Nuffield scholar Finola
McCoy writes in praise of networks and the role of the honest broker.
There
is an Irish saying ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’, which translates as ‘There is
no strength without unity’, and it comes to mind when I think about the service
provision sector in Irish agriculture. Farmers
will engage with many varied service providers as part of the management of
their business - vets, farm advisers, bank managers, engineers, nutritionists
etc. In turn, these agricultural service providers rarely engage with, or even
know each other. Yet, we are all working towards a common goal - to provide a
good service to farmers to enable them to run an efficient business. While
Ireland has retained a strong, largely publicly funded research and advisory
service i.e. Teagasc, this too can present a challenge. When one organisation
dominates the research and extension space, this can create a perception that
the ‘peripheral’ extension services e.g. vets, private consultants etc. are
less important or influential, placing little value on the knowledge resource
within and creating a divide between the 'central' and 'peripheral' organisations. In
the 300s B.C. Aristotle said ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.
What if we were to apply this to the agricultural service provision sector? If
it worked as a whole could it be more effective than the sum of its parts? What
are the barriers to building this whole? What is needed to initiate and sustain
it? These are some of the questions that I have ruminated upon, and with the
opportunity of a Nuffield scholarship, have been able to explore in more
detail.
The
initial title of my study was ‘Building Strong Professional Teams’, with a
focus on looking at how on-farm professional teams can work. However, I soon
realised that while these on-farm teams might be very effective, to some degree
they may also be idealistic. They can be very formal and structured, and not
always practical; one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. However, one of the
building blocks to creating teams is an existing network between people.
Without networks people don’t get an opportunity to get to know and trust each,
and understand what skills and strengths they can bring to the party. Over time and in the right circumstances,
service provider networks could grow into on-farm multidisciplinary teams.
I
started by looking at and learning from agricultural organisations and projects,
including Landbridge UK, that have either used a multi-disciplinary approach to
achieve their end goal, or where the end goal itself has been to develop networks
between service providers. It became apparent to me that service provider
networks can offer many benefits. As well as providing clients i.e. farmers,
with more holistic, comprehensive services and a broader cohesive knowledge
base, the network members benefit from knowledge exchange and upskilling,
business referrals and social interaction with other professionals. Industry
benefits from an improved feedback loop to research and development.
However,
it would be idealistic not to recognise that there are also barriers to
building networks, and working as a team. Finding time to participate in a
network, as well as support from the service provider’s parent
organisation/company can be an obstacle. Competition between professionals can
also be a challenge, particularly when initiating networks. Many professionals
have a ‘healthy’ suspicion of other professionals working in the same region,
and may worry about losing clients or business. However, the reality is that
this suspicion is often born out of ignorance of and isolation from other
professionals and in general, the positive outcomes from networking outweigh
the real challenges and the perceived threats.
It
appears that one of the most effective solutions to many of these barriers is
the identification or establishment of ‘an honest broker’. This broker could be
a person, or a body e.g. Landbridge UK, and is a relatively impartial
third-party, bringing people together mainly for the greater good, and without
a vested interest. Brokers can build trust between the various people, and by
objectively analysing the needs of the various parties within the network can
identify their requirements and stay relevant. Brokers need funding however,
and this can be a constant challenge, as their behind-the scenes role conceals
their impact and may limit support.
For
Ireland, I believe the most important step now is to promote the benefits of
creating cross-professional networks, identify an honest broker and start
nurturing those cross-professional networks through multi-disciplinary
activities. Without unity, the fragmentation continues, and the opportunity to
maximise our potential remains untapped.
The final Nuffield
report on “Building Strong Professional Networks” will be available in winter
2015 on www.nuffield.ie
