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ICW is at the BSi Conference and Awards today at the Park Lane Hotel Piccadily

Improving Collaboration with Smaller Businesses

New international guidance for large organisations just published.

First published on 9 November 2021 by Clare Naden on iso.org

Large organisations can reap a multitude of benefits when collaborating with smaller businesses, as long as the policies and processes don't weigh the relationship down. A new technical report (TR) has just been published to help bring the best out of the arrangement for all involved.

ISO/TR 44004, Collaborative business relationship management - Guidelines for large organizations seeking collaboration with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), provides recommendations for large organisations to help them take an agile and balanced approach when working with MSMEs.

Adrian Miller, Project Leader of the group of experts that developed the guidelines, said MSMEs generally bring more flexibility and agility to a business relationship, making them highly attractive to work with. Yet they are also likely to have fewer resources.

"Larger organisations tend to have a greater level of management processes, but these could be overwhelming for an MSME if imposed on them, as it tends to drive a way of working that is too onerous and restrictive," he said.

"ISO/TR 44004 demonstrates how they can adjust their approach to working with smaller businesses, thus enabling both parties to benefit fully from the relationship and produce positive results."

ISO/TR 44004 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 286, Collaborative business relationship management, whose secretariat is held by BSI, ISO's member for the UK. It can be purchased from your national ISO member or the ISO Store.

This ICW Flagship course is delivered by Leigh Lawry and supported by Warwick University.

ICW recommends this course for those seeking to improve their understanding ISO 44001 and are seeking to support application and implementation of ISO 44001 within their organisation.

The Course will continue to be held at Warwick University campus in Coventry and ICW is please to be able to report that it has been able to maintain the current fee of £2500 +VAT per delegate.

The course date are as follows:

7-10 February 2022
7-10 March 2022
16-19 May 2022
13-16 June 2022
19-22 Sept 2022
7-10 November 2022

For further information contact our training Manager Alan Maund on 0203 691 1530 or Click here to book

Lord Evans gave the opening address at the 2021 ICW Members Day when nearly a 100 ICW members from all over the country gathered in the great hall of Goodenough College in London for ICW's first in person Members Day since the start of the Pandemic in 2020.

The theme of the day was Collaboration and the Public Sector.

Babcock Australasia is to join the ICW (Institute for Collaborative Working) Australia as an inaugural Executive Network Member and sit on the Institute's advisory board, driving collaborative working across industry as part of a cultural approach to delivering complex programmes and solutions through transparency, mutual support and shared benefits.

The relationship builds upon Babcock International Group's founding membership of the global ICW - which was formed in the United Kingdom in 1990 - and it combines Babcock's corporate experience of collaboration across its value-chain, with the domain leadership of the ICW.

Brett Ackroyd, Managing Director of ICW Australia, said, "Together, we will work to achieve our core vision of being the home of collaboration, where good practice is shared and supported with research, experience and training, and building a global community which recognises the development of skills and knowledge of collaborative working practices.

"Through our community, we will enhance the professional relationships of business, the public sector and wider society to produce greater value in the outcomes for all."

David Ruff, CEO of Babcock Australasia, said "Collaboration is one of Babcock's core values and it is the foundation of how we connect with our customers, industrial partners and wider stakeholders to deliver outcomes."

"We are proud to help keep our nation secure, our communities safe and the country moving."

ICW is pleased to announce the publication of ISO 44004 Collaborative Business Relationship Management - guidelines for large organizations seeking collaboration with MSMEs. This guidance standard has been championed by ICW as a valuable addition to the ISO 44000 family and an important partner to ISO 44003 the Guide for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which is currently the being promoted by ICW executive network companies under the pilot scheme announced earlier this year. The aim of ISO 44004 is to highlight ways in which larger organisations can help to improve accessibility for smaller organisations to mutually benefit from collaborative working.

ICW, ABHI and BSI have issued a joint call to Ministers at the Department of Health and Social Security to engage with industry in building collaboration that will support the supply chain for the NHS. In a letter to Edward Argar MP, the Minister of State for Health, the 3 chief executives - Claire Ward (ICW), Susan Taylor Martin (BSI) and Peter Ellingworth (ABHI) - set out how the organisations had recently worked together on a webinar to promote collaborative working in the health sector and had looked to other parts of the public sector for good practice, notably the MoD. They referenced the increasing focus upon collaboration and collaborative working by the government: "DHSC have stressed the importance of collaboration in the forthcoming Health and Social Care bill, requiring NHS organisations and other parts of public service to collaborate at system level and as local providers. We also note that the recently published Life Sciences Vision has collaboration between the NHS and industry writ large throughout, and that the new MedTech Directorate in your Department is developing its work programme and building its relationship with suppliers."

They have called on Ministers and officials to meet jointly with the organisations to discuss examples of good collaborative working practice, such as the recently published MoD and TechUK code of practice, which could form a blueprint for the health sector and provide significant benefit to the "NHS, the vibrant UK HealthTech sector and the patients we serve."

Keynote address titled

Collaborative Procurement: Escaping the Bermuda Triangle

Brief Synopsis

The construction sector accounts for millions of jobs, billions of spend and huge carbon emissions, and yet the systemic, adversarial inefficiencies identified by the McKinsey Global Institute in 2017 are still the basis for business as usual. Calls for collaborative procurement often disappear into the 'Bermuda Triangle' of idealistic debate, cynical criticism and unrealised good intentions, and we urgently need to break through these barriers. This presentation will explore new collaborative procurement systems, based on the 2020 UK 'Construction Playbook', through which clients and industry are improving value and reducing risks.

The Institute for Collaborative Working Members Day 2021

Date: 19th October 2021
Venue: London House Goodenough College Mecklenburg Square
London, WC1N 2AB
Time: 9:30am until 4:00pm

This high-profile event is for all our members and promises to be both informative and interesting. In the afternoon there will be a round tables session led by each of the SIG Groups. Each attendee will have the opportunity to visit 3 of the tables to hear what the SIG is involved in and discuss with other members the key issues with the group and encourage input into future activities.

Please remember you are also entitled to bring a guest.

We are really looking forward to seeing you all again Face-to-Face.

Numbers are limited so Register Now

Sponsored by

ICW are pleased to announce that Baroness Hilary Armstrong, The Chair of the Public Services Committee in the House of Lords, will be attending the ICW Members Day and giving a keynote address on Collaboration in the Public Sector.

The Institute for Collaborative Working Members Day 2021
19th October 2021
9:30am until 4:00pm

At London House, Goodenough College, Mecklenburg Square, London, WC1N 2AB

This high-profile event is for all our members and promises to be both informative and interesting.

In the afternoon there will be a round tables session led by each of the SIG Groups.

Each attendee will have the opportunity to visit 3 of the tables to hear what the SIG is involved in and discuss with other members the key issues with the group and encourage input into future activities.

Please remember you are also entitled to bring a guest.

We are really looking forward to seeing you all again Face-to-Face.

Numbers are limited so Register Now

Sponsored by

We are pleased to announce the successful official launch of ICW Australia, run by Brett Ackroyd and his team. The Webinar this week, supported by our Chairman Lord Evans and David Hawkins, together with several of our corporate members who have a footprint in Australia, was the jumping-off point for this new venture. The UK's relationship with Australia is longstanding so it has been one of our key areas for ICW development that started some time ago and is now formally established with the formation of a not-for-profit company and the start of a local steering group of likeminded organisations and individuals.

We are seeing the green shoots of adoption for structured collaborative working and this latest step provides a foundation for growth. Due to the lockdown requirements the event was held virtually, however over 60 organisations and individuals joined the launch, which is very encouraging for the aims of ICW to share our thought leadership via our various overseas branches. For those that were unable to join on the day there is a recording below. Our good wishes and support go out to the ICW Australia Team.