1. Strengthening relationships between the public and VCSE sector
Bristol Compact Newsletter Issue 1: August 2009
Contents: The Newsletter Bristol Compact Who’s Who? News Partnerships Diary Contact
Welcome to the first issue of COMPACT The Bristol Compact is an agreement
News. This newsletter will be produced every 2 between local public agencies and the VCSEs in
months and support the work of the new the city. The Bristol Partnership has adopted the
Compact Liaison Officer at Voscur. It will share Compact and endorses its implementation. It
news on issues relating to the Compact and defines and strengthens positive working
update readers on partnership work between the relationships between the public and voluntary,
Public and Voluntary, Community & Social community and social enterprise sectors by
Enterprise Sector (VCSE) in Bristol. We hope establishing a set of working principles that all
that readers will contribute news, photos and partners are signed up to and a framework for
updates to keep the newsletter vibrant and find it developing better working practices and positive
a useful publication, helping to strengthen partnerships, particularly within the Bristol
relationships between the sectors. Partnership and in the delivery of the Local Area
Agreement. Louise will be helping all partners to
Louise Clark has recently keep to these guidelines.
started work as Compact
Liaison Officer at Voscur. At the heart of the Compact is the need to
She will be supporting acknowledge the power imbalance between the
VCSE organisations to public sector and the VCSEs and implement a
better understand the Compact way of working at all times, to ensure
Compact, as well as positive outcomes for all partners and service
enabling public sector recipients.
commissioners to recognise Guidance documents can be found on the
the expertise that VCSE organisations can bring Compact page of the Voscur website:
to service provision in the city. www.voscur.org/compact
The dedicated post will help
“Having a
Compact
organisations have better
The Bristol Compact fits into a national
Liaison Officer engagement in the
structure. There is a National Compact between
in post, will commissioning cycle at all
central government and the countrywide VCSE
help to stages. Louise will share
sector, which is overseen by 3 national partner
highlight and information on opportunities for
organisations. This relationship and local
challenge any joint commissioning and joint
inconsistencies
compact structures are shown in the diagram on
bidding, organise training and
in the next page. Clicking the logos will take you to
events, enable participation in
commissioning the corresponding websites, giving more
dialogue with commissioners
processes” background and development news on the
and support marginalised
national compact.
Elaine Flint groups to have equal access to
Social Enterprise
Works skills, advice and support.
Louise has many years
experience of working with the “The Compact Liaison role will provide a vital bridge
sector and in developing between commissioners and providers,
collaborative initiatives both locally and supporting the 10 year Vision for Bristol”
nationally. She is looking forward to developing Darren Hall
Bristol Partnership Manager
positive partnerships that can benefit the sector,
commissioners, and users of services in Bristol.

2. National Compact concentrating on 4 key objectives: reducing
health & wealth inequality, increasing the
aspirations and achievements of young people
CENTRAL VCSE
GOVERNMENT SECTOR
and families, making our continuing prosperity
sustainable and making our communities strong
and safe. The VCSE sector is critical to
Overseeing Partners: progress, and we hope that the City Strategy
will help commissioners to work with the VCSE
Government department
with responsibility for all sector to achieve the outcomes that everyone
* matters related to the wants for Bristol.”
compact
The strategy is currently being
consulted on. Click on the
An independent body to strategy for more information.
oversee the operation of Deadline: 4th September 2009.
the compact
The Impact of the Recession on Compact
Representative group for Implementation
the interest of the VCSE
sector in all matters
The Commission for the
related to the compact Compact has issued a
discussion paper looking at the potential impact
Local Compact of the recession on the relationship between
government and the third sector. Themed
around eight key areas, the paper reviews
Local various changes that are expected to take place
Councils, during the economic downturn, and discusses
NHS,
Public Bodies the possible effects on the relationship between
the two sectors and
implementation of the Compact.
It identifies possible pressure
points in the relationship
*Compact documents often refer to the Third Sector, the
collective term used to describe voluntary and community (challenges, risks or conflicts),
groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals. where ensuring effective
implementation of the Compact
Who’s Who? could become all the more
The Compact Steering Group is the current important. Click the picture to download a copy.
multi-agency group responsible for leading on
implementing, monitoring and championing the Compact Refresh
Compact. The members include representation The national Compact is being refreshed and
from: the Black Development Agency, SARI, the the Compact Voice
Care Forum, Avon Fire & Rescue Service, website explains the
Volunteering Bristol, Voscur, Bristol Primary reasons behind this: The
Care Trust and Bristol City Council. The Group national Compact has
meets quarterly and reports annually, making been key in ensuring many issues have moved
recommendations to the Bristol Partnership. from the sidelines to expected practice, such as
3-year funding and full cost recovery. Now 10
News years since its launch and following last year's
big debate on the Compact's future, the national
A Vision for Bristol
Compact is being refreshed to ensure its
Darren Hall, the Bristol
continuing relevance and strengthen its impact.
Partnership Manager, outlines
Compact Voice is leading the sector's input into
the work the partnership is
the refresh, which should be completed by
currently undertaking. “The
November 2009. A formal three-month
Bristol Partnership is re-drafting its 10 year
consultation on the new Compact has just been
Vision as set out in the Sustainable City
launched. To read more about the Compact
Strategy. It will describe our aspiration to put
refresh click here.
Bristol alongside the best in Europe,

3. Enabling Commissioning experience and expertise. In recognition of this,
James Woods is the Programme Manager for implementation guidance on independence has
the Enabling Commissioning Programme at been published. To see a copy click on the
Bristol City Council. He explains further: “The picture.
'Enabling Commissioning programme’ provides
an excellent opportunity for both Bristol City Partnerships
Council and its VCSE partners to ensure that Collaborative working is something that you
the '8 Principles of Intelligent Commissioning' may have seen popping up in documents or
are embedded into the council's commissioning heard about in relation to funding and training
process. The '8 principles' reflect the values of initiatives. But what is it?
a good commissioning system. All eight are
critical to the success of the programme, as is NCVO (The National Council for Voluntary
having Louise Clark the Compact Liaison Officer Organisations) have a dedicated website on the
as a key partner. issue, which includes a wealth of resources and
reports. They state that: Collaborative working
The programme will create a standardised within the voluntary and community sector - also
approach to commissioning that is embedded known as joint or partnership working - covers a
across the whole council, ensuring that the spectrum of ways that two or more organisations
council's commissioning is consistent and of a can work together. Options range from informal
high quality. Central to the whole programme is networks and alliances, through joint delivery of
the project entitled 'Create a Commissioning projects to full merger. Collaborative working
Methodology' which will form the basis for all can last for a fixed length of time or can form a
commissioning activity within the council, and it permanent arrangement. What these options
is here where the Compact Liaison Officer's have in common is that they involve some sort
experiences will provide valuable assistance of exchange, for mutual advantage, that
and guidance. Working in partnership with ultimately benefits end users. Click
Louise Clark and a select team of expert
commissioners we will create a methodology
that delivers excellent services, whilst being for more info
simple to use.
If you require any further information please do NCVO Collaborative Working Conference
not hesitate to contact me at the council on: 29TH September
James.Woods@Bristol.gov.uk or
01173 525 979 and I will do my best to help." See diary for
more details
Compact Advocacy
As an NCVO programme, Compact Advocacy Thriving Neighbourhoods
can help and support voluntary and community Ben Barker chairs the Thriving Neighbourhoods
organisations, on how to use the Compact, board of the Bristol Partnership. He is pleased
including what principles have been breached that there is a dedicated role to engage different
and how to best challenge decisions. They have agencies in the Compact. “The Thriving
helped hundreds of organisations achieve a Neighbourhoods Board is one of five boards set
better relationship with Government and up by the revamped Bristol Partnership. This is
resolved disputes over funding, lack of the first time that Bristol Partnership has had a
consultation, poor communication and many group specifically looking at the different areas
other issues. Case studies are on their website. of Bristol, but, when you think about it, it's
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/compactadvocacy/index.asp?id=1948
obvious that whether its crime, education or the
state of the parks, the story is different in various
Independence Matters
Bristol neighbourhoods. This cross-sector Board
In June 2009, the Commission
will be encouraging local solutions to what are
for the Compact produced
often local issues.
‘Independence Matters’. Third
sector organisations can play The new Board only met for the first time in
many different and important February. It's been concentrating on the 14 new
roles in society, but to do so Neighbourhood Partnerships across the city
they need to be independent in looking at removing obstacles to their formation
order to use their distinctive and especially at how local people and

4. community organisations can influencee View the Bristol Compact via:
services. The new Duty to Involve that
www.voscur.org/compact or at:
government is laying on councils, health and www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Community-
police will make this even more important in the Living/Community-Advice/the-bristol-compact.en
future. The Board also has oversight of several
The deadline for next issue of COMPACT
issues related to the voluntary, or third, sector
News is 30th September 2009. Send examples
as government calls it. One of these relates to of where the Compact has been used and how
the Bristol Compact. The Thriving you hope to engage with the Compact to
Neighbourhoods Board's task will be to see that strengthen relationships and deliver services
the Compact really works and that all agencies in Bristol.
sign up to it in reality rather than just in theory.
Diary
Do you know the 8 Principles of 24th September
Intelligent Commissioning? Navigating Funding Agreements
Designed to guide you through the different types
Understanding the needs of users and other of agreement and how to approach the key
communities by ensuring that, alongside elements of a contract.
other consultees, you engage with the third www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/events/latest
sector organisations, as advocates, to access
their specialist knowledge 29th/30th September
Practical Public Sector Tendering
Consulting potential provider organisations, One day work-shop in London. Running on two
including those from the third sector and dates. Gain the tools to access some of the £175
local experts, well in advance of billion that central government and the public
commissioning new services, working with sector will put to tender in 2009. More information
them to set priority outcomes for that service and on-line booking at:
www.publicsectortendering.com
Putting outcomes for users at the heart of the
strategic planning process 2nd October
Compact Voice Annual Conference
Mapping the fullest practical range of This year's theme is ‘Practical action for a
providers with a view to understanding the thriving Compact, sector and community’.
contribution they could make to delivering www.compactvoice.org.uk/information/101026/events
those outcomes
22nd October
Considering investing in the capacity of the Tendering for Better Services
provider base, particularly those working with Develop your understanding of the
hard-to-reach groups procurement cycle and the constraints and
opportunities in the tendering process.
Ensuring contracting processes are www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/events/latest
transparent and fair, facilitating the
involvement of the broadest range of 2nd-8th November
suppliers, including considering sub- National Compact Week
contracting and consortia building, where Bristol events information to follow
appropriate
Contact:
Ensuring long-term contracts and risk
sharing, wherever appropriate, as ways of
achieving efficiency and effectiveness
Louise Clark
Compact Liaison Officer
Seeking feedback from service users,
communities and providers in order to review Voscur
the effectiveness of the commissioning CREATE Centre
process in meeting local needs
Smeaton Road
Bristol BS1 6XN
Insight is the quarterly
newsletter for the Tel: 0117 909 9949
national Compact. Issue Fax: 0117 933 0501
No.5 Summer ‘09, can Email: louise@voscur.org
be viewed by clicking Web: www.voscur.org/compact
picture on the left.
STOP PRESS Bristol E-Procurement Training: www.voscur.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=176 STOP PRESS
STOP PRESS Event - A dialogue with Annie Hudson on Children’s Services: www.voscur.org/node/5678 STOP PRESS