The Thanet Compact

See the News Page for details of the Thanet Compact Awareness Event for Voluntary and Community Organisations.

What is the Thanet Compact?

A Compact is a written agreement between Voluntary & Community and Public Sector bodies to improve working relations. Through codes of practice that signatories commit to, it establishes a framework which guides behaviour by setting out what each side can expect from the other. Working in the ‘spirit’ of the Compact and in line with these codes leads to better understanding and engagement between (and within) the sectors and as a result improves outcomes in service delivery for all. Whilst a Compact is not a legally binding document; its derives authority from the fact that it is jointly drawn up and endorsed, and also has moral force in that all organisations that sign up to it agree to adhere to it.

TCIG
Members of Thanet Compact Implementation Group

The Thanet Compact was developed by a steering group of organisations from both sectors. Following a dip in momentum, a reinvigorated body – the Thanet Compact Implementation Group (TCIG) - took on the task of leading implementation locally. The work of the Group to date has been focussed on improving awareness and increasing the number of those signed up. Recent activity in this respect has included a successful re-launch of the Compact and a presentation by the Chairman of the Council in recognition of those that have made the commitment to it. Going forward, the Thanet Compact Implementation Group is supplementing the general awareness raising activity with support for internal developments (the way organisations do business) and will be asking signatories to demonstrate, on an annual basis, how their organisation has worked in a Compact compliant way. To support this activity, the Thanet Compact Implementation Group is working to promote examples of good practice and ensure that when organisations work in a Compact way they are recognised for doing so. It will also use the ‘annual review’ as an information base for lessons learnt and to guide future development activity.

Examples of local ‘Compact’ activity include:

  1. Joint work by Thanet District Council and the Thanet District Citizen’s Advice Bureau partnership to help customers make affordable payments of rent and council tax arrears.
  2. Achieving Fairtrade Island status through joint work between the Thanet Fairtrade Initiative and the Council to raise awareness of local and Fairtrade produce.
  3. Developing the first district wide multi-agency youth strategy through a steering group of local voluntary and statutory organisations led by Thanet District Council. A key success of this project has been an improvement in partnership working, leading to more joint activity for example the Youth Communicators Network. Proof that working in a Compact way gains a momentum of its own!