The government wants to invest in a new support programme for civil society organisations that will help them “modernise, become more efficient and more entrepreneurial”.

It made the announcement in a new strategy document published yesterday by the Office for Civil Society, titled Building a Stronger Civil Society.

However, it gives no indication of how much it wants to invest in the programme and is careful to couch all its proposals in the strategy document with the words ‘subject to the spending review’.

Alongside the strategy was also published a consultation on the future shape of sector infrastructure, a document called Supporting a Stronger Civil Society.

While the strategy contains little new information, it fleshes out many of the policy concepts that have already been announced by the Cabinet Office, such as empowering communities, opening up public services, and promoting social action.

It refers to proposals already mooted such as modernising commissioning, supporting employee-owned co-operatives, the right to bid to run community assets, reforming gift aid, launching the Big Society Bank, cutting red tape, training 5,000 community organisers, creating National Citizen Service, and starting a Community First fund.

It promises that these reforms will “radically recast” the relationship between the state and the sector over the coming years, and create “huge opportunities” for charities, voluntary and community groups, and social enterprises.

But it acknowledges that these opportunities “will not emerge overnight, and that to take advantage of them the sector will need some support”.

“The government wants to invest in a new programme that will help organisations modernise, become more efficient and more entrepreneurial in order to take advantage of future opportunities.”

The last government spent more than £200m supporting the sector through the ChangeUp programme but the National Audit Office, which reviewed the scheme, was unable to decide whether it was money well spent. The coalition government has just announced it is to close Capacitybuilders, which was responsible for distributing £150m of ChangeUp funding.

Click here for more detail on the consultation document.