About the Compact
About the Compact
The Compact is the agreement between the government and the voluntary and community sector, which sets out key principles and establishes a way of working that improves their relationship for mutual advantage.
It considers areas such as involvement in policy design and consultation, funding arrangements (including grants and contracts), promoting equality, ensuring better involvement in delivering services, and strengthening independence.
It is also accompanied by an Accountability and Transparency Guide, which outlines steps to take at national and local level if these principles are not followed, including dispute resolution, internal complaints procedures and ombudsmen functions.
As well as the national Compact, most areas in England also have a local Compact, which interprets the principles set out in the Compact to reflect local need and determination.
Download a copy of the national Compact (PDF, 287Kb).
Compact Voice are an independent organisation who are the voice of the voluntary sector on the Compact. Their website contains resources, information and advice on how to develop positive cross-sector relationships and how the Compact can best be used. Visit www.compactvoice.org.uk for more information.
How to use the Compact
The Compact can be used in many different ways. Don't wait until things go wrong to bring out your Compact. Why not take it to meetings with your statutory partner, and use it as a tool for partnership working?
If you are in a funding relationship with Government it can be used as a guide to a successful relationship.
Challenging bad practice can often lead to a better relationship and better outcomes for your organisation. If you think that a statutory body has not followed Compact principles in the way it conducts its business, it is worth bringing this up with them, along with constructive suggestions for how they can improve. Before getting started, read our factsheet Effective Dispute Resolution Tactics (PDF, 68Kb).
If you would like help and support on how to use the Compact, including identifying what decisions might not be compliant and how best to challenge them, contact the Compact Advocacy team.
Step-by-step guide to addressing Compact non-compliance:
1. Research
Look into your relationship with the statutory body that you have, build up a timeline of key moments and events in the relationship, and get an idea of how many other organisations may be in the same position as yourself. What is the context and external environment of your relationship?
2. Identify where the Compact hasn't been followed
Use either your local Compact or the national one, depending on which statutory body it is you are having a problem with. Look through the document as well as the codes of practice to identify how the relationship you have with the statutory body compares to what it should be.
3. Identify your objectives
What do you want to achieve? Make sure you can measure the success of your objective and that it is achievable. Make sure you have a time plan. Put together your key messages so that they link into your objective.
4. Identify your target audience
Use government or local authority websites to ascertain who are the key decisionmakers you are aiming to engage with your issue, look at the chain of command and identify people that you want to target. Have a back-up plan so you know what other options there are for you if your initial targets do not respond how you want them to eg the relevant ombudsman.
5. What will influence your target audience
Put together a practical plan for what measures will influence, for example getting your local MP involved; planting a parliamentary question; doing a local press release; joining forces with your local CVS or a national infrastructure body; or getting other case studies.
6. Action
Write letters, make phone calls, network, go to events, try to meet the relevant people.
7. Follow up
If you don't get responses when you should, chase them up. Once you get a response see if you are satisfied - if not, engage at a higher level with your statutory body. Continue to be clear and consistent in what you are asking for.
8. Close the case and share the lessons learned
Evaluate your work using the measures you put in place when you set your objectives. Have you achieved everything you set out to do? If not why not? If so, what worked well? Share this with relevant contacts.
