To gain an understanding of the structure and functions of the Public Services Boards.

· In Blaenau Gwent we are currently undertaking a review of our Partnership Structures and Performance Management Framework to ensure that we have structures in place are suited to and capable of delivering the vision of our Well-being Plan 2018-2023 for our area. In creating these new structures, we have reflected on the structures used for delivering our Single Integrated Plan to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work so well, to ensure we are using lessons learnt from this period and the former Local Service Board appropriately.

· A key consideration for our new structures is to guarantee that they support an integrated delivery approach which is truly cross cutting in nature and “designs out” delivery areas falling into silos. We plan to ensure the interconnectedness of the challenges facing Blaenau Gwent are reflected in these new structures and are flexible enough to deliver on tackling them.

· As part of this work, PSB member leads have been agreed for our Well-being Plan and the priorities within it. This builds leadership in from the front of the plan and ensures a greater degree of ownership across the plan and the PSB.

· Draft proposals for the suggested new structures and protocols will be considered by the Public Services Board on 23 July 2018 which will set out options to take forward to plan and implement activity.

2. To explore the effectiveness of PSBs, resourcing and capacity.

· As part of our self-development as a PSB, we did work in December 2016 on what kind of PSB we wanted to commit to be. The result of this work was a piece of work entitled “Creating a Purposeful PSB” which outlines our public commitment to the guiding principles which we collectively agreed. The five principles are to be a PSB that:

1) Recognises Collective Responsibility

2) Provides collaborative leadership but welcomes mature challenge

3) Focuses on what matters the most

4) Uses intelligence to drive action

5) Remains locally focused, but considers regional opportunities

More detail on these principles can be found on page 53 of our Well-being Plan.

· By way of example, the first key principle; ‘Recognising collective responsibility outlines our commitment towards shared ownership, accountability and added value’ of which joint-resourcing and maximising collaborative working practices is being explored, as part of the Board’s ongoing self-development programme.

· On resourcing, we as a PSB are looking at how we can actively maximise funding opportunities and make best use of resources available. For example, we have applied for Natural Resources Wales funding 2018/19 to deliver a project that, if successful, will tap into and meet a number of priorities identified in our Well-being plan. The project centres on Getting Blaenau Gwent Active and Healthy’ through promotion of the Active Travel Act and greening of the Ebbw Fawr Valley through tried and tested community engagement and public health interventions

· The bid we put in was the result of genuine collective effort from multiple PSB partners who committed ,officer time, resources and support to the bid creation and to the project itself and served as a useful test for future collaborations.

· We are also actively involved in the Gwent Strategic Well-being Assessment Group (GSWAG). This regional, multi partner group actively works together to sharing information/data/identifies regional working opportunities, which we believe is unique in Wales. It is built and operates on a basis of inclusiveness, trust and constructive check and challenge.   

· GSWAG work of note includes the Happy city on the Thriving communities index Gwent pilot which was instrumental in building the national index and working with Happy City on the happiness pulse, with over 8000 people taking part in the happiness pulse survey. GSWAG has also worked to identify a small number of priorities  for action that were common across Gwent and featured in the first assessments of local well-being and is working with Ash Futures to identify future trends and scenario planning for Gwent

· A successful GSWAG application to the Welsh Government PSB support funding for 2018/19 includes the next phases of the Happiness pulse and Future Trends work and also a Gwent wide project Resilient Gwent, which considers the lived experiences of people to bring climate change impact to life.

3. To gather evidence of issues or barriers that may impact on effective working, and examples of good practice and innovation

· In a time of ongoing and sustained financial constraints, working towards annual budget cycles whilst trying to plan for the long term remains an ongoing challenge for public bodies and we are keen to explore opportunities to balance these dual responsibilities in the best way possible.

· As new policy agendas, legislation and priorities emerge, we look forward to seeing well-being planning and the principles and spirit on which the Well-being of Future Generations Act is founded, integrated across Welsh Government so the legislation becomes embedded across all areas of government, at every level. This will help improve and complement how we enact, plan and respond to legislation and policy priorities as they emerge in a way that is compatible to well-being planning.