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THE BRISTOL COMPACT - FIRST DRAFT JANUARY 2003

The Bristol Compact aims to create a new approach to partnership between statutory agencies in Bristol and the voluntary and community sector. It aims to provide a framework to enable relations to be carried out differently and better than before. Agencies and voluntary and community organisations share many aims - the pursuit of inclusiveness, dedication to public life and the support for the development of healthy communities. The compact is a starting point for developing this partnership, based on shared values and mutual respect. It includes sections on funding, volunteering, information and consultation, and working with Equalities Communities. Issues of Equalities will underpin the whole agreement.

 

The shared principles underpinning this Compact are:

  • Voluntary action is an essential component of a democratic society.
  • An independent and diverse voluntary and community sector is fundamental to the well-being of society.
  • In the development of public services, statutory agencies, the community and the voluntary sector have distinct but complementary roles.
  • There is added value in working in partnership towards common aims and objectives. Meaningful consultation builds relationships, improves policy development, and enhances the design and delivery of services and programmes.
  • Statutory agencies and the community and voluntary sector have different forms of accountability and are answerable to a different range of stakeholders. Common to both is the need for integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
  • The statutory sector and the voluntary and community sector acknowledge the importance of promoting equality of opportunity for all people regardless of race, age, impairment, gender, sexual orientation, or religion and issues of equality will underpin the implementation of the Compact.

In order to support agencies and groups to implement this Compact, a set of Compact guidelines are being produced. The guidelines describe actions and give examples - these will make the Compact a practical tool in supporting positive relationships and work between local groups and agencies.

 

DRAFT SECTION ON FUNDING

Many voluntary and community organisations in Bristol feel that the relationship between themselves and their funders is a good one. The Compact will build on existing good practice and aim to create more consistency in funding processes between agencies in the City. It will cover grants, service level agreements and contracts (commissioning) and will clarify the differences between these processes.

 

It is accepted that long-term funding agreements are beneficial for both funders and funded organisations. Funding agreements will be for as long as practicable and an appropriate length of time will be agreed for each project (this will include short-term project funding and feasibility work as well as on-going funding).

 

Wherever possible the partners to the Compact are committed to introducing coordinated funding processes with:

  • common forms,
  • model agreements,
  • information sharing,
  • joint monitoring and
  • integrated timescales for funding systems and notice periods for any withdrawal of funding.

It is agreed to set up a Joint Funding Working Group to address these issues. This will report to the Bristol Partnership on progress made by December 2003.

 

The Compact gives a commitment to working to setting out an agreed "best-practice" approach to accountability and monitoring for financial support to the voluntary and community sector and aims to adopt this standard by all sections within the Council and other partners to the Compact by December 2003. This approach is intended to minimise the burden of monitoring on voluntary and community organisations, whilst maintaining proper accountability. It will include a commitment to shared monitoring and evaluation processes, including the identification of a lead funder and an agreement that proper assessments of an organisation by one agency are accepted by others.

 

The partners to the Compact will work to establish a unified Bristol Small Grants Pot for grants up to £10,000 with a single application process and monitoring procedures by April 2004. This will follow the model of the Government Office South West's Small Grants Action Plan.

 

Agencies provide support to voluntary and community organisations through a number of other resources, including:

  • secondment of staff and management support,
  • free or low cost use of community buildings,
  • sharing of other resources (eg computers and vehicles),
  • training,
  • community development work and
  • fundraising support (eg Funderfinder).

These are acknowledged as important benefits. It is noted that community and voluntary sector groups also provide their knowledge, skills and resources to statutory agencies.

 

A commitment is given to set out a series of best practice standards when agencies or organisations act as a landlord to the voluntary and community sector by December 2003.

 

DRAFT SECTION ON CONSULTATION, INFORMATION, PARTICIPATION

There are a number of reasons why statutory agencies and community and voluntary sector organisations will want to communicate with each other.

These include:

  • Information giving,
  • Information gathering,
  • To consult about matters which are open to change, and
  • To hold ongoing discussions about a range of issues and developments.

Before starting any communication with external bodies/public, agencies will clearly identify:

  • The purpose of the communication - what is to be achieved?
  • Who do we talk to and why?
  • How best to communicate with those targeted so it is appropriate?

Information, and consultation activities will be targeted to ensure smaller groups and those most affected have good access to them, with appropriate methods to reach those most likely to be excluded by traditional communication methods. Consultation will require a range of methods to engage different groups of people and communities.

 

Agencies will plan communication in advance and contact others to find out if it is possible to bring different consultation processes together - especially where these are to be locally held.

In the past we have not always been clear about the reason we are communicating, calling a range of activity "consultation" regardless of whether what's being discussed is open to change or not. This can lead to confusion. It may even lead to anger and resentment among those who join in to give a view and make changes to proposals and plans that find they are simply receiving information.

 

In future, those signing this Compact will give a clear explanation of the purpose of communicating in relation to:

 

Information Giving. Information will be clear, concise, and in plain English. It will be made available in different formats and languages as appropriate.

 

Information Gathering. Agencies will gather general and specific information to give an informed base to planning services, usually before any consultation or ongoing evaluation purposes.

 

Consultation. Only processes allowing those specific matters open to genuine change that reflect expressed views will be described as consultation. There are many ways to consult, and these are described more fully in the implementation guidance. However, for written consultations wherever possible 12 weeks will be allowed for replies in order to accommodate the work cycles of community and voluntary organisations and political/organisational processes in statutory agencies. Where less than 12 weeks is allowed any consultation document will specify the reason why a shorter response time is set.

 

Dialogue. For some issues statutory agencies, community groups and voluntary organisations will find it useful to have ongoing discussions for planning and development purposes. Such dialogue may not have set deadlines, and may take a number of forms. Some of these are described in the implementation guidance.

 

Costs of Participation.
Statutory Agencies recognise that participation in their consultation programmes and ongoing dialogue about plans and developments requires resources. These include time and costs of travel and childcare, personal assistance, and interpreters.

 

DRAFT SECTION ON THE CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering has been described as "an important expression of citizenship and essential to democracy. It is the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of society and the community and can take many forms. It is undertaken freely and by choice without concern for financial gain."

 

The 4 principles that are fundamental to volunteering are:

  • Choice. It must be freely chosen without any form of coercion or compulsion.
  • Diversity. Volunteering should be open to all, no matter what their background, age, race, sexual orientation, faith etc.
  • Reciprocity. In exchange for their time and skills the volunteer should receive benefits from the activity. Benefits might include a sense of achievement, useful skills, experience and contacts, sociability and fun.
  • Recognition. Explicit recognition of the value of volunteering to the organisation, to the community, to the social economy and to wider social objectives.

DRAFT SECTION ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Voluntary and community organisations and statutory agencies in Bristol generally work well together. The diversity of these partnerships is clearly a strength. This said, there will inevitably be occasional tensions between these bodies. It is how we deal with these tensions or conflicts that is important. The principles used to resolve disputes that may arise will be to:

  • Promote good practice in conflict resolution and seek to use processes, which find real resolutions to the issues.
  • Recognise and support the independence of the voluntary and community sector, including the right within the law to campaign, to comment on statutory agency policy and to challenge that policy, irrespective of any funding arrangement that might exist and to determine and manage its own affairs.
  • Develop a willingness to work collaboratively recognising that compromise may be necessary at times.
  • Develop a clear view of the roles and responsibilities of elected members.

DRAFT SECTION ON EQUALITIES

The Compact gives a commitment to improve relationships between the Bristol Partnership's members and disadvantaged communities in the City. This includes work with:

  • Black and Minority Ethnic Communities
  • Disabled People
  • Gay, Bisexual and Lesbian Communities
  • Older People
  • Women and
  • Young People

And also to support other groups who may be particularly disadvantaged for instance:

  • Refugees and Asylum Seekers
  • Homeless People
  • Vulnerable People and
  • Faith Communities

It is acknowledged that the Voluntary and Community organisations working with these equalities groups have several important roles in helping to achieve the Compact's aims. They empower users through involvement in the design and delivery of services, advocate for community needs, alleviate poverty, improve the quality of life and actively involves some of the most socially excluded people and communities in the City. They also contribute to Bristol as a dynamic and vibrant place.

 

Equalities organisations experience many of the same constraints as mainstream voluntary and community organisations, but more acutely. They also face specific constraints - they are a less well developed sector and can suffer discrimination and disadvantage.

 

There is evidence that these Groups and Communities may be excluded from some existing funding processes or traditional methods of consultation and participation. The Bristol Compact will make a commitment to consider and address the needs and issues raised by them. The monitoring of the Compact will focus on equalities issues in each of its sections.