Relationship

Brokering & relationships

This objective is all about our relationship with individual partners on how we work in partnership with them.

Our biggest challenge over the year was maintaining the energy and momentum around our shared purpose as many partners tackling the immediacy of the pandemic.

 

We were drawn into new roles to support our partners in the pandemic response, by establishing new networks and relationships, and there were at time questions around mission drift. Through our regular and varied touchpoints with colleagues, we sought to maintain energy and support understanding of how the learning from these new experiences was contributing to and strengthening our efforts to create the conditions for an active nation. We also did our best to help people take the time to look ahead and see how the chaotic nature of the pandemic was creating opportunities for positive long-term change.

 

The common themes we addressed with partners were 

• Children and Young People Wellbeing

• Education Catch Up

• Better Health

• Supporting a community led recovery

• Building a greener recovery

• Rebooting and rebuilding the economy

Our key partnership role was our pandemic support to many of our existing partners and coping with that against an already fragile Humber physical activity and sport sector pre pandemic. This support was often through regular communication via telephone calls, newsletters, newsflashes, and an increased social media presence. Our partner satisfaction score whilst already high remained so throughout the year.

 

A key partnership was the secondment of Gary Sainty our Deputy CEO to the Humber Coast and Vale Integrated Care Service (HCV ICS) to work around the relationship between the health and VCSE sectors and this has placed us well to build this relationship into the future. 

 

We played an active role in the changed arrangements for economic partnerships across the Humber as the Humber LEP split into two LEPs.  The CEO has also been establishing the relationship with the HEY LEP and this has involved carrying over legacy projects such as the MOT over fifties project. The CEO was also appointed to the Hull & East Yorkshire Local Economic Partnership employment and skills board and is now involved in one of the priorities for the board around workplace health. We have played an active role in the HEY LEP new strategy around workplace health.  The CEO has also been establishing the relationship with the Greater Lincolnshire LEP (GLLEP) working with Active Lincolnshire and Leicestershire Sport as the GLLEP covers the south bank parts of the Humber, the county of Lincolnshire and the Local Authority of Rutland.

 

During the year Marketing Humber were reconfirmed by the four local authorities and the 2 LEPs as the marketing agency for the Humber. We have worked closely with Marketing Humber to better promote the Humber as a place to live, work and play and were the community sponsor for the Marketing Humber 2021 Waterline summit about climate change which ran concurrently with COP26. We were also a keynote speaker to their business leaders conference called ‘the Culture of play ‘on the value of the cultural and sport sector to the Humber.

 

The period has seen the commencement of a lot of proposed changes to the Humber’s political and organisational structures. We have played an active role in this around the formation of the Humber Coast and Vale ICS and contributed to the new arrangements around the Humber Joint Leadership board, the emerging discussions around devolution for Hull and East Yorkshire as well as the establishment of the Humber Free Port.  All of these will have a significant effect in how the community of the Humber is organised.