The new Coalition government is quite a novelty for most of us and so unsurprisingly there is plenty of media coverage.  There is a continuing fascination with two political rivals with clear differences co-operating to ensure a workable government.  Whatever labels this approach is given, the parties have, to a degree, been forced to collaborate to avoid the workings of government grinding to a halt and causing a wider financial crisis.

Collaboration between partners who may have differences of viewpoint seems commonplace in many other aspects of government:  many city and county councils are routinely managed by different parties where there is no overall control.  Observers say that in these situations, local politicians tend to bury their differences, address the issues in the interests of their constituents, and develop a coherent programme of activity. 

Better still is the way that public sector organisations - such as local authorities and NHS trusts - are choosing to collaborate with specialist private sector providers who can focus on their specific area of competence and core processes, to make improvements to the services they provide.   Local government, which makes large scale use of such partnerships, has been the most effective of any government sector in making cost efficiencies over the last few years.

These collaboratiive relationships clearly take time to flourish.  They require a mutual approach to setting expectations and the level of input required.  Most of all, such partnerships demand a willingness to understand each other’s point of view and appreciate what the other side requires from the arrangement.  We value this type of open and transparent approach in our engagements with our customers – in the private sector as well as in the public sector - and our partners so that we can help them manage the risks inherent in their IT projects and so deliver the best results for them.

Perhaps Westminster politicians will take a leaf or two from the partnership book as they develop their new coalition.