CSOs urged to get involved in shaping new Civil Society Covenant
Melanie May | 17 October 2024 | News
A new Civil Society Covenant has been announced today by the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, with organisations from across civil society urged to get involved in shaping it.
The Covenant will ‘usher in a new era of partnership between government and civil society and help tackle some of the country’s biggest challenges’, the government said.
It is designed to harness the knowledge and expertise of voluntary, community, social enterprises (VCSEs) and charities to deliver better outcomes for communities across the country.
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The government’s announcement of the launch said that the Covenant ‘will build a new partnership between government and civil society based on trust and mutual respect. Crucially, it will unlock the dynamism, innovation and trusted reach of civil society across communities, helping to deliver the defining missions of this government; driving economic growth and opening up opportunity to all.’
Speaking on the launch, Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer said:
“To fix the foundations of our country we need a fundamental reset of the relationship between government and civil society.
“That is why we’re building a new partnership with the sector to tackle the complex social and economic challenges we face as a country.
“By harnessing the dynamism, innovation and trusted reach of civil society organisations, we can boost growth and deliver better outcomes for communities right across the country.”
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said:
“The Covenant paves the way for a new era in the relationship between government and civil society — one that recognises the critical role the sector plays as a trusted partner in achieving shared goals for the benefit of communities across the UK.
“Voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises all understand the challenges being faced every day in our villages, towns and cities and the government wants to work hand-in-hand with them to help fix them — changing lives for the better.”
Four key principles
Four key principles will form the basis of the Covenant Framework: transparency, recognition, participation and partnership. These will act as a starting point for wider engagement across Government, the public sector and civil society.
The initiative aims to improve Government and civil society’s ability to tackle complex social and economic challenges by uniting the capabilities of the two to facilitate better outcomes for communities which would otherwise be impossible to achieve in isolation.
There will now be a period of engagement throughout the autumn to ensure broad representation across civil society of organisations of all purposes, sizes, geographical locations and demographic focus.
Engagement will take place across Government including the Devolved Governments, Arm’s Length Bodies, local authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities.
A final co-created Covenant will be published next year.
The Covenant was an ask in the voluntary sector manifesto, which was shaped by consultation and engagement with ACEVO and NCVO’s members pre-election, and presented a vision for the future alongside asks for the new government.
Organisations across civil society urged to take part
ACEVO and NCVO are now working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop a framework for the Civil Society Covenant. Organisations and groups of all sizes across civil society are urged to share their experiences and provide feedback on the draft Covenant Framework principles by midday on 12 December. They can do this via a feedback form hosted on the NCVO site.
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) CEO, Sarah Elliott said:
“We are proud to be working with the Government on the Civil Society Covenant. This foundational moment resets the relationship between government and civil society, ensuring the expertise of charities and social enterprises are central to decision making. We look forward to continuing our work with partners across the sector to achieve this vision.”
ACEVO CEO Jane Ide commented:
“ACEVO welcomes the government’s commitment to work together to develop a Civil Society Covenant which aims to redefine our relationship for the benefit of the people, causes and communities we serve. Effective leadership relies on collaboration, trust, and mutual respect – values that underpin this Covenant. Civil society leaders are essential partners in realising this vision and ensuring its principles are upheld.”
Neil Heslop OBE, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), said:
“Thank you to ACEVO and NCVO for their hard work championing the sector and bringing the Covenant Framework to fruition. Charities are the backbone of society, experts in serving communities up and down the country, and innovating to deliver social impact. It is positive that the Government appreciates the vital role charities undertake and are announcing the start of a partnership approach with civil society to address our most pressing issues. Charities have been through very tough times, and we look forward to working with the Government to build a more resilient and thriving civil society in the coming years.”
Also commenting, Charity Commission Chief Executive David Holdsworth, said:
“The legal framework charities operate within ensures their independence from the state and that they are non-party political. This forms the bedrock of the publics trust and confidence in charities and their special place in society. The proposed new Civil Society Covenant is a welcome initiative to set out some clear principles for how the government and charity sector can work more effectively together to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society, whilst ensuring charities remain independent of the state and non-party political. We encourage charities to engage in the consultation, to help shape a mature and trusting cooperation between the two for the future.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.