A report assessed the contribution of the voluntary and community sectors to local strategic partnerships.
Source: Hilary Russell, Voluntary and Community Sector Engagement in Local Strategic Partnerships, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
A report said that voluntary and community organizations were well placed to provide high quality public services, especially those that targeted excluded sectors of the community.
Source: Investment with a Difference, Futurebuilders England Limited (020 7680 7880)
Links: Report | Futurebuilders press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that the Freedom of Information Act was having a positive impact on campaigning by voluntary and community organizations.
Source: Matthew Gitsham, Chris Gribben and Belinda Pratten, Called to Account: The impact of the Freedom of Information Act, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Report | NCVO press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that children's centres, extended schools and youth projects were the prime places where voluntary organizations could deliver public services. But it identified a range of barriers, including local authorities bringing Sure Start in-house, uncertainty about children's trusts, and the impact of extended schools.
Source: Investment with a Difference: First Learning Report, Futurebuilders England Limited (020 7680 7880)
Links: Children Now report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report examined the media portrayal of civil society activities in Northern Ireland.
Source: Liz Fawcett Consulting and Democratic Dialogue, Reporting on Civil Society: An assessment of how the media portrays the activities of civil society in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (028 9087 7777)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Oct
A report examined the role of charities working with people in prison and their families. Charitable activities could reduce the likelihood of re-offending, enhance the effectiveness of the penal system, and improve the quality of life for people in custody and for their families.
Source: Lenka Setkova and Sarah Sandford, Inside and Out: People in prison and life after release, New Philanthropy Capital (0207 401 8080)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NPC press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A report examined the relationship between charities, the media, and commercial public relations agencies.
Source: Culture Clash?: An investigation of the relationship between charities, the media and commercial PR agencies, Voluntary Action Media Unit (020 7785 6392)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
A report assessed the need for qualitative, rather than quantitative, research in order to better understand the voluntary sector and to inform and shape future policy.
Source: Pete Alcock and Duncan Scott (eds.), Close Work: Doing qualitative research in the voluntary sector, Charities Aid Foundation (01732 520000)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
A report said that civil society groups in Scotland had grown in strength since devolution.
Source: Scotland's Civil Society Diamond, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (0131 556 3882)
Links: SCVO press release
Date: 2005-Sep
A report identified a programme of work designed to place the voluntary and community sector at the heart of civil society.
Source: NCVO s Vision for the Future, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Report (pdf) | NCVO press release
Date: 2005-Sep
A report (containing two papers) reviewed both the political impact and the practical effect of the proposed expansion in the role of the voluntary and community sectors in delivering public services.
Source: Will Paxton and Nick Pearce, Julia Unwin and Peter Molyneux, The Voluntary Sector Delivering Public Services: Transfer or transformation?, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A report said that greater voluntary sector involvement would put the public and communities in charge of public services. But an umbrella group for voluntary organizations expressed concern, saying that the future of the sector did not lie solely in the delivery of public services.
Source: Nick Aldridge, Communities in Control: The new third sector agenda for public service reform, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (0845 345 8481) and Social Market Foundation | Press release 26 July 2005, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: ACEVO press release | NCVO press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jul
A think-tank report said that radical new forms of volunteering could be the secret to rejuvenating communities and delivering better public services.
Source: Paul Skidmore and John Craig, Start with People: How community organisations put citizens in the driving seat, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A review examined the use of qualitative case studies when researching the voluntary and community sectors.
Source: Duncan Scott and Lynne Russell, Researching Voluntary and Community Action: The potential of qualitative case studies, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that an increased role in the delivery of public services offered voluntary organizations an excellent opportunity to reach more of the individuals and communities they existed to support. But those that engaged in public services delivery should do so because it helped them meet their objectives, not as an end in itself.
Source: Public Services: The Role of the Voluntary Sector, National Council for Volunteering (020 7520 8900)
Links: Report | NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-May
An evaluation was published of a project which supported participation by voluntary and community sector organizations in local strategic partnerships in England.
Source: Imogen McLean, Active Partners: Evaluation report, Urban Forum (020 7253 4816)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
An article examined the way in which the Labour government had developed its partnership approach to the voluntary sector since 1998. Better terms and conditions had been secured for voluntary organizations providing services, and large and umbrella organizations had more impact on the implementation of central government policy. But the more equal partnership required for a policy-shaping role was likely to remain elusive, while at the local level there were tensions between the idea of voluntary organizations as agents of civil renewal and as service providers.
Source: Jane Lewis, 'New Labour's approach to the voluntary sector: independence and the meaning of partnership', Social Policy and Society, Volume 4 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Apr
A report described different types of collaborative working undertaken by a range of organizations in the voluntary and community sector.
Source: James Murray, The Cooperate Sector: Evaluating partnership approaches, Children s Centre Project/National Children s Bureau (020 7843 9704)
Links: Report (pdf) | NCB press release
Date: 2005-Apr
A report presented the baseline results of the monitoring and evaluation of the 'Scottish Compact' (a protocol designed to enable the Scottish Executive, and its agencies and linked bodies, to work in partnership with the voluntary sector).
Source: Keith Hayton, Loraine Gray and Karen Stirling, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Scottish Compact: Baseline results 2004, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Apr
A consultation document provided a detailed assessment of engagement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with the voluntary and community sector, and asked how this relationship could be further improved.
Source: A Giving Culture: Getting the best out of the relationship between the voluntary and community sector and DCMS, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (020 7211 6200)
Links: Consultation document (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government began consultation on plans aimed at enhancing the role of voluntary and community organizations in delivering public services, and tackling social exclusion. A new scheme - Compact Plus would shorten and simplify the commitments between government and voluntary and community organizations covering joint working. A new sector-led agency - 'Capacity Builders' - would manage the government s investment programme in the sector's infrastructure.
Source: Strengthening Partnerships: Next Steps for Compact, Active Community Unit/Home Office (nextsteps@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) | Developing Capacity: Next Steps for ChangeUp, Active Community Unit/Home Office
Links: Strengthening Partnerships (pdf) | Developing Capacity (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
The charities regulator announced that charities would be permitted to deliver public services which public authorities had a statutory duty to provide. Charities could previously only use charitable funds to supplement such services.
Source: Press release 21 February 2005, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Charity Commission press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb
An article said that a culture of participation in 'third sector' groups was relatively alien to lower-income populations. If the intention of harnessing the community sector was to improve the material circumstances of lower-income populations, a third sector approach of developing existing community-based groups was inappropriate.
Source: Colin Williams, 'Harnessing the community sector', Community, Work & Family, Volume 8 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Feb
The full findings were published of the 2004 Voluntary and Community Sector Review - designed to explore the role of the sector in public service delivery and reform. Three reports were produced. The first summarized the review outcome: it suggested the way forward to build understanding, strengthen local partnerships, and press for progress in particular service areas. The second was a discussion document on how the sector could realize its full potential contribution to service delivery, including involvement in the design and evaluation of public services. The third was a practical checklist for local practitioners to consider in the development of local compacts, or in entering partnership arrangements with the voluntary and community sector.
Source: Working Together, Better Together, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) | Exploring the Role of the Third Sector in Public Service Delivery and Reform, HM Treasury | Effective Local Partnerships, HM Treasury and other departments
Links: Working Together (pdf) | Exploring Third Sector (pdf) | Local Partnerships (pdf) | HMT press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A report contained the findings of a national study in England which examined progress in the development of 'compacts' between government bodies (at national, regional and local levels) and the voluntary and community sector. It recommended that compact development should continue to be promoted across all public bodies and services.
Source: Gary Craig et al., The Paradox of Compacts: Monitoring the impact of compacts, Online Report 02/05, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jan