The Scottish Compact Good Practice Guides

Advice on the Scottish Executive's relations with the voluntary sector

CHAPTER 3

Good Practice Guide on partnership working between the Scottish Executive and its agencies and voluntary and community organisations in Scotland

Compact background

The Scottish Executive's commitment to joined-up action has led to a considerable growth in partnership and collaborative working. Many partnerships involve the voluntary sector, for instance the New Deal, the Social Inclusion Partnerships, the Child Care Strategy, Community Care, the Active Communities Initiative etc. The Scottish Compact contains important commitments to partnership working as follows:

• meet with the sector to develop policy and practice and promote effective dialogue and the efficient use of time;
• work with the sector on issues of concern to either party in the spirit of openness and partnership;
• consult as appropriate in a flexible and open way, communicating clearly and using appropriate media;
• recognise the role which umbrella bodies have in representing the views of their constituents without prejudice to the right of individual organisations to represent their own views;
• ensure that in the process of policy-making, the impact of changes in policy and procedure on the sector and on volunteering and community groups are considered and taken fully into account (a process known as proofing'); and
• assume that information is not confidential unless otherwise stated.'

Partnership working

Partnership, or collaborative, working has the benefit of maximising the opportunities for voluntary sector members to contribute their experience and ideas to the development and implementation of public policy, thereby making public policy more sensitive to the needs of communities. It does not, however, necessarily mean that the partners are always in agreement on the particular issues or that they will always work in partnership. It is important to bear in mind that there is a marked concern in the sector that the independence of voluntary sector partners can be seriously compromised by partnership working and that in some circumstances some organisations may withdraw.

Best practice in partnership working with the voluntary sector

The following considerations constitute good practice when working jointly with voluntary organisations, community groups and volunteering interests and should be observed:

• involve the sector at an early stage;
• identify at the outset the contribution each partner is expected to make;
• agree suitable methods for ongoing dialogue to facilitate contributions to policy development and implementation;
• agree clear goals and work toward common objectives;
• seek to ensure that voluntary, volunteering and community sector personnel are representative and can speak on behalf of their stakeholders and users, or establish the limitations of their representational role;
• provide a clear timetable for meetings, Executive action and feedback on action;
• circulate papers well in advance of meetings;
• clarify whether expenses will be paid to small organisations;
• respect confidentiality, making sure that organisations know when information is being shared on a confidential basis or that ideas are being shared at a pre-commitment stage;
• proof changes to policy and practices for their impact on the voluntary sector and on volunteering. (See associated Good Practice Guidance on Proofing);
• identify what happens if agreement cannot be reached and a partner wishes to withdraw; and
• be aware that effective voluntary sector participation involves costs.