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The North West Regional Compact: what you need to know

21 September 2009

Jane Groves is the Team Leader for Empowerment and the Third Sector in Government Office North West. She has been seconded from Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services for 12 months. 

What?
Compacts are voluntary agreements that provide a framework for partnership working between government and the third sector. Compacts can be national, regional and local covering issues such as equality, funding, commissioning and volunteering.

The purpose of the North West Regional Compact is to help build a shared understanding of principles and commitments for effective partnership to support and make best use of a thriving third sector in the North West.  This is a joint responsibility of both third and public sector partners because a thriving third sector is of benefit to public sector agencies, agreed regional objectives, and the people and communities of the North West.

Who?
The North West Regional Compact is between the following organisations and agencies: North West Development Agency (NWDA), NHS North West (NHS NW), Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW), North West Network (NWN), One North West (1NW), Five Counties Partnership (5CP), The Learning and Skills Council (NW LSC), Government Office North West (GONW), Social Enterprise North West (SENW), Job Centre Plus and (last but not least!) 4 North West. 

The North West Regional Compact supports the National Compact which the Government (published 1998) and champions local compacts which already exist or are being further developed. The Regional Compact is not designed to replace local arrangements and local Compacts. It is about how regional organisations who work across the whole of the North West can best work together. 

Now…although this is all about regional organisations focussed on regional activity – the benefits of an effective Regional Compact will be felt locally.  An effective Regional Compact that recognises the value of volunteering, intends to make regional communication more user-friendly and accessible, or aims to simplify the way services are commissioned or funding processes are designed will have a positive effect on local front-line third sector organisations directly and also because improvements in regional relationships will make regional decisions and delivery easier to see, understand and influence.

How?
A Working Group has been investing time and effort to develop the Regional Compact.  Each of the organisations mentioned above has an identified person or ‘Compact Champion’ as part of this Working Group.  Their involvement is a commitment from their organisation to the importance of strong and effective working relationships between the public and third sectors. 

Each Champion will take the Compact into their organisation for their Board (or similar decision-making meeting) to adopt.  Then, using the Compacts’ principles and commitments, they will look at their day to day working practices to see if they are ‘Compact compliant’.  Any changes that need to made will form an Action Plan for the organisation to deliver.

For example, one of the key issues for the third sector from the consultations about the Regional Compact is procurement and commissioning:  So, the Action Plan for the Regional Compact will include a commitment to produce a Funding, Procurement and Commissioning Code to improve the way that the third and public sectors design, offer and deliver services. 

When? 
The Regional Compact Working Group will formally launch the Regional Compact in November this year. 

However, don’t think the launch is the starting point for the Regional Compact!  Lots of hard work has already been done with the development of shared principles, understanding and commitments and consultations with the third and public sectors.  The 4 month consultation included third sector events organised by Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW), One North West, Five Counties Partnership, Social Enterprise Network North West, and North West Network.  The consultations involved over 120 people across the range of the third sector - volunteering infrastructure, generic and specialist infrastructure, funding advice, BME, community, and region-wide VCS organisations and representatives of the North West (thankyou if you contributed to the consultation). 

Between now and November, regional public and third sector organisations will be formally adopting the Compact and putting their Action Plans together.

The development of the document itself has been really important, but the next part of the journey is about working together to make the Compact real.  The power of the Compact is reliant on people committed to a thriving third sector – documents don’t make successful working relationships and partnerships, people do!   

Details about the launch and further information about the Regional Compact is available on our website
http://www.gos.gov.uk/gonw/PeopleSustainableCommunities/Thirdsector/?a=42496
and, as we approach the launch, via the websites and e-zines of One North West, Voluntary Sector North West and Social Enterprise North West. 

GONW and our public sector partners are serious about working with the third sector and the Regional Compact is just one way we are supporting the North West’s voluntary and community sector.  To find out more, contact Jane Groves, 0161 652 4329 or jane.groves@gonw.gsi.gov.uk

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