Management

Parts of the audit may require specialist knowledge and expertise which is not available within the partnership. It should be determined early on which aspects (or all) of the audit (e.g. consultation, data analysis, presentation) can be conducted in-house and which are beyond the internal scope of the partnership.

Should a partnership have the ability, it would be beneficial for it to undertake the audit internally. If not, it is still advantageous for the partnership to undertake some of the work itself. There are then a number of options for accessing the appropriate expertise:

• local authority / police internal research or research and intelligence function.

• The LA Research and Intelligence Association can help with reports and newsletters http://www.laria.gov.uk.

• Your LA planning department is likely to employ qualified social researchers, familiar with the problem-oriented approach.

• Every Health Authority has public health specialists in epidemiology (the statistical study of disease and health patterns) and statistics applied to public health.

• Your local university's statistics department or social science faculty (especially criminology, social geography, psychology or social statistical departments) may be able to help and/or provide postgraduate students to assist.

• External consultants may come from a variety of sources, though quality and standards vary. (The CJNTO website has information on NVQ occupational standards which are available on CD Rom http://www.communityjusticento.co.uk

• If employing a professional analyst or statistician look for:

  • A graduate (or experienced person) in Geography, Urban & Regional Planning, or GIS (RTPI - Royal Town Planning Institute).

  • A graduate (or experienced person) in Statistics, Mathematics, Research or an Actuary (Royal Statistical Society).

  • A number of national organisations can provide consultant experience, some of which were utilised extensively in the 1998 audit process.

Back to Contracting