Bringing together seven local authorities, one local enterprise partnership and a number of delivery organisations under the umbrella of a single combined authority throws up many challenges. Find out how the Combined Authority overcame these issues to put strong governance in place. This case study forms part of our devolution toolkit.
Not least how you make sure that all the partners speak with one voice.
The North East Combined Authority (NECA) recognised that getting the governance right from the very start would be essential to ensuring that the public face of NECA is consistent and authoritative.
One of the first tasks for the communications leads of the seven authorities was to draw up a press and PR protocol. This outlined how proactive and reactive press releases and statements should be managed at the board level, as well as how the authority would handle communication of the big themes / portfolio areas which sit below the strategic board.
The protocol is clear about who should speak on behalf of NECA in the event of broadcast interviews, press briefings and print interviews. It also covers communications through the combined authority's Twitter account and internal communications across the member local authorities.
Strategic communications has been key in developing strong governance. It was important to ensure there is clarity over how the combined authority handles communication of the big decisions taken at board level - particularly while the region is negotiating a devolution deal with the Government.
In some ways this is relatively straightforward. The council leader elected Chair of the Combined Authority leads on the communication of these issues – and the local authority they represent leads on coordinating communication.
The coordinating role is really important to make sure that the Chair can speak on behalf of NECA with the confidence that they have the backing of the other leaders. For this reason all draft statements and comments are circulated to relevant chief executives and the communication leads of each council to ensure any comments or concerns can be raised. The agreed draft is also shared with the local enterprise partnership and the Tyne and Wear transport body Nexus.
There is a real commitment to acting at pace to ensure that media deadlines are hit and information is communicated in a timely fashion. The combined authority always aims to have sign off agreed by 4pm at the very latest. Having a well-rehearsed process comes into its own when contentious and sensitive issues arise.
When it comes to communicating big themes, NECA has three big thematic areas – transport; employability and inclusion; and economic development and regeneration. Each is led by a designated council leader who acts as NECA spokesman on their portfolio. In each of these areas, the leader's local council will take responsibility for managing communications – including proactive press releases and interview requests.
Once again it is important that each thematic spokesman has confidence that they are speaking with support of the other leaders, so all draft statements and releases are submitted to the chair authority to circulate for comments and concerns to all local authorities. Once signed off, the statements are shared with all councils, the LEP and Nexus by their communication leads.
A lot of the work of councils results in projects and funding at the local authority level. It is important that local leaders continue to be associated with projects in their own area - rather
than the combined authority imposing a regional superstructure. Each local council will lead on the presentation of and respond to enquiries about funding announcements and projects relevant to their own area. The chair authority will always pass these enquiries to the relevant council. But to ensure everyone is kept in the loop, the relevant local authority will share its response or press release with all the other partners.
The NECA's communications protocol has now been in place for two years. Negotiating a path through devolution is never easy. But the combined authority's communications processes have helped it to navigate through some choppy waters and, with a devolution deal getting closer, will stand it in good stead for the future.
Top tips for putting strong governance in place
1. Put robust media protocols in place to ensure spokespeople are aware of their roles in speaking to the press and that deadlines are hit
2. Ensure that each key portfolio area has a media spokesperson assigned who can provide comments and interviews with the backing of all chief executives and leaders
3. While it's important to have a strong regional voice, ensure there is still a voice for local issues and that each local authority is able to comment on specific issues relating to its area