How to establish a Compact or partnership agreement Compact Voice July 2015

What is the Compact? A voluntary agreement aiming to foster strong, effective partnerships between public bodies and the voluntary and community sector (VCS) Every government department is signed up to the Compact Has cross party support Applies to England

About local Compacts Reinterpret the principles of the national Compact to reflect local circumstances There are around 165 local Compacts across England Can be established at borough, district or county level

What is included in local Compacts? Issues covered by local Compacts include: Funding arrangements Policy and service development Advancing equality VCS independence Volunteering practice Improving cross-sector relationships Photo courtesy of Kevin Dooley via

Creating a local Compact: What to consider Engage your local partners Read the national Compact Include practical examples Style is important, but not as important as substance Create supporting documents Find out what other areas have done

Drafting your local Compact One person should take the lead on writing the draft Get your introduction attributed to a senior local figure Use a tag-line to help you promote your Compact Include a summary and a glossary of terms Photo courtesy of Stan Wiechers via

Consulting on the draft Consult as widely as possible Hold events to gain feedback Recruit “Compact Champions” to raise awareness in their own organisations Show how you have taken on board responses Photo courtesy of Highways England via

Who to involve The local authority and the local VCS are the two key partners, but other local partners could include: Police authority Police and Crime Commissioner Fire authority Housing association Job Centre Plus Clinical Commissioning Group Chamber of Commerce Healthwatch Health and Wellbeing board Local Enterprise Partnerships

Local Compact signatories In some areas signatories are limited to representatives signing on behalf of a wider group, while in others areas, individual organisations sign up Signing up to a local Compact often involves including the names of the signatories in the local Compact, but some areas have an online list of signatories that can be easily amended

Establishing a steering group Should include representatives from both sectors Guide the process of creating a local Compact Help embed the Compact in local partnerships Can mediate in local dispute resolution Photo courtesy of Mark Morgan via

Case study: Lewisham local Compact Consultation included 100 in-depth interviews with community groups and council officers The council funded a Compact Officer to work part time Compact steering group included a nominated person from each council directorate

About Compact Voice Represent the VCS on the Compact Co-signatories of the national Compact Work to support partnerships across sectors both locally and nationally Support use of the Compact through influencing, sharing positive examples of partnership working in practice, and providing expertise

Further Information The national Compact: les/the_compact.pdf les/the_compact.pdf Find your local Compact: Partnership working toolkit: fings-and-guidance/partnership-working- toolkit-voluntary-sector fings-and-guidance/partnership-working- toolkit-voluntary-sector Compact Voice for advice and support: or visit the website: Photo courtesy of Mark Morgan via