John Carleton, Chief Executive, Local Partnerships

It's not an understatement to say that this is a time of enormous flux and unsettling change for many of us who are working to achieve delivery in the public sector. The relative boom years are well and truly over and times are tight. Language that speaks of 'efficiency', 'transformation', 'value for money' and 'capability' is all the rage. And quite right too.

It's true – this is a time of enormous challenge, but it is all too easy for a pall of gloom to descend when actually, the opportunities for partnerships are huge. It may not be immediately obvious where the positives lie when the PPP deal pipeline is slowing or when deals are taking so much longer to close. However, expectations among the public remain high. Just because the flow of public money is slower, it does not mean that customers and users of vital public services have dampened their expectations. After a decade of very significant spending on infrastructure and public services, people continue to want the best possible. The general public needs new hospitals, new roads, new means of delivering services at local levels – such as schools, council services, street lighting, social care and so on.

And here lies the opportunity. Yes, times are tough – but delivery of services must go on. The focus must now turn to true innovation and a ruthless attention to developing the right partnership vehicle and mechanisms that will get public services delivered quickly, and to a budget that does not overrun and that can be relied on. Conventional partnership methods have worked well in the past, and will work in the future. But now we must raise our game and examine how partnerships can best evolve to meet the so-called 'age of austerity'.

Local Partnerships' does not believe that because times are a lot tougher, we should just shrug our shoulders and accept that fact ruefully. We're working on some truly innovative and groundbreaking projects, which will mean local services continue to be enhanced. We're fixing our focus on outcomes, so that the partnership vehicles that are established can be properly judged on what they actually deliver. We are all about providing the advice, building the capacity and strengthening the ability of local public bodies as they enter into or explore the partnerships model – whether that's working alongside the private sector, with the third sector or with other public bodies. I am hugely enthused about the period ahead – and that's why I am so pleased to be able to use the PPP Journal to send a message that all is not downbeat.

So much of the forward agenda gives me pause for positive thought – including the establishment of Infrastructure UK, which will help shape the future of infrastructure renewal at a national level. For Local Partnerships, the creation of IUK is an exciting development that not only helps create a space for strategic thinking and prioritisation about the needs of UK plc, but also offers an opportunity for us to work alongside IUK on making sure that the local agenda runs in parallel with the 'big ticket' issues like universal service provision of broadband or energy infrastructure.

As well as the enthusiasm for Infrastructure UK, I take great heart also from Total Place and its role in reshaping communities. Total Place affords so many opportunities to finally nail down the concept of a 'whole area' approach to local service delivery. Why shouldn't local authorities share back office functions to drive efficiencies? Why shouldn't traditional boundaries be broken down so that the customer truly comes first? The transformative agenda of Total Place cannot be understated. And with a general election around the corner, the results of the 13 pilot areas could not have been more timely and more relevant. The conclusions of the test areas – in locations as different as Worcester and Croydon – will, to a large extent, drive the public services agenda for years to come. As a result of this, local authorities need to be ready to learn from those pilot programmes, adapt how they operate and propose their own changes for the future – regardless of what political party is in charge locally. Local Partnerships stands ready to help public bodies navigate their way through that change.

Finally, a quick word about capability. In the last edition of the PPP Journal, Partnerships UK'S Stephen Dance spoke about the need to raise commercial skills in public bodies at a local and national level to drive the innovation that is sorely needed today to close and complete deals. Last year's National Audit Office report on commercial skills shows that there is much work to be done – local authorities and public bodies cannot rest on their laurels and assume that this agenda will go away. It won't – and much needs to happen to ensure that projects benefit from the right expertise and advice to guarantee delivery. Again, Local Partnerships is working hard on this aspect of the partnerships agenda and is clear about the real importance of getting this right.

So, let no-one say tougher times mean quieter times. Now more than ever, we all have to step up and raise our game. Governments and policies may change, but the relentless demand for improved public services goes on – and deservedly so. There's a lot in the in-tray to keep anyone awake at night, but we wouldn't want it any other way.