At the strategic board meeting in June 2011, a decision was taken to formally dissolve the City of Norwich Partnership (CoNP) as the local strategic partnership for Norwich.

This is not to detract from the good work of CoNP to date, or the active support of many partners over a number of years, and it does not suggest any loss in commitment to partnership working. Instead, it is a bold move, designed to reinvigorate with a fresh concept, emphasising a new purpose and new approach in Norwich – one of collaborative working to improve public service delivery and ‘make things happen’.

A single small core group will be established, whose purpose will be to:

• understand future needs of the city and to determine priorities for the locality
• take action upon issues of local need that require collaboration to be effective
• identify opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies through joint service redesign and shared provision and better co-ordination of public service delivery.

It is proposed that the leader of Norwich City Council should chair the group, and membership will be drawn from key service providers in Norwich, with representation from the voluntary and business sectors.

More detail about the group, its makeup, and work programmes will be made available when they are confirmed.

Thank you to all who have been involved in the CoNP over the years, and also for your support of the new partnership arrangements in advance. You can read the proposals for moving forward by clicking here and archived papers for board meetings can be viewed via the link to Board meeting papers below.