts for the event with PSL, providing their expertise in conference management and delivery.

With the imposing Wallace Monument in the background, speakers from the public and private sectors addressed Commercial Partnering in Scotland from differing perspectives.
The Conference was jointly chaired by Les Pyle, Chief Executive of PSL, and Sheila White, Membership Services Manager at CIPS.

In the morning, Phil Jones and Jeff Grant of the UNITE Group gave a client’s perspective on partnering issues. The focus for UNITE was on relationships rather than ‘partnering’ per se, with issues resolution and an up-front exit strategy looming large as factors for success.

Annette Johnson-Poensgen and Robert Spencer described how Serco, as a prime contractor, invested time and resource in its approach to partnering. Each relationship was viewed on a case-by-case, fit-for-purpose basis. The alignment of objectives was an essential feature for Serco.

The views of small businesses were delivered by Niall Stuart, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland. The time and complexity involved in developing partnering approaches was not unique to Scotland, but was an issue for many companies in the small business sector.

Nick Bowd, Director of Procurement at the Scottish Executive, described some of the key issues addressed in the McClelland Report, initiating one of the largest change programmes in the public sector in Scotland. Collaboration between public sector bodies was a key driver for delivery, as were the development of centres of expertise and the commercial skills of public sector staff.

Parallel workshops provided the format for the afternoon sessions.

Ron Hardwick of City of Edinburgh Council and Ailsa Chandler of BT led an interactive session focussing on partnering in practice using the CEC / BT partnership as a case study.

Nikki Bell of the Scottish Executive hosted a Q&A session on issues arising from the morning presentation on the McClelland Report.

Sheila White of CIPS described the new approach and levels of qualification adopted by CIPS. This had followed broad consultation across both industry and the CIPS membership.

In summing-up, Les Pyle and Sheila White thanked all of the speakers and the conference attendees for their contributions to a highly successful event. The conference had delivered a platform to build on for the future, and a possible model for future interaction.

Ian Tough
Programme Director