Doncaster Together: Doncaster's Local Strategic Partnership
A Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) is a body that brings together the public sector, private sector and voluntary & community sector. LSPs were created to encourage closer and more effective working arrangements between local organisations. Every area has an LSP, which works to identify the key local priorities and provides the forum for collectively reviewing and steering public resources.
The Local Strategic Partnership for Doncaster is called 'Doncaster Together' (it was formerly known as the Discover the Spirit or DtS Partnership). The Doncaster Together partnership includes, for example, representatives from Doncaster Council, the Police, Doncaster Primary Care Trust, Yorkshire Forward, Doncaster Chamber and representatives from community & voluntary sector organisations. The aim is to ensure that:
- people and organisations in Doncaster agree the main priorities for the local area together
- by working together to achieve those priorities, best possible use is made of the wide variety of skills and services available in Doncaster
- financial resources are used as effectively as possible and resources are not duplicated unnecessarily
LSPs should operate at a strategic level but remain close enough to local people to allow them to be involved in decisions that affect local communities. The Comprehensive Area Assessment measures how successful the partnership is in achieving its responsibilities. [Note: The new government has abolished Comprehensive Area Assessment - discussions are taking place regarding the future approach to inspection]
Part of the role of Doncaster CEN is to ensure that the community & voluntary sector is effectively represented on the Doncaster Together partnership, so that the views, knowledge and experience of local third sector organisations is taken into account.
