Hill says, "It is vital that you understand what you want from 'collaboration' as a group of organisations. In particular, it's important to be careful what you measure - because you may not be measuring what's really important or what's needed. It's also important to realise that sharing risk in a collaborative relationship is not the same as delegating risk to others. Ultimately, delegating risk doesn't - and won't - work."

While "Collaborative Working with Government" encompasses all areas of government, the PSL event focused primarily on defence and property / facilities management.

In his keynote address to delegates at the PSL event, Barry Sheerman MP explained, "As politicians, we need to know what's going on the real world. If we don't - and if the senior civil servants who advise us don't - the result is bad policy and short-termism."

This drives the need for businesses to share their knowledge and experience and strengthen their relationships with government at all levels. Policy Connect, an organisation which Barry Sheerman chairs, provides just such a community where business and government debate the big issues.

EMCOR's Nick Morris discussed the increasing financial pressures on government departments. He commented, "Partnering with government is a philosophy, not a contractual requirement. It puts personality into the corporate relationship and needs commitment on both sides for it to work. Using a collaborative approach, employees understand that they are in business because of - not despite - their customers."

Paul Martin and Robin Singleton are joint chairs of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Partnering Implementation Working Group (PIWG). The PIWG reports to the MoD's Commercial Policy Delivery Group, as a joint MoD-industry body that has been set up to collect and share good practice for partnering arrangements between the MoD and industry.

Martin reported that PIWG has formally adopted the principles of BSI BS 11000 - the world's first standard for collaborative business relationships, which was recently published. The BS 11000 framework comprises methodologies supported by a wide range of tools and guides that have been established over some twenty years' experience in business-relationship management.

Robin Singleton, the other joint-chair of PIWG, commented, "Asking people if they are willing to partner with others is like asking people if they have a good sense of humour. Everyone always says 'yes' - but reality is a little different. Getting PAS 11000 - the forerunner of BS 11000 - was not an end in itself, merely the end of the beginning. The launch of BS 11000 will not only allow organisations to adopt and work to these standards but will also encourage greater innovation in collaborative working."