CAMBRIDGESHIRE COMPACT

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

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INTRODUCTION

The Cambridgeshire Compact was published in its current form in February 2007 and was signed by all the district councils, the County Council, the old PCT, Jobcentre Plus and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils. It was also signed by all the Cambridgeshire, and the regional VCS infrastructure bodies.

It was designed to improve relationships between the statutory and voluntary sectors, and to provide a framework within which expectations from both sides could be understood.

The county wide Compact was developed to bring together any local agreements into a unifying framework that it was hoped would develop effective joint working.

Find out more and read the Compact on the CCVS website

METHODOLOGY

The survey was sent out to all CCVS contacts giving them a unique response code, it was also circulated to all Cambridge City Councillors and shared with Cambridge City Council staff through their internal email system.

A reminder was sent to all parties after the initial email to encourage them to complete the survey. The response from members was poor but the responses from staff and VCS organisations were better than average for this type of survey.

The survey was conducted in August and September 2014

3%

68%

30%

Types of respondent

A CouncillorA statutory sector employeeA worker or volunteer from the VCS

All councillor and statutory sector respondents were Cambridge City based.

The respondents from the VCS came from a wider area.

The response rate from the councillors was poor, in itself this is telling as councillors did not feel engaged enough to even complete the survey.

WHO RESPONDED

Over half of respondents had not heard about the compact despite the fact that it has been in existence for over seven years.

When looking in more detail

• 73% of City Council staff had not heard of the Compact

• 19% of VCS respondents had not heard of the Compact

This shows a much higher recognition of the Compact within the VCS.

AWARENESS OF THE COMPACT

Yes44%

No56%

Have you heard of the Cambridgeshire Compact before receiving the email about

this survey?

Nearly twice as many people feel that they would never envision having a use for the Compact as opposed to those who use it on a regular basis.

Of those who could never envision having a use for the Compact 67% were from the VCS and 33% were City Council workers.

Those people who use it regularly or occasionally are predominantly (57%) council workers.

HOW THE COMPACT IS USED

10%

58%

13%

19%

The compact is something....

I use on a regular basisI am aware of and feel might be useful in the futureI have occasionally usedI can never envision having a use for

A much higher proportion of council workers (17%) felt that the compact was likely to be massively important compared to those rom the VCS (5%)

However a slightly higher proportion of VCS workers (67%) felt that they could see a future use for the compact compared to those from the council (62%)

29% of VCS respondents and 21% of Council respondents felt that the Compact would only be of minority interest.

USEFULNESS OF THE COMPACT

13%

64%

23%

Now that you have been made aware of the compact does it make you feel that

It is massively important and that you are not sure why you did not know about it beforeIt is good to know about as you could see a future use for itIt will always be of minority interest and will not impact on your work

68% of respondents said that the Compact needed to be re-launched, 11% said scrap it, and the other 21% had various suggestions predominantly along the lines that it needs a refresh in light of changes to statutory bodies roles and funding criteria.

It is also clear that there needs to be work to ensure that it is used to develop meaningful partnerships, and that there needs to be guidelines on how best to use it.

WHAT NEXT?

Have a concerted campaign to promote the compact

Look at how it could be better used to develop meaningful

partnerships

Develop guidelines about how best we can embed compact principles in daily working

27.4%

75.8%

46.8%

Some people think that the Compact is only relevant in conflict situations, but it is more than this. Should we

(tick all that apply)

WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE THE COMPACT

CONCLUSIONSAlthough this survey was focused on Cambridge City Council it gives a clear indication of the state of the compact. It is clear that the Compact has not been engrained in the joint work of the Voluntary and statutory sectors that have signed up to it.

It is also clear that there is support for this type of agreement to exist. This is however tempered by a view that a voluntary agreement will not have the teeth needed to ensure partnerships are fair and equal.

It is also clear that to work the Compact has to be much more widely understood and that it need to be promoted at the highest levels in all organisations.

Finally it is clear that for the Compact to be effective it needs to be much more widely recognised and understood, especially by those working in the statutory sector.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That the compact is refreshed in light of changes to organisational and environmental realities that exist in 2014

2. That senior level bye in from all partners is obtained to ensure that the compact is given the maximum weight possible

3. That the new document is launched and promoted to all those in the voluntary and statutory sectors

4. That guidelines are drawn up and published on how best to use the Compact

5. That training is developed for commissioners and funders about how to enshrine the Compact in their work with the sector