Commission for Compact releases guide on partnership working 2

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 7 Oct 2010

An implementation guide on how community groups and local public bodies can improve the way they work together has been published by the Commission for the Compact.

Based on the national Compact partnership working agreement, the guide presents examples of common situations where community groups and local public bodies come into contact with each other.

For each situation, the guide offers tailored advice on how each party can get the most out of the relationship and also looks at what local support organisations can do to help. An example would be where a community group holds its meetings in a space owned by the local council.

Sir Bert Massie CBE, Commissioner for the Compact, said: “Partnership working with community groups will become more important as the localism agenda of the coalition government moves forward. Local public bodies will want to engage with community groups. The principles and commitments of the Compact are relevant to these relationships.

Using this guide can help community groups and local public bodies to work better together through implementing Compact best practice in their partnerships with one another.”

This publication is part of a series of Compact implementation guidance with two further guides due to be published this autumn.

These additional guides will help:

• Black and minority ethnic voluntary and community organisations and public bodies to interpret their commitments under the Compact

• Local Compacts to understand how changes to the national Compact affect Local Compacts.

The future of the Commission of the Compact was put in doubt last month after a leaked government document suggested the quango would be scrapped.

Directory: Commission for the Compact

Place a comment

Lizzie Saunders
Volunteer Centre Manager
Ealing CVS
25 Oct 2010

We also need more volunteering literacy - here are the principles of volunteering from Great LOndon Volunteering
Volunteering:

* Is mutually beneficial (to individual and organisation)
* Is independently chosen and freely given
* Is enabling and flexible wherever possible
* Has a community or social benefit
* Offered to not-for-profit activities

These principles will guide the volunteering infrastructure (members of the Forum) in providing support to volunteering activity.

In addition, the Forum notes the following considerations when developing a volunteering opportunity:

* Any financial benefit from the involvement of volunteers is reinvested to the community or allows a not-for-profit to continue to exist

* Organisations need to be clear where paid roles should be protected or reinstated again when affordable

* Volunteering roles should be designed with a Mutuality of Expectations statement to clarify expectations of commitment without entering into a contract which changes the role into one with employment rights

* Any other form of unpaid work or experience should not be labelled volunteering.

For example, a large employer supplying employees to support the development of small businesses are part of a mentoring scheme. Employees should be referred to as ‘mentors’ and the programme as a ‘mentoring scheme’. Voluntary work as a term might be applied, but volunteering may not.

[Reply]

Tessa Willow
Chief Executive
Volunteer Centre Liverpool
8 Oct 2010

Can we send this to DWP and JCP?!

[Reply]

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.