Dover and District Compact (pdf, 123kb)
Compact Summary (pdf, 300kb)
COMPACT SUCCESS: January 2008
What is the Dover and District Compact?
- The Compact is a Government-led initiative (www.thecompact.org.uk). The National Compact was launched in November 1998 and Local Compacts are now in place across the country.
- The Compact is an agreement to strengthen partnership working between public bodies and the voluntary and community sector. It represents a collective commitment to improve relationships and the way we work together.
- The Compact is a living document and sets out a shared vision and principles, and promises from both sides.
- Launched in September 2005, the Dover and District Compact sets out how public bodies such as Dover District Council and the Primary Care Trust, and local voluntary and community groups will work together for the benefit of all communities in the district. Background and launch details
- Compact membership is open to all groups within the Dover district.
Four codes of good practice support the Dover and District Compact:
- Resources
- Consultation and Policy Appraisal
- Valuing Volunteers
- Community Groups
The Compact is aligned to the Community Strategy, which seeks to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being within the Dover district and improve quality of life for everyone.
The principles behind the Compact are:
- Respect the contribution both the statutory and voluntary and community sectors make to our society
- Understand the constraints that each partner works under
- Acknowledge each partners' role in providing quality services
Coordinated service delivery across the district needs effective partnership working. The Dover and District Compact recognises that we can achieve more by working together. The aim is to increase the benefits to the whole community by sharing knowledge, experience, expertise and resources.
Who is it for?
It is for all public bodies and groups who work in the Dover district – regardless of size - including community groups, black and minority ethnic groups and faith groups.
How does a Compact benefit the local community?
The Dover and District Compact aims to make the voluntary and community sector a full and equal partner and recognises the sector increasingly provides services for the local community.
The emphasis is now on partnership work and consultation. Your Compact gives local groups a voice to empower their community and ensure more democratic decision-making.
Voluntary and community groups work with the community at the grass-roots level, so are ideally placed to understand the needs of the people they are helping. For example, Age Concern understands the service needs for the elderly population within the Dover district and health groups know the needs of their members.
Before decisions are made about policy and service provision these types of groups, who are signed up to the Compact, will be consulted.
The Compact gives the voluntary and community sector a voice to empower their community and ensures the decision-making process is more democratic.
Local people can support the Dover and District Compact by encouraging voluntary and community groups to sign up.
What's in it for the Public Bodies?
- Better relations = better planning = better services: by drawing on the expertise of local groups in Best Value reviews and consultations
- Grass-roots engagement
- Public bodies can draw on knowledge from local groups
- Maintain high standards of governance, conduct and accountability
- Help in policy development, planning and delivery
- Recognition and understanding of the sector
What's in it for Voluntary and Community Organisations?
- Consultation and involvement that works: having a say on what matters to you, being heard and having your issue taken seriously
- Equal partnership working
- Recognition and valuing of the sector
- Better access to information
- Local groups can gain more influence
What's in it for everyone?
- A definition of partnership which goes beyond funding and includes a diverse range of voluntary and community organisations
- Building relations that change how partners behave, engage and work together to deliver better services
- Promises on both sides and somewhere to go to sort it out when things go wrong
- Boosting community engagement and involvement in local services
- Improved communication and consultation
- Have your say!
The Dover & District Compact is more than a document
- It is a reference - to ensure promises are kept; and
- A way of working together - at individual, organisational and partnership level.
There is now also a Dispute Resolution Procedure to hold one another to account. A Dover & District Compact Implementation Group meets quarterly to promote the Compact
THE DOVER AND DISTRICT COMPACT:
“A living document which improves the way in which the partners work together”
“We achieve more for the Community by working together”
Contact:
Tel: 01304 872314
E-mail:
policy@dover.gov.uk
