Big society

Kent Fire and Rescue Service breathes new life into the Compact

Sue Beer, Dover Compact Officer, and her colleagues have been working with Kent Fire and Rescue Service. They have been exploring how cross sector working can benefit both the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and the Fire Service. Positive steps have been taken to create a close relationship which improves the safety of local people.

Compact Voice Impact Report 2010

Published by Compact Voice in 2011, the Impact Report highlights the key activities and achievements delivered by the Compact Voice team during 2010.

Using work shadowing to build stronger partnerships

Paul Winyard from NCVO's Public Services and Partnerships team discusses the benefits of their cross-sector work shadowing scheme - and how you could build on it locally.

Big Society and the Compact

Published by Compact Voice in 2011, this briefing note provides information about the relationship between the Coalition Government's Big Society initiative and the Compact, including some key lessons that those delivering the Big Society can learn from the Compact.

The Big Society, the right to challenge and the dangers of astroturfing

The Big Society is …

That sentence has been finished in a wide variety of ways by both advocates and critics. However this points to at least some consensus - that it can be hard to define!

Big society

Renewed Compact - Consultation Response

Published by Compact Voice in 2010, this document provides a summary of the submissions received in response to the Renewed Compact, highlighting where the final document has changed based on the views of the community sector.

On the Horizon: Social Enterprises, by Mandy Varley

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Q&A Tea Time Social with ClearlySo, an organisation that answers the practical needs of social businesses and enterprises. According to NCVO, social enterprises are organisations that trade with a social purpose. So essentially they are for-profit businesses with social aims. Before attending the event I’d assumed this was a relatively new concept but it turns out famous examples like The Co-operative and even Barcelona Football Club have been in operation for a good while already.