THE LIVERPOOLGREEN PARTNERSHIP

Working Terms of Reference

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The Liverpool Green Partnership has been working together since 2011, having originally come together to provide support and guidance for the examination of whether Liverpool should bid for European Green Capital. It became clear that a supportive cross sectoral Partnership was an essential ingredient evident in other successful cities. Consequently, in July, the existing Partnership announced its intention to build on its past work, to create a widely based network to support its ambitions for a sustainable Liverpool and City Region.

These working terms of reference are designed to provide a framework for the next essential steps to create the Liverpool Green Partnership. It reflects the view that our ambitions are clear but the means to achieve them and how to build the Partnership must be flexible particularly as resources remain extremely limited.

Consequently issues of membership and governance need to be fluid.

Context

Liverpool and the City Region finds itself at an interesting stage of development. Key factors include:-

  • The establishment of the Mayoral system within Liverpool;
  • The establishment of the City Region Combined Authority from April,2014.
  • The developing role of the LEP
  • The establishment of the Local Nature Partnership, (LNP)

Within these strategic developments there are a number of important initiatives including:-

  • The Mayoral Commission on Sustainability
  • The Mayoral priorities
  • The International Festival of Business, (IFB) in 2014
  • UK Growth fund from 2015
  • The next round of EU structuralfunding for the period from 2014 until 2020

There remains an overarching commitment to address climate change and a general realisation that a low carbon economy provides the most realistic opportunity to grow the local economy.

The Liverpool Green Partnership, (LGP)

A broad partnership of organisations has come together informally over the past two years to explore the potential benefits of Liverpool bidding to become European Green Capital. Evidence from that examination suggested that the City could make a credible bid for the award and that a strong Green Partnership is essential to fill a strategic gap across the City, to provide a unifying focus for all the initiatives already taking place to help make a sustainable city. In practical terms the Partnership has already:-

  • Produced evidence to illustrate the case for bidding for European Green Capital;
  • Produced an Environmental Audit of the current state of play within Liverpool and the City Region: and
  • Provided early evidence to the Chair of the Mayoral Commission on Environmental Sustainability.

It is now important to set out the future direction and priorities for the LGP.This must be recognised as staged process based both on the wishes of the Partnership and availability of resources.

The purpose of the LGP

Provide Liverpool and the City Region with a collaborative, ambitious network of committed organisations and individuals with a will to work together to help make Liverpool a successful, sustainable city for the future. The Partnership will act as critical friends to the City Council, the LEP, other local authorities, Local Nature Partnership, (LNP) and other key agencies to help the city and City Region attain our shared objectives of a strong and sustainable local economy, healthy communities and a high quality environment.

The LGP will add value to existing projects and initiatives by identifying priorities for better outcomes economically, socially and environmentally . The green and low carbon economy offers significant potential in new jobs, growth of existing clusters and is an essential success factor in a forward looking, progressive and sustainable future for Liverpool. Specifically the LGP will:-

  • Help shape and promote the vision for a sustainable Liverpool;
  • Bring together key players in the City and region who share these ambitions;
  • Identify priorities and opportunities for action and engage with appropriate agencies to ensure success;
  • Provide independent evidence and best practice that will help achieve shared ambitions.

Vision

The mission of the Liverpool Green Partnership (LGP or the Partnership) is to help make Liverpool one of the most sustainable cities in Europe.It's aim is

to devise and promote a collective vision and collaborative actions for a successful, sustainable Liverpool, with a healthy economic, social and environmental future.

Objectives

  • Develop a single Sustainable City Vision and Plan,to provide a road map for change and progression,
  • Establish the LGP as a principal partner in creating a sustainable city, advocating and advising for progression, and participating in consultations and debate.
  • Promote Liverpool as a sustainable entrepreneurial city/place to do business. by helping to facilitate new ways of collaborative working across sectorsby developing effective collaboration between public, private, community and academic sectors that ensure a co-ordinated approach.
  • Build public consensus, forcreating a competitive, inclusive and sustainable Liverpoolthrough the engagement, support and input of all concerned, and by commissioning and coordinating programmes of activity and events that will help develop a deep understanding of the issues and deliver our collective ambitions.
  • Promote a bid to be European Green Capital, as a key sign of our ambitions

Proposed structure

The Liverpool Green Partnership is not intended to be an organisation or incorporated body of any sort, it is a network of interested individuals and representatives from organisations in all sectors who wish to support, engage with and take action for a sustainable Liverpool. It will aim to achieve this via its principal functions of promotion, lobbying and facilitation

The wider partnership

The wider partnership will be open to any individual or organisation who shares the ambitions set out in these terms of reference. They will be asked to formally join and be named as part of the Partnership. It will be promoted on-line and via other communications channels to support development and routes for wider voices to feed into the Engagement Group, including representation on that body. See below

It will convene a minimum of two events per year where the partners will be invited to come together to review progress, celebrate achievements and help set priorities moving forward, and elect partners to the Engagement Group.

As the Partnership grows and develops its role, there will need to be accommodation of other potential groupings. This may include a Liverpool Green Business Network for example

TheEngagement Group

The Liverpool Green Partnership will be led by theEngagement Group It's role is to advocate for and to bring about raised ambitions, practice and delivery in the field of sustainability by public and civil institutions, businesses, private organisations and citizens.Specifically it will:-

  • Act as champions for the Green Partnership
  • Support partnership working
  • Commit to prioritising group business
  • Be accountable for progress to the wider Green Partnership.

Within the framework of the objectives for the LGP, the overarching aims of the Engagement Group are :

  • Provide leadership to the LGP, and represent the LGP with outside agencies and in appropriate consultations and debate
  • Offer a strategic overview for delivering a sustainable city with a low carbon economy within a city region context.
  • Promote Liverpool as a sustainable city.
  • Ensure fairness, social justice, health and inclusion are addressed as part of the sustainable city.
  • Work with partners to raise aspirations and improve delivery in ways that accelerate, and widen progress towards sustainability and strengthen delivery in green jobs, climate change and the low carbon economy.
  • Identify priorities and opportunities for action.

Membership

Members of the Engagement Groupwill beleaders from partner agencies and groups, enabled to represent, make decisions and to influence their organisation’s wider partner contribution.Each organisation will be asked to identify the appropriate leaders to represent them.In some cases this will be a confirmation of existing representatives

It will be important to achieve appropriate cross sectoral representation between Local Authorities; other public sector; education; third sector; private sector and other interested bodies. In this next stage of development, the membership as a minimum must embrace the following. It is suggested that in the first instance, and until autumn 2014, this should be achieved by invitation from the existing group and nominations from the wider partnership. More formal arrangements can be examined in the light of experience over the next twelve months.

Initial Membership List
Public Health
Waste - MWRA
Transport - Merseytravel
Water - United Utilities
Energy
Higher and further education
Schools parliament
City Council
LNP - Natural assets and Biodiversity -MEAS
Green Infrastructure - MerseyForest
Chamber of Commerceand other business representation
TUC
Environmental Agency
Community representatives from the wider Green Partnership

Governance and Accountability

The Engagement Group will agree strategies and actions and identify resources to take forward the agreed programme of work. These will be confirmed, annually by the wider Partnership

The Chair of the Engagement Group and any others, confirmed by the Partnership will act as spokespersons for the Partnership and represent the Partnership with other agencies.

Advisors

Where appropriate or resources allow, the Engagement Group will invite advisors with specialist expertise and knowledge to provide guidance in the development of priorities, reports and recommendations when appropriate. Advisors will also act as “critical friend”, reviewing progress and impact of the Green Partnership in the spirit of openness and accountability.

Secretariat

From April 2014, the Partnership will be supported via anERDF grant to the Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce . The Chamber will provide the secretarial support to the LGP. This funding will be in place until June 2015.

Frequency of Meetings

Meetings of the Engagement Group will take place quarterly,but additional meetings may be called as necessary .

Next steps and priorities

  • Engage fully with the Mayoral Commission on environmental sustainability
  • Establish an effective communications strategy
  • Continue engagement with senior LCC Members and develop closer working with LEP
  • Establish effective working and communications arrangements with the LNP
  • Build on the Audit and Commission proposals to draft the Single Vision, based around existing commitments such as LTP, Waste Plan, and Mayors Covenant.
  • Convene meetings to discuss these issues.

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