Why do some Inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work when others do not? A HSMC Development workshop with Ross Millar and Justin Aunger.

Partnering for Improvement: Lessons for NHS Providers 

With speakers Ross Millar and Justin Aunger

Improving the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of NHS provider organisations continues to be high on the agenda for policy makers and practitioners. In response to these challenges, particular interest and emphasis has been given to partnering and collaboration with a proliferation of inter-organisational forms including mergers, groups, networks, and buddying. Research continues to document these developments, however, there have been limited attempts to understand how and why such partnerships might work, in what contexts, and whom they might benefit. 

This free workshop will explore the emerging findings from an NIHR-funded realist synthesis of partnering as an intervention for improvement. Drawing on literature and interview evidence it examines how trust, conflict, leadership, faith, along with other factors shape the development and outcomes of different partnering arrangements. By exploring these areas, the workshop will also encourage discussion about the difficulties and benefits of inter organisational collaboration for current and future healthcare agendas as the landscape moves towards Integrated Care Systems and responds to COVID-19.