41 Suffolk and North East Essex ICS | ‘Our Journey Together’ For example, the ICS VCFSE Assembly was created based on fundamental principles that actively sought to address the issue of power imbalance. The active decision to replace the practice of having VCFSE representatives on groups with a VCFSE Assembly where VCFSE leaders were by far the majority was important in changing the conversation, addressing the power imbalance and creating opportunities for the VCFSE sector to shape conversations and begin to lead the system narrative. VCFSE sector stakeholders felt that this has enabled real progress and provided a vital mechanism through which difficult issues and conflict could begin to be surfaced and worked through, so that new ways of working could be co-produced and trust built and maintained, even when difficulties arose. They emphasised the importance of these mechanisms being genuinely meaningful and achieving tangible things - otherwise they felt that discussions could be unproductive or just go round in circles. To be truly progressive commissioners need to genuinely cede power and work strategically with partners. Examples of this beginning to happen in Suffolk and North East Essex included development of the VCFSE Resilience Charterxx and partnership working with social care providers through Suffolk Care Association. Picture – VCFSE sector, ICB and County Council Leaders sign the ICS VCFSE Resilience Charter, July 2023 Investing in relationships with those who could be ‘easy to ignore’ People, communities and smaller partner organisations will only share their (sometimes traumatic) experiences, views and ideas, if they trust that they will be respected and believed, and that meaningful action will be taken as a result. These stakeholders told us that showing respect involves: • Actively valuing people’s strengths and expertise. • Being inclusive of every partner across every sector. • Being open to hearing diverse voices in the ways that work best for individuals and communities. • Feeling a sense of belonging to the system. Building these partnerships takes time and effort to achieve mutual trust and realise mutual benefits, and the opportunities, commitment and capacity of organisations to build relationships can vary widely. This makes some groups in particular ‘easy to ignore’ or overlook, leading to a systemic failure to understand their experiences and address their needs. Having a wide variety of flexible ways that different partners can engage with the system is vital. Some stakeholders told us that they still found the wider ICS system particularly hard to navigate, but they commented that the Alliance and neighbourhood forums, as well as ICB Committees, had proved valuable points of access for them into the system. If some health and care partners and local people do not feel part of the system, or motivated to work together, care and support will be less efficient for organisations and so less effective for local people. Relationships should be reciprocal, to enable the building of mutual trust, but stakeholders felt that this does not always happen.
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