Here you will find everything you need to bring The Compact into your organisation, and to encourage others to follow its principles and Promises!
We are recruiting and training Champions across partner organisations in both sectors. Champions can bring the principles of Compact working into their own workplaces, helping colleagues see the benefits, influencing policy, and supporting service delivery through working with partners.
If you are in the Voluntary & Community Sector, you can download a Support Pack here;
If you are in the Public Sector, your Support Pack is here;
If you would like to become a Champion and receive training and support in your role, you can contact our Secretariat here.
LOCAL COUNCILS (TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS)
Compact Voice, working with the National Association of Local Councils, has published some guidance notes on The Compact for local councils. These have been circulated locally, together with an open letter from The Wiltshire Compact Board Chair, to all local councils in Wiltshire by the Wiltshire Association of Local Councils, which has just joined our Board. You can see the guidance here, and a copy of the letter here.
QUALITY STANDARD
To assist voluntary and community sector organisations a Quality Standard toolkit has been designed for those seeking to review and improve their effectiveness in delivering their objectives to support communities and individuals.
It is hoped that by developing a Wiltshire standard, best practice can be encouraged, promoting the principles of The Wiltshire Compact, and enabling organisations to have an accreditation that fast tracks them for local and national funding as well as giving evidence to the quality of their work. This can only be beneficial to customers – current and potential - and staff.
To access the toolkit click HERE.
DECOMMISSIONING GUIDANCE
We all know that from time to time funders will need to alter how they resource the outcomes they are seeking. Services and activities provided by those that they fund may then be decommissioned. Of course this will have consequences, which The Compact seeks to minimise. You can prepare for these eventualities by considering how to manage the change process. Follow this link to a Powerpoint slide presentation that takes you through the cycle of decommissioning.
The Department of Health has also produced specific guidance on decommissioning in the field of Social Care. You can follow this guidance here.
GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE - BEST VALUE AND STATUTORY DUTY (SEPTEMBER 2011)
The Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) has published its latest guidance to local authorities on how they should protect voluntary and community groups from disproportionate cuts to their funding, and properly engage with them to minimise any potentially negative consequences of spending decisions. You can read the guidance, which has statutory force, here. Legal advisors have also provided some helpful interpretation and accompanying notes. You can read those here.
We are pleased that the Guidance reaffirms the government’s commitment to Compact principles, and states that local authorities must honour the commitments set out in local Compacts.
VOLUNTEERING
You can download the full Strategy here, or the Executive Summary here.
MEDIATION
Sometimes, things do not go as well as we had agreed they might. Misunderstandings and oversights can be corrected with effort and tolerance, but occasionally issues require a deeper understanding and the help of others to assist partners to a resolution of their differences.
If you have an issue arising that you think may result in the Compact agreements being breached please feel able to contact the Compact Board Chair to discuss the matter in confidence, and be prepared to keep a note of how the situation has been developing. In most cases it will be possible for the parties to resolve their issues with some assistance.
Very rarely, this may not be possible and further help may be required. The Compact Advocacy Programme can be called upon to assist, and so may the Local Government Ombudsman if the matter concerns a public organisation.
THE COMPACT 2005-2011
First agreed and published in 2005, The 'original' Wiltshire Compact has now been replaced by the new version for 2011 and beyond. You can access the old Compact and its Codes of Practice from here:
The Wiltshire Compact (2005 version only)
Funding and Procurement
(2005) (note: Current practice will be based on the funding framework agreed
by Wiltshire Council Cabinet in May 2010, that will be included in the
2011 renewal)
Communications and consultation (2005)
Equality and Diversity (2005)
Volunteering (2005)
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