sporta Trust Wins Local Government Award
sporta trust, Link4Life and joint venture company, Impact Partnership, were awarded the Public Private Partnership Achievement of the Year at the MJ Local Government Achievement Awards. The Public Private Partnership Achievement of the Year category award celebrates successful partnerships that have, by levering in the resources and expertise of different partners, brought huge benefits to customers of councils’ services. These benefits can cover any service from education, health or social services to regeneration, focussing on output rather than process. The Impact Partnership, a joint venture company between business consultancy Mouchel, IT company Agilisys and Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council, and cultural and leisure trust, Link4Life, have so far created over 300 new jobs and will create over £27.4 million of efficiencies over their lifetimes. Impact supports Rochdale’s economic and physical regeneration and transforms vital services; Link4Life increases participation in sport, improves local health and well-being, and develops innovative cultural activities. By drawing on the professional expertise of all partners, service delivery in Rochdale is being transformed, improving the quality of life for all sectors of the borough’s community – a conclusion supported by a recent, positive, Audit Commission report: “Local people are benefiting from the contribution of the strategic partners [Impact and Link4Life].” The awards, set up in 2004, are run by the MJ, formerly the Municipal Journal, to recognise and promote the best work of local government managers and staff across the UK. The category winners were announced at an awards evening in London at the end of June, funded by the private sector and hosted by TV presenter, political pundit and former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo. Craig McAteer, CEO of Link4Life and Chair of sporta said: “Innovation is even more vital when budgets are tight and through this partnership we have most certainly risen to the challenge.” “In difficult economic times local government’s role becomes even more important, not just as a provider of services or of jobs, but as a community leader, helping its localities through the consequences of the downturn,” said Michael Burton, Editor of The MJ. “Our awards aim to promote this vital mix of creativity and dedication and in particular give due praise to the teams who make it happen, because good services rely on the people who produce them. The breadth and quality of these entries continues to impress our judges and reflects the impressive range of innovation now taking place in local government across the UK.”
Release Date: 21/07/10| Author: Abigail Harris