Engaging the private sector in anchor networks
Over the past few months, HALN has been exploring how anchor networks are helping more businesses embrace their role as local anchor organisations and take action to support their communities and local economies.
Through conversations with anchor networks who are successfully working with private sector partners, we’ve been learning more about their approaches and the impact this work is having. In this blog, we explore this growing movement, examining the various collaborations emerging between public and private sector anchors and the key factors enabling anchor networks to work effectively with businesses.
The rise of anchor networks
Across the country we are increasingly seeing a shift from organisations developing individual anchor strategies in isolation to groups of local partners working together as part of anchor networks or alliances.
By coming together in this way anchors are able to align around priority areas, collectively explore common challenges and develop solutions, and pool resources towards shared initiatives. In turn, the value of these networks create opportunities to engage a broader range of local stakeholders - such as local businesses - in anchor initiatives.
From major utility companies to Premier League football clubs, more and more businesses are recognising the benefits of collaborating with other local anchors and joining anchor networks.
Multi-sector anchor networks
From our conversations so far, the most common model we are seeing emerging is multi-sector anchor networks which bring together public and social sector anchors with private sector anchors. In many cases these anchor networks are launched and coordinated by the local authority but this role can be taken by others too, such as local NHS or VCSE partners.
Once networks are up and running, the responsibility for ongoing leadership of the network tends to be shared among members. Working groups based around thematic anchor activity areas such as procurement, employment and net zero are usually set up and in many cases business partners are being invited to co-chair the working groups most relevant to their focus areas as anchors.
In Islington for example, ten of the borough’s largest organizations - including Arsenal Football Club - have come together as part of an anchor network and signed up to a number of progressive pledges focused on generating more opportunities for local people and businesses, and working towards shared net zero carbon objectives.
Private sector anchor networks
Another approach - such as that taken by Leeds Council - is to invite key local businesses together to form a dedicated business anchor network that runs in parallel to the existing public sector anchor network. In Leeds, the business anchor network has focused on identifying the specific opportunity areas for businesses to increase their local impact - whilst coming together periodically with the existing public sector anchor network to share learnings and identify opportunity areas for cross-sector initiatives. As part of this work, Leeds have developed a tailored Business Anchors Progression Framework to support their business members to self-assess their local impact and identify areas for action.
Other anchor networks aren’t directly involving businesses in their networks, but are instead focussing on how collectively they can better support businesses to adopt effective anchor strategies of their own; for example in how they support and guide businesses to meet their social value commitments as part of Local Authority contracts.
Key factors enabling business involvement
As these networks evolve, certain factors have emerged as crucial for enabling and encouraging business participation in local anchor networks.
Working directly with senior leadership - directly engaging C-suite leadership is crucial to successfully bringing businesses into anchor networks. The "whole organisation" approach of anchor work requires strong buy-in and ongoing commitment from senior leaders, making their involvement a key factor in effective business engagement.
Connection to place - identifying local businesses that have a strong connection to the place in which they operate - and one that aligns with the geography covered by the anchor network - is key to finding the right private sector partners for long term partnership working around local anchor initiatives.
Co-designing with businesses - businesses are different from public sector organisations and so understanding how businesses want to be involved in an anchor network and what the opportunity areas are for making impact with businesses is crucial. This takes time and dedicated effort. In Leeds, the business engagement process took around a year, leading to a series of roundtables with businesses to scope how a network would function.
Start small - starting with a smaller group of committed private sector partners allows the network to tailor its approach and build trust, creating a strong foundation for scaling up and addressing challenges collaboratively. Working with chambers of commerce or local business representative groups is an effective way that networks are ensuring that a wider range of business voices are represented, whilst still maintaining the benefits of a close-knit network. Navigating how, and whether to grow their network is an ongoing question that anchor network coordinators are grappling with.
Learning from others
Anchor networks are by no means the only initiatives uniting public sector and private sector partners to drive coordinated, place-based action to support local economic and social development, and there is much to learn from others with expertise and experience doing this work.
Business in the Community, for example, run the UK’s largest responsible business network and since 2016 have been promoting a cross-sector, place-based approach to creating impact through their Pride of Place programme. This programme has brought businesses, the voluntary sector and local councils together in 16 places across the country; supporting them to “build and deliver a vision for their future that serves everyone, with input from everyone.”
The Living Wage Campaign has also had recent successes taking a place-based approach to working with businesses and public sector partners. Their Living Wage Places bring together cross-sectoral local actions groups to create and deliver a 3 year action plan aimed at making the real Living Wage the norm in their place.
Over the next year, HALN will continue to shine a light on and share learnings from anchor networks who are successfully engaging businesses, as well as listening to businesses themselves on the impact this is having in both their organisations and communities.
Health Anchors Learning Network is supporting local authorities, health organisations, businesses and others to develop anchor action. Interested in learning more? Register for our newsletter to receive the latest case studies, events and resources, or get in touch at hello@haln.org.uk.