The chair of the group established this week to oversee implementation of the Civil Society Covenant has urged charities to “use the legitimacy it brings” to start driving change.
Writing on LinkedIn, Kate Lee, CEO of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), said she was pleased to have seen many positive comments about the new Civil Society Council she will lead.
But she added that she was “nervous” about some remarks suggesting the council would be the main force making a difference while others looked on at its actions.
“We talk a lot about things ‘falling between the gaps’ between government and the sector, people, organisations, concepts,” Lee said in her post. “To think the council can stop this is to imagine you can win Kerplunk with one stick, even a big chunky stick like the council.”
‘Everyone has a role in Covenant’s success’
Arguing that the Civil Society Covenant “belongs to everyone”, Lee said all parties in the charity sector have a role to play in its success, whether or not they have a seat on the 12-member council.
“No one should be waiting for permission from the council, or anyone else, to use the legitimacy the covenant brings to start driving change,” she said. “We all need to, while this unique window and genuine government commitment exists.”
Lee said the council, which also includes Matt Hyde, Lloyds Bank Foundation CEO, Gemma Peters, Macmillan Cancer Support chief and Saeed Atcha, who heads Youth Leads UK, would drive change to the best of its ability, including by “opening doors” and holding power to account. She added that her organisation, as well as ACEVO and others, would be building relationships in government, identifying best practice and producing guidance.
“[But] you might use the covenant to open other [doors],” she said. “Some parts of government are receptive, others not. You can change that. Use the covenant, feed into council how strengthening it will help – we will work to action what we can to support you.”
Calls to ensure new council represents sector
While there were plenty of supportive comments elsewhere on social media regarding the Civil Society Council’s formation, there were also critical voices questioning how well the government-convened body represents the sector.
Writing on X, Jonathan Waterfield, finance director at Daughters of the Cross of Liege, called for the new council’s members to show “backbone” in ensuring disabled people’s voices are given a platform. His remarks were commenting on an article critical of the lack of representation of disabled people’s organisations on the committee.
Meanwhile a LinkedIn post by consultant and former charity manager Hannah Kowszun asking why small charities did not have greater representation on the council attracted dozens of comments, including from leaders of such organisations.
“So often the myth that bigger equals better, including in work around representation, means that homogeneous thinking dictates progress,” commented Sian Williams, the CEO of prison leavers support charity Switchback. “I’d much rather see half the council made up of small and medium-sized charities from across the UK. Hopefully, the council members will see the same issue and make sure they use their seat at the table to represent the wider sector.”
In its statement announcing the council’s formation, the government said its members had been selected following an “open and competitive” process that had received nearly 600 applications.
“Final members were selected to reflect a broad mix of experience, expertise and geographic representation,” the statement said.
Civil Society has approached the Cabinet Office for further comment.
