Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council and the voluntary and community sectors working together.

What is a Compact?

• noun - a small case containing a mirror
• adj - closely and firmly united or packed together
• noun - agreement or covenant (from latin compactum)
• verb - to press or join firmly together

In this case the Compact is an agreement between public bodies and the voluntary and community sector setting out how they relate to each other. It is the framework for working together in a spirit of trust and respect and provides the basis to address many important issues. The government is encouraging all councils and voluntary and community sectors to form a Compact together.

The National Compact

The National Compact office, based at the National Centre for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), describes a local Compact as:

• An agreement that improves relations between local public bodies and voluntary and community groups for mutual advantage
• A living document setting values, principles and commitments for how best to work together to achieve more for the local community
• A way of working in partnership that gets it right together rather than wrong alone

Why is the Manchester Compact important?

The Compact between the City Council and the local voluntary sector was signed in September 2003. It is not legally binding but it can improve all partnerships between the sectors.

Our Compact sets out the principles and promises between the Council and its voluntary and community sector partners who are jointly committed to providing good services for Manchester residents.

The Compact also aims to promote good practice in the way we work together through the codes of practice.

How can Manchester organisations use the Compact?

All Manchester voluntary or community sector groups in a funding or working relationship with the City Council should use the Compact to improve the way we work together for the benefit of Manchester residents.

This simply involves getting a copy of the Compact and discussing it with management committee members, workers and volunteers, and thinking about how it might improve your work.

Any Manchester organisation can use the following words on printed documents: (name of group) is committed to the principles of Working Together: A Compact for Manchester

What is the Compact Conciliation process?

The Manchester Compact has been developed to provide a positive framework for partnership working and sets out agreed principles and standards. If problems or disagreements arise related to non-compliance with the Compact codes of practice, which cannot be resolved informally by the people involved, the Compact conciliation process can be used

Examples of where the Compact could be used:

• It is February and your organisation has been asked to take part in a consultation with the council about a strategic plan due to be published in April. You feel the council officers are not really listening to what your group is saying, and that the consultation is a token exercise - Use a Compact
• You have recently been informed that your funding from the Council is to be cut by 10% starting next month. You do not know why this is happening other than the Council officer has told you they have to make some budget cuts - Use a Compact
• You are at a partnership meeting and become aware that a voluntary sector organisation has started to use volunteers instead of paid staff. The manager is really pleased because this will save the group money and staff management problems - Use a Compact

Case studies of the Compact in action

• The Voluntary Sector Policy and Grants Team has now introduced partnership funding agreements, which embody the principles of the Compact.
• Compact principles are being used to ensure that voluntary and community groups are treated fairly in rent reviews of council owned properties
• A voluntary organisation has used the Compact to challenge the Council commissioning processes being used to invite voluntary sector applications for new contracts.

What are the codes of practice?

The codes of practice provide standards for voluntary, community sector and local authority good practice.

Funding

This code of practice clarifies funding relationships between the council and the voluntary and community sectors. It recognises:

• the sector's desire for greater security
• the council's desire for genuine accountability
• the users' desire for good quality services

Consultation

This code of practice is to ensure that decisions affecting the voluntary and community sectors take into account the views of voluntary and community groups and their members and users.

Volunteering

This code of practice:

• Provides a framework of good practice for recruiting and managing volunteers that will benefit both service users and the volunteers alike.
• Promotes volunteering as a valued contribution to service delivery, as well as an important community activity and opportunity for personal development

Inclusion

The aims of this code of practice are to:

• Ensure that delivery of services has maximum benefit for people who suffer social and economic exclusion
• Ensure that policies and practices encourage the active involvement of people at risk of social exclusion
• Help achieve equality of opportunity through working in a way that is open, accessible, accountable and inclusive

Who are the partners of the Compact?

As part of the Manchester Partnership, the Community Engagement Partnership Working Group is overseeing how the Compact is put into practice.

The partners of the Compact are Manchester City Council and:

• Any voluntary or community organisation in Manchester that has a relationship with the Council and agrees with the Compact principles.
• The Community Network for Manchester, which supports the participation of voluntary, and community groups in the Manchester Partnership.
• The Scarman Trust, which provides neighbourhood based support for voluntary and community groups across Manchester.

The Scarman Trust Manchester
225-226 Manchester Royal Exchange
Manchester
M2 7DD
Telephone: 0161 839 2613
Email: support.manchester@thescarmantrust.org

Community Network for Manchester
Greenfish Resource Centre
46-50 Oldham Street
Manchester
M4 1LE
Telephone: 0161 234 2916
Email: info@cn4m.net

The Manchester Partnership
Room 3013
PO Box 532
Town Hall
Manchester
M60 2LA
Telephone: 0161 234 4066