GVOC Chairman, Jeff Gray and Gateshead Council Leader, Mick Henry signing the Compact
The Gateshead Volunteering Compact is an agreement between public sector agencies and the voluntary and community sector to work together to agreed standards and shared objectives. It formalises a set of shared commitments which recognise the value and role of the voluntary and community sector, and outlines on agenda for action to make these commitments a reality
Gateshead’s first Volunteering Compact was published in 2002. It set out a range of undertakings and provided a mechanism for closer working between the public sector and the community and voluntary sector.
This first Compact developed as a series of agreements between individual statutory organisations and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), and was not envisaged as a Gateshead wide, partnership based approach. Since then, there have been a number of key developments that have aimed to support and enhance the VCS. In 2007, the Gateshead Strategic Partnership (GSP) launched its Sustainable Community Strategy, Vision 2030|, which set out Six Big Ideas to improve Gateshead. The ‘Gateshead Volunteers’ Big Idea sets out objectives to support a thriving VCS and to promote the role of volunteering, recognising the major contribution the VCS makes to creating safe, sustainable communities in Gateshead.
The Gateshead Agreement - Gateshead’s Local Area Agreement - identified two strategic targets to improve, support, and develop the community and voluntary sector. These objectives were the subject of recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee reviews by Gateshead Council, and their recommendations have been reflected in a new Compact.
The GSP is committed through its Sustainable Community Strategy, Vision 2030, and Local Area Agreement to support, promote, and work in partnership with the community and voluntary sector to maintain the long-term health of the sector.
The function of the new Compact is to set out the shared principles and actions which members of the GSP will take to create a thriving voluntary and community sector in Gateshead.
The role of the Compact is to:
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Improve trust, communication and joint working between the VCS and all partners
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Improve outcomes for local people through partnership
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Support the delivery of Vision 2030