Opportunity knocks!

 Many Councillors will be familiar with their local Councils Corporate Risk Register where threats to the Council's core functions and financial health are identified and actions taken to mitigate these risks are detailed. This is  a totally necessary and responsible activity for any large public organisation responsible for delivering vital local services. There is a danger however that this reinforces the risk averse culture that can exist in many councils with an emphasis on playing it safe and giving an undue weight to risk avoidance rather than taking opportunities.

In June Sheffield City Council passed a resolution to establish a Corporate Opportunities Register to balance the attention given to risk and opportunity by senior officers and Councillors. The motion proposed by the Green Party group said,

"that to act as a balance to the Corporate Risk Register, there should be a Corporate Opportunities Register, detailing new funding opportunities, partnership opportunities and initiatives that will help deliver the Council's objectives, such as supporting those affected by the cost of living crisis."

So what might a Corporate Opportunities Register look like? First  you need to identify what the opportunity is. Is it funding you can bid for from Government or other sources? Is it a partnership with another organisation that might help you drive efficiencies and deliver better services? Is it a new activity that can help the  Council achieve it's aims or generate an income stream? All these opportunities would need to be broken down by directorates to ensure high level attention is given across the council .

Not all opportunities we could take should be taken. Perhaps the likelihood of success is low or the effort expended simply not worth it, but demonstrating that as an organisation the Council is aware and tracking opportunities is important. It builds confidence and shows that officers and members are outward looking and keen to look beyond the councils own resources to achieve it's goals.

The real gain from establishing a Corporate Opportunities Register is to show that the culture of the Council is one that is outward facing, ambitious for it's people, entrepreneurial and dynamic. Surely that is something we would like all our Councils to be?