Public and Patient Involvement

Compact

What is the Compact?

It is an agreement between the public sector and the voluntary and community sector to improve their relationship to mutual advantage.

The national compact was signed in 1998. Further information on this is available here

The Gloucestershire Compact is Countywide and was endorsed by the public sector bodies in March 2003.

What is in a Compact?

There are commitments and undertakings by both sectors including codes of good practice in the following areas:

Funding and Finance
Black and Minority Ethnic Groups
Volunteering
Community Groups
Consultation and Policy Appraisal
Multi Agency Partnerships

How will Compact work?

As an area to discuss areas of common concern
Mutual understanding and shared ownership of goals
Sharing best practice
Opportunities for joint working and sharing resources
Ongoing monitoring and an annual review

The ultimate goal is to be a tool for change so that both sides appreciate the constraints within which they work and more can be achieved through working together.

Some of the benefits to the Voluntary Sector will be:

Clarity and consistency in funding relationships
Better engagement in consultation
Proper inclusion on Black and Minority Ethnic groups and small community groups
Affirming the sector as a strategic partner

Some of the benefits for the public sector will be:

More effective allocation of funds
Clearer expectations around consultation
Helping in engaging with “hard to reach” communities
Joint ownership of priorities

Work completed so far:

Compact Conference in March 2003
Single Countywide Compact
Compact Steering Group – 40 members
Compact and Funding Code of Practice Launched May 2004 – 90 attendees

Work still to do:

Signing up process – mainly the community and voluntary sector
Promotion and awareness raising
Implementation
Monitoring and Review
Development of Codes
Preparation of Action Plan

All of the Codes of Practice have now been drafted and are out for consultation, you will find copies of the codes at this website address www.gloshub.org.uk/compact/index.htm . There are opportunities to give feedback

Who will do the work?

Most of the work will be completed by working groups made up from the Compact Steering Group. FOLDA will provide secretarial support and drive forward the process.

What are we doing towards this?

GHNHSFT have signed up to the principles of the compact and have set up a small working group, which includes representation from the PPI Forum, to ensure that the Trust;

meets its agreed commitment to adhere to the principles of the compact by:
encouraging its members to help develop the codes of practice in the following remaining areas:
- Black and Minority Ethnic Groups/Community Groups
- Volunteering
- Consultation and Policy Appraisal/Multi Agency Partnerships
develops an action plan which addresses any areas of concerns within the Trust, to include:
- Promotion and awareness raising
- Implementation of any actions
- Evaluation, at least on an annual basis
seeks the views of the Trust in order to represent those views at the Compact Steering Group.
feeds information about the Compact back into the organisation