They are Champions: The Role and Impact of

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF LOCAL COMPACT CHAMPIONS

They are the Champions:

July 2009

Publication date: July 2009

Published by the Commission for the Compact on behalf of the Compact partnership, May 2009.The text in this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media subject to it not being used in a derogatory manner or misleading context.

What is the Compact?

The Compact is a voluntary agreement between the government and the third sector in England. It recognises shared values, principles and commitments and sets out guidelines for how both parties should work together to ensure that better outcomes are delivered for local people. Central government signed up to the Compact collectively so it applies to all central government bodies.

From 1998, Local Authorities were encouraged by the Government to agree Local Compacts for partnership working with third sector organisations in their areas. All top-tier authorities now have Local Compacts. These reflect the principles of the national Compact but vary from area to area, to reflect local issues and partnership arrangements.

For more information, please visit:www.thecompact.org.uk

Research carried out by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR)

section one:INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 4Contains an introduction to the study and how to use this publication

section two:WHY HAVE COMPACT CHAMPIONS? 10Considers the rationale for having Compact Champions and gives examples of successful outcomes achieved by them

section three:HOW ARE CHAMPIONS RECRUITED? 20Explores some of the ways in which Champions are recruited

section four:WHO ARE COMPACT CHAMPIONS? 22Gives examples of how the role of Champion is carried out in different sectors and by people at different levels of seniority in public and third sector organisations

section five:WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE DO CHAMPIONS NEED? 34Looks at the skills and experience that Compact Champions need

section six:WHAT TRAINING AND SUPPORT DO CHAMPIONS NEED? 40Explores the support and training that champions have received, and makes some recommendations about how support and training for champions could be developed

section seven:HOW DO CHAMPIONS LINK IN TO THE 48LOCAL POLICY ENVIRONMENT? Discusses the links between the Compact and the local policy environment, and looks at how champions can assist in achieving the aim of mainstreaming the Compact

section eight:CHALLENGES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM 52Gives some examples of challenges that local Champions have faced, and how they have overcome them

section nine:NEXT STEPS 58Proposes some next steps for taking forward the role of Local Compact Champion

Contents

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF LOCAL COMPACT CHAMPIONS

They are the Champions:

1

Now more than ever we need Compact Champions on the ground making sure that everyone is using the Compact for the benefit of communities. Across the country, Compact Champions have helped to improve the lives of individuals and communities.

Previous research identified champions as one of the critical success factors behind Local Compacts. Until now, there has been no specific research focussing on them. We are delighted to have bridged this gap with this publication that reinforces the positive role champions play within their own organisation, for the wider local partnership and especially the people and communities they serve.

This publication is designed to help current champions, their managers and Compact implementation groups by highlighting good practice in all aspects of the role within councils, health trusts and local groups. Champions can make even more impact if given the training, support and access to information they need.

This study shows why those without champions must consider recruiting them as a matter of importance. The research shows the impact champions can have on improving Compact awareness, practice and implementation. Crucially, it offers a road map on how to navigate the recruitment, support and training of champions.

section one:INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

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Message from Simon Blake, Chair of Compact Voice andSir Bert Massie CBE, Commissioner for the Compact

Simon BlakeChair of Compact Voice

This publication is just the start. We will issue a series of targeted guides and further support in the coming year as part of campaign led by Compact Voice to increase the number of supported champions. Meanwhile, we wish to highlight the following messages from the research:

• Champions promote, raise awareness and build understanding of the Compact, which helps increase implementation

• Effective championing is key to improving Compact performance. This helps achieve better outcomes for individuals and communities

• Champions must have support, training and direction as soon as recruited

• Champions are needed at both senior and operational levels. Operational champions market the Compact and offer practical support, while senior level champions can create the right working environment and help remove barriers to implementation

• Champions don’t have to be experts but they do need good communication and promotion skills

• Champions are often energetic, motivated and committed individuals. Being brought together through a network and linked into key strategic decision-making processes can boost their impact.

Our thanks go to the Institute for Voluntary Action Research for the way they have undertaken this research project, along with the individuals from the study areas who took part and helped shape this valuable piece of work.

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1The role and impact of Local Compact Champions

Sir Bert Massie CBECommissioner for the Compact

1section one:

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY(continued)

This study is a follow up to the Commission for the Compact’s earlier research entitled What makes a successful Local Compact1, which found that having Compact Champions was an important way of increasing the effectiveness of Local Compacts. Typically, in areas with successful Compacts every agency signing up to the Compact would appoint a champion. We found that champions were able to promote awareness of the Compact, to encourage colleagues to use the Compact, and to collect information about how the Compact was being used and where there were issues that might need addressing. The research found that Local Compact Champions could be a means to help organisations to work in a Compact way, which in turn could lead to better outcomes for local communities.

Local Compact Champions are still a relatively new idea. The first champions were appointed in 2006, and the role is still developing. Our earlier research picked up some concern that Local Compact Champions may not fully understand what they are supposed to do and how to do it, and may receive inadequate support in fulfilling the role.

Championing the Compact is a subtle and multi-dimensional role, calling for a range of skills and experience. Being a champion can help people who take on the role to develop and refine those skills and to play an important part in making the Compact work, but they need the appropriate support and resources to help them to be effective champions. Currently, there is little information available about how the role of Local Compact Champion works in practice, and, where local Champions have been successful, how they have achieved this.

1 What makes a successful Local Compact, Commission for the Compact, September 2008

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About this study

This study was commissioned to address this gap and to produce a practical based guide to support the developing role of champions. Through the research, we set out to find out more about:

• The extent to which Compact Champions are making a contribution to Local Compact implementation

• Practical approaches used by Local Compact Champions and the skills required to achieve this

• The role and impact of training for Local Compact Champions

• Success factors and good practice achieved by Local Compact Champions

• Differences and similarities in roles and challenges facing Local Compact Champions in public bodies and in small and large groups.

The research also highlights examples of good practice and ways of overcoming challenges, from which people charged with implementing Local Compacts can learn.

The study team selected ten local authority areas, spread across the nine government regions. The areas were chosen because it was known that they had Compact Champions, and some areas were thought to offer examples of good practice. The areas that took part were (in alphabetical order):

• Calderdale

• Derby

• Devon

• Rotherham

• Southend

• Sunderland

• Surrey

• Warwickshire

• Wirral

• Wolverhampton.

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1section one:

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY(continued)

In each area, the study team interviewed lead officers for the Compact from the local authority and the sector, together with a sample of people from across the sectors who had been identified as champions. Interviewees included people from the local authority, the sector and primary care trusts. In total, we interviewed 53 people (appendix one contains a breakdown of the job roles and sectors of interviewees - available on the Compact website www.thecompact.org.uk/publications). In three areas, the researchers also attended a meeting of the Compact Steering Group. The team also reviewed each Local Compact and any material that was specifically relevant to champions, such as role descriptions and training courses.

To enable participants in the study to be as open as possible, we agreed that, although we would attribute examples to the areas from which they were drawn, we would not quote individuals directly. For this reason, all quotes in the document have been anonymised. We would like to thank everybody who took part and gave so freely of their time and insights.

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9

1

This report has been framed as a journey, which begins with the appointment of champions and should lead ultimately to the achievement of better outcomes for local communities. With the appropriate support and training, which forms part of the journey, champions can drive forward the Local Compact, improve Compact working and, through this, deliver better outcomes. In our model, the journey continues as the Local Compact becomes embedded into mainstream structures and more champions are recruited, therefore reinforcing the Compact model of partnership working. As figure one below shows, the whole process of recruiting and supporting champions, and the impact they make, is not linear, but continuous.

Figure 1: How champions support the Local Compact

This practical publication serves two purposes. Firstly, it presents the key findings from our research into the role of Local Compact Champions. Secondly, we hope that it will be a resource for people at a local level who are Compact Champions (whether they are new to the role or are experienced champions, or somewhere else along this spectrum); have some responsibility for developing the role of champions, or are considering using champions to increase Local Compact implementation. Therefore, we have tried to draw out examples of good practice, to highlight key challenges and how they have been overcome, and to make suggestions about how others might apply the lessons from this study.

How this publication can help you

The role and impact of Local Compact Champions

Identify andrecruit

Champions

Induction andsupport forChampions

EmbedCompact intomainstreamstructures Local Compact

making adifference torelationships

and outcomesDevelop skills

and experience

ImplementCompact way

of working

Cascadeknowledge

Achieve betteroutcomes

2section two:

WHY HAVE COMPACT CHAMPIONS?

This section considers the rationale for having Compact Champions and gives some examples of outcomes that have been achieved by the champions we interviewed. In some examples, it is hard to disentangle the impact of champions from the more general implementation of the Compact and from the actions that individuals might take anyway because of the job that they do. However, ‘championing’ is clearly an important component of success, whether it is carried out by someone called a Compact Champion or by someone else.

Successes highlighted fall into the following categories:

• Raising awareness of the Compact so that people know what its benefits are

• Helping to change the way local public sector bodies and third sector groups work together

• Developing better commissioning and procurement practices

• Developing conflict resolution processes and helping resolve problems

• Creating a culture of greater transparency and co-operation

• Helping to get the Compact embedded in mainstream structures

• Helping to build an evidence base for the effectiveness of Compact working

• Acting as a means to involve otherwise excluded groups in consultation and decision making processes

• Developing new services.

In the remainder of this section we explore ways in which Local Compact Champions have contributed to achieving these outcomes.

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Summary of key findings

Although the Compact has now been in existence since 1998, many people still know little about it. This is particularly true of people working in smaller groups, individuals within local authorities who are not directly involved in working with the sector, and many staff within health trusts. Many of those who do know about the Compact are still not convinced of its practical benefits. Compact principles should form the basis of relationships between public agencies and the sector. The reality is that this is far from the case.

Champions can play an important role in spreading the word about what the Compact is and how it can be used. Almost all of the champions we spoke to told us that their role as champion was to ‘talk to people about the Compact and make sure they know it exists’; for example: In Calderdale, a recent survey of local groups revealed that awareness of the Compact had increased as a result of the champions’ efforts.

In the statutory sector the issue of lack of awareness is slightly different, and the challenge for champions is to tell people within their own organisations about the Compact. This view is typical of those expressed by our interviewees: ‘The council is a huge bureaucracy, and people in some departments will never have heard of the Compact. It is simply not on their radar’. But many of the champions interviewed for this study described a journey, whereby people had come to understand the Compact; for example:

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At the very first Compact meeting [in 2005], there were only two people who really understood the Compact; some people seemed to have no understanding at all. But over the last two years understanding has grown and Compact Champions can now explain to people what the Compact is and how to use it. That for me is how it’s changed and why we have more council support.

I think all the people that do it are stars. For a long time, this has been a thankless task but as more people have become champions it’s getting better...The champions chip away…They are able to ignore the negativity around Compact and go back to those people and talk about it again.

‘There are hundreds of small groups in the area and some of them are very isolated. It is my job to make sure they know about the Compact and what it can do for them’


There is still a need to raise awareness about the Compact

2section two:

WHY HAVE COMPACT CHAMPIONS?(continued)

‘Compact is like the car, but the champions are the driver; the one that gets it moving through their organisation.’ (Study participant from Calderdale)

The Compact is a statement of principles, but the document itself means little if the principles are not implemented in practice. One champion summed it up:

‘It is relatively easy to get the nice words agreed, especially if you are not very specific about commitment. It is very difficult to get the detailed practical stuff implemented across partnerships in an area.

Champions can help to change practices at a local level, as these examples from our study demonstrate.

In Devon, Derby and Rotherham, Compact Champions have worked with other colleagues to develop partnership relationships around procurement and commissioning. In all three cases, the work of the champions has resulted in people thinking in different ways, and in practices being changed. For example, in Devon, tendering paperwork for a particular fund was reviewed and made accessible to smaller groups. As a result, these groups have been able to bid for funding. In Derby, issues around ‘added value’ and ‘full cost recovery’ were clarified and tendering documents were amended to ensure they reflected the spirit of the Compact.

In Rotherham one of the champions gave an example of being able to use the Compact to have a discussion with partner agencies about how they could change some of their procedures so that the sector could more easily engage in the process. As the champion explained: ‘It was about saying to people this is the Compact, this is how I see it fitting with what you’re doing and having that kind of discussion so that you develop people’s own thinking.’

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Champions help implement Compact principles

‘The really hard bit is the less visible stuff – working at those relationships, changing the culture of even a small part of a big organisation and the way a partnership works. You need the right people in the right places to do that.’

In one area, which we agreed not to identify, a local authority officer had been able to argue successfully for more strategic grant funding for the sector over three years, instead of annual grants. The recommendation for more strategic funding was agreed by the council’s executive committee on the basis of the officer’s argument that three year strategic grants were more appropriate ‘in accordance with the Compact and its Codes of Practice’.

Compact Champions have also been able to influence councils’ approach to consulting the sector. For example, in West Devon champions have made sure that when projects are developed they include a 12-week sector consultation period. This was a departure from previous practice, but the champions were able to explain to council colleagues why it made sense to do this. Similarly, in Derby and in Wirral, it is now much more routinely accepted within the statutory sector that a 12-week consultation period should be built into consultation on all issues affecting the sector.

In a number of our study areas, champions have helped to develop a conflict resolution process. The process sets out clearly how any disputes over matters covered by the Compact will be dealt with. Perhaps more importantly, the champions were able to publicise the conflict resolution procedure to those who needed to know about it – people working in the sector, councils, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and other statutory agencies whose day to day relationships are governed by the Compact.

In Rotherham, champions explained how they had helped to embed the use of Compact Codes. Signing up to the Volunteering Code, for example, is now an integral part of the process that any organisation goes through when it wishes to publicise a volunteering opportunity. When organisations approach Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) to advertise an opportunity on the VAR website, VAR goes through the code with people before they sign up – ‘they do their championing bit’. Around 180 organisations are now signed up to the Volunteering Code: ‘It’s a major win for us… it’s been a real good drive to get people aware of how to work with volunteers, how to manage them…’

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2section two:


One of the key findings of the research into what makes a successful Local Compact is that Local Compacts are more likely to be taken seriously when they are overseen or championed by bodies with the power to make decisions and to monitor the implementation of Compact principles. Examples of ‘successful’ arrangements included having a Compact Steering Group reporting directly to a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Executive Board. In this study, we found that Compact Champions can play a role in embedding the Compact into ‘mainstream’ structures. In Derby, for example, the Compact group reports to the Derby Strategic Partnership. As one champion explained: ‘The fact that the Compact is now more closely aligned with the LSP is a step forward. It was essential to get Derby City Partnership (DCP) and partners’ involvement. To amalgamate the Compact with that [DCP] has been the most significant achievement. Communications with DCP are very efficient and reporting on the Compact fits with the LSP’s thematic partnerships.’

In Devon, the Compact used to be a separate piece of work but has now been incorporated into the Collaboration, Partnership and Representation Programme, which itself reports to the Devon Consortium (also known as the ChangeUp Consortium).

Key to getting the Compact embedded into structures like the LSP is having elected members on board as champions. Indeed, not having the support of elected members – who are the ultimate decision makers – is often cited as a reason why local councils do not take the Compact seriously. Having one particular councillor who is an enthusiastic champion of the Compact has made a great difference in Derby. Reflecting on his own role, the councillor explained:

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Champions help embed the Compact in mainstream structures

‘At least two cabinet members, those concerned with Adult Services and Children and Young People’s Services, are responsible for services that have a lot of contracts with the voluntary sector, so ‘we need to keep Compact in mind and make sure it’s working...Our paperwork is pretty good and we have good engagement with the voluntary sector side. My role is ensuring that processes work in practice, not just on paper.’

Opinion was divided amongst those who took part in our study as to whether Local Compact Champions should be in the business of mediating and resolving disputes. Some thought they should have some sort of negotiating role, and others thought that champions should give advice and information, but should not intervene themselves. These themes are explored further in section four, which looks in more detail at what Local Compact Champions do.

In spite of these differing views, we found some examples of occasions where Compact Champions had been able to help resolve problems between sector groups and statutory organisations. In most cases champions did this by working with both parties to head off conflict, rather than by using the Local Compact to fuel an adversarial approach.

Problems are often resolved by champions from across sectors working between themselves, rather than by a sector champion setting out on a ‘crusade’ against a statutory body. In each of our study areas, we were given examples of a Compact Champion from the sector talking to a statutory sector champion (or sometimes a statutory sector champion talking to a colleague from the same organisation) about a funding problem between a statutory body and a local group. In every case described, champions discussed the situation, jointly agreed a way forward, and were able to facilitate a mediated solution, therefore avoiding a major conflict unfolding.

It is important to note that, although champions regard defusing conflict as an example of a successful outcome, they are generally reluctant for the details to be publicised. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the problems that have been addressed involve funding cuts. In several cases, champions were able to change the process by which funding decisions were made, extend the period of consultation about proposed cuts, and, in one or two cases, persuade statutory bodies not to make cuts after all. One example of this suggests that champions may have a role in helping statutory bodies to see the benefit of working in a Compact way, rather than using the Compact in a punitive way. In one area, we were given an example of prospective cuts, which were to affect sector groups. As the champion explained: ‘to come out of the mixer and survive is difficult, but the champions made sure that the council could demonstrate why they were making their decisions. Overall, the Compact saved some of those organisations.’

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2

Champions help to resolve problems


2section two:


Champions are able to facilitate a more mature dialogue between sectors than has sometimes been the case in the past. In general, champions say they look for explanations and seek to understand the context and the constraints people are working under, rather than ‘going in with all guns blazing’. One of the consequences of this approach, according to some champions, is that it has encouraged statutory authorities to be more open. ‘It was like secret squirrel but that’s changing. Now they want everyone to know everything’. But with more openness comes a need to make sure that the sector is getting consistent and accurate information. Again, this is where champions from both sectors can play an important role: ‘...that [greater transparency] puts pressure on small organisations and that’s where champions come in - to help manage the threats and opportunities and the flow of information’.

Sometimes Local Compact Champions already know each other and have a working relationship before they become champions, as champions tend to come from sector infrastructure bodies and council departments with specific responsibility for the sector. On the other hand, champions may not have a history of working together, and the creation of champions and a forum for meeting together helps to strengthen the links between sectors. For example, in Surrey:

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Champions create a culture of greater transparency

Champions make links between different sectors

‘the work of champions has developed strong links between the police, PCT, the council, education, and parts of the voluntary sector, spreading the ethos of the Compact into areas where people did not know about it.’

Some champions feel strongly that they are there to help all parts of the sector engage with the statutory sector. Interviewees explained how champions can help traditionally excluded groups build relationships with the statutory sector. For example:

‘I’m here to ensure that groups within the sector who are seldom heard or don’t have a voice are empowered to be able to play ball with us [the public sector] …they need to be supported…it’s about championing the people who don’t have a way in really.’ (local authority champion, Rotherham)

and

‘What I want is to see those small social entrepreneurial organisations that are never going to be big playing a part. Those smaller organisations that work with specific groups – they’re going to go out of existence if they don’t get some relationship with statutory authorities.’ (PCT champion, Southend)

In Wirral, it was reported that small groups had gained credibility by ‘wearing the Compact badge’, and that being a Local Compact Champion had opened the door for these groups to attend forums to which they would not otherwise have had access. As knowledge of the Compact grew in Wirral, smaller groups found themselves being invited to attend meetings, or being able to put themselves forward to do so under the auspices of being champions.

In rural areas, exclusion from information giving and decision making processes often results from geographical isolation. North Devon is an example of this; there are two market towns, divided by Dartmoor, but no single focal point for events and training, which means that everything usually has to be done twice. Communication across the whole administrative area of North Devon is more difficult as a result, and Local Compact Champions are seen as a resource for reaching across rural and geographically divided areas, and getting messages out to groups. In Devon, champions have developed mechanisms (including e-mail and website updates before and after key meetings and telephone conferences) for regular feedback to and from groups on all matters affecting the sector.

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2

Champions are a means of involving otherwise excluded groups


2section two:


In Warwickshire, in particular, we were given examples of how Compact Champions from both sectors had made a difference locally by working together to develop new services and to plan the delivery of services at a very local level. In part, the impetus for getting together to plan new services had come from people from different sectors working together on the Local Compact, and so becoming more aware of the contribution that each sector could make to service delivery. For example, in Stratford, cross-sector working had resulted in the development of a new initiative for homeless people, a scheme to provide garden equipment to allotments and new approaches to providing meals on wheels. In addition, the Compact has underpinned work between parishes and the sector to develop parish plans, which have resulted in local people being more involved in decision-making and problem-solving for the local community.

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Champions contribute to the development of new services

Finally, we know anecdotally that the Compact is being used much more than recorded evidence would seem to suggest. It is rare for partners to monitor uses of the Compact, although in some areas, keeping a record of ‘Compact wins’ has proved to be a motivator for those involved in keeping the Compact on track. This study suggests that champions are beginning to play a role in capturing information on how the Compact is useful – and perhaps also on areas where implementation of the Compact needs to be strengthened.

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Champions help to build an evidence base

3section three:

HOW ARE CHAMPIONS RECRUITED?

Local Compact Champions are recruited in a variety of ways. We found that some recruitment methods were more effective than others, particularly in terms of whether people designated as ‘champions’ were then able to understand their role and take forward some practical actions. We also found that Local Compact Champions are not always called ‘champion’, or had not actually been officially designated as such, but were, in practice, very good at championing Compact ways of working.

We found that champions were recruited in the following ways:

• On the spur of the moment, usually at events

• By virtue of their job role

• Through their own initiative

• As part of a deliberate strategy to improve Compact working.

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Some champions were recruited on the spur of the moment, for example at Compact events. Recruiting champions at events is a great way of identifying them but only if they are followed up effectively with support and training – otherwise they are likely to become de-motivated and ineffective. Event organisers and Compact Implementation Groups should ensure that follow up is factored in. Section six contains examples of effective ways to support the role of Compact Champion.

Recruiting champions

Some people become ‘de facto’ champions through their job role. 17 of the 53 people we interviewed were senior managers in councils for voluntary service or council officers with specific responsibility for the sector. Of these, around half were referred to in minutes of meetings or Compact guidance as ‘Compact Champion’ (and attended a Compact Champions forum or similar grouping). The others did not have this type of official recognition, but saw championing the Compact – and by implication helping to improve relations between local government and the sector - as an integral part of their organisational role: ‘I don’t see myself as a champion – it’s just something that’s got to be done’ and: ‘as Chief Executive of an infrastructure organisation it is absolutely fundamental to my role here.’

We also found that champions become Local Compact Champions through their own initiative. As an officer from a PCT explained: ‘I suppose someone has to take the mantle on, and as I like working in the community and with people, and if I’m championing the case of patients more generally then it makes sense.’ Many of the champions we spoke to had volunteered to be part of a Compact Steering Group and had been involved in developing the Local Compact and its Codes of practice. Through this involvement there had been a logical progression to becoming a Compact Champion, because people with experience had come to be seen as experts, to whom others would refer about the implementation of the Compact.

Finally, in some areas recruiting Local Compact Champions was part of a deliberate strategy to make the Compact more effective. This was the case in Derby, which won ‘Compact of the Year’ in 2008. Derby’s Voluntary and Community Sector Partnerships Manager thought that the idea of having Compact Champions was ‘a relatively straightforward way of getting the Compact idea started’. When it was established, the Compact Forum was ‘very much about developing bits of paper’, but it was felt that members needed to do more work in their own spheres of influence. In its early stages, Forum members did not have a specific role outside attending the meetings. Members had seen the idea of Local Compact Champions in other areas, and thought that it made sense to build the role of champion into an existing structure (i.e. the Compact Forum). It was also a way of getting more capacity to work on the Compact: ‘we always struggle with capacity; we’re not a rich local authority and it’s hard to progress that with a low level of resources.’

In other areas, too, champions were seen as a cost-effective means of getting the Local Compact implemented. Only three of the areas we studied had dedicated Compact workers, and, in the present economic climate, our interviewees did not think it likely that new funding would be made available to support the implementation of the Local Compact. Although it was recognised that champions and dedicated workers have different roles, around three quarters of our interviewees felt that champions were a more effective means of getting the Compact implemented, because they could get the message into the right places in the statutory sector.

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4section four:

WHO ARE COMPACT CHAMPIONS?

This section examines who champions are – which sectors and organisations they come from and what their job roles are – what champions do in practice and how they go about fulfilling their role. Local Compact Champions are people who:

• Take opportunities in their day to day work to explain the benefits of the Compact to others

• Contribute to the development of the Compact through their experience, skills or job role

• Come from different levels in organisations and fulfil different, but equally important roles, depending on their level of seniority

• Play slightly different roles in different sectors. In the statutory sector, champions tend to promote the Compact internally, whereas third sector champions are more outward facing, spreading the word across the sector

• Perform their role through a variety of means, both formal and informal.

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When we came to look at who champions are and what they are doing, it became even more apparent that a lot of the people who are championing the Local Compact don’t regard themselves as champions. In practice, our study areas took a range of different approaches to championing the Compact, adopting strategies which enabled people at all levels in organisations to champion the Compact, whether or not they had the official title of ‘Compact Champion’. However, there are advantages to formalising the concept of champions, as this can help to clarify what is expected.

An example was given of a particular volunteer and trustee in Calderdale who has been very active in raising the profile of the Compact. As a colleague put it: ‘If you said to him he’s a Compact Champion he’d say he wasn’t. But he is because I can call him to a meeting and he’ll explain it to other people…He’s been in a meeting with me when he’s said ‘I’m not sure if that fits with the Compact’. That’s how we see champions. Not running around going ‘yay!’

In Derby, use of the term ‘champion’ and the act of championing is not entirely consistent, but ‘championing’ is working in practice: ‘Forum members are Compact Champions, but members of the Compact Implementation Network are also championing and promoting it in their own role. So there are a lot more Champions in Derby than are designated as such.’

We asked interviewees whether they thought it was an advantage or a disadvantage that people might not think of themselves as a champion. On the whole, people thought it did not matter whether champions thought of themselves in that way, as long as they were effective in telling people about the Local Compact and what it could do. The key issue was ‘being at the table’ where important issues are discussed and decisions made. The label ‘champion’ gave some people access to these arenas, when they would not otherwise have been able to participate, but in some cases champions were people who would have been at the table anyway.

However, we did find that understanding of what they could be doing to implement the Local Compact seemed to be uneven among these champions who had no forum or other mechanism to share ideas. For the most part they were going about things in their own way, but might have benefited from coming together as a group, not only to share ideas and good practice but also to monitor the impact of their own work.

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4

Does the label ‘champion’ matter?


4section four:

WHO ARE COMPACT CHAMPIONS?(continued)

We found that there were two distinct groups of people who were Local Compact Champions. On the one hand, there were the ‘experts’ – people who had vast knowledge of the Compact and its Codes, and could advise (almost in a legalistic way) about Compact-related issues and what to do about them. Most of this group had been involved in developing the Compact and had built up a bank of knowledge. Almost every area had at least one person who was regarded as a ‘Compact oracle’. On the other hand there were ‘promoters’ – people who were not necessarily involved in all the detail of the Local Compact, but were in a position to tell people about its existence and benefits.

Both types of champion have an important role to play. Sometimes people who sign up initially to promote the Compact can become experts. In Rotherham, for example, people felt that champions had been introduced ‘because the Compact was difficult to sell to people’. Initially, it was envisaged that champions would then go out and tell people in their own sectors about the Local Compact and make sure it became part of their work. The role of champions seemed to snowball from there, to the point where champions were seen as repositories of expertise: ‘some people just didn’t have a clue about the Compact so they thought champions were ‘experts’’. However, there are champions who are an important resource because ‘they have so much knowledge about the Compact.’

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Different types of champion: ‘experts’ and ‘promoters’

We found that it is important to have champions at different levels in organisations, because they have distinctive roles to play in increasing the implementation of the Local Compact. Roles also differ from sector to sector and from organisation to organisation, reflecting the differences between councils, PCTs and local groups. For example:

Broadly, we found that the role of champion involved different responsibilities at different levels in organisations, as follows:

• At a very senior level (including members and trustees): giving credibility and supporting officers to do the work involved.

• At manager level: communication upwards and downwards and making sure Local Compact principles are enacted in everything that happens.

• At officer level: knowing about and understanding the Compact; upwards and vertical communication; implementing in dealings with other sectors.

From the descriptions given to us by the champions we interviewed, we have developed a simple ‘role description’ for Local Compact Champions in the statutory and third sectors. These descriptions are meant as a guide and not a definitive list. As tables one and two show, there are some responsibilities that apply at all levels, and others that can only be carried out at the appropriate level.

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4

Importance of having Champions at different levels in organisations

‘There needs to be Compact Champions who are frontline workers and also some more senior people. Frontline workers need to understand and implement the Compact and appreciate how it affects the ways in which they work with VCOs. Higher level staff need to be in a position to affect real cultural change.’


4section four:


Table 1: Role of statutory sector Compact Champions

LEVEL ROLE

Elected members (council) or non-executive board members (PCT)

• Ensure that decision-making processes at the highest level are based on Compact principles

Corporate lead, e.g. chief executive

• Work with elected members and non-executive boards and officers to oversee the implementation of decisions

Departmental head (all departments commissioning from or otherwise working with the sector)

• Ensure that Compact principles are implemented in local practices

• Develop policy that recognises Compact principles

• Challenge breaches

• Take a lead on improving cross-sector relationships

Manager or officer with a policy and/or funding remit for the sector

• Give information and advice to departmental heads about working with the sector and Compact implementation on the ground

• Raise issues at a higher level where practice is not working well


• Work with sector infrastructure bodies to raise awareness of the Compact in the third sector

• Implement practice in a way that fits with the Compact

• Advise the sector about how public bodies work

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27

4

Table 2: Role of sector Compact Champions

LEVEL ROLE

Chief executive of a local infrastructure organisation

• Take a lead on working in partnership with the statutory sector

• Lead on developing and overseeing the implementation of the Compact

• Lead on publicising the Compact to groups


Manager in infrastructure organisation with responsibility for partnerships

• Publicise the Compact to groups

• Advise the sector about how public bodies work

• Advise statutory bodies about how the sector works


• Monitor wins

Compact officer • Publicise the Compact to groups

• Monitor implementation of the Compact

• Give information to the sector and statutory sector about how to work within the Compact

• Bring breaches to the attention of senior colleagues

• Support the Compact group at and between meetings

• Support, organise and co-ordinate champions

Senior manager in a local third sector organisation

• Understand how the Compact can help groups to work with the public sector

• Take opportunities to publicise the Compact to other groups

• Raise concerns where the Compact is not being implemented in relationships with statutory service departments


4section four:


Overall, what champions do in practice depends on the degree of influence that an individual champion has, either sector wide or at the organisational level, and on the degree of support that the champion receives to fulfil their function.

With these variables in mind, champions may do any or all of the following:

• Publicise success, both informally and formally at local events

• Embed Compact principles within systems, policy, strategy and Procedures

• Mention the Compact in meetings

• Talk to people about the benefits of the Compact for their own organisation – i.e. make it personal

• Make use of the local Compact infrastructure, for example the Compact Steering Group (or equivalent) and Compact conflict resolution processes

• Make themselves known to people as a champion so that people know where to access support.

We found some fundamental differences between champions in the statutory and third sectors. The third sector champions who took part in our study seemed to be more ‘outward facing’; their main role was to promote awareness of the Local Compact in the sector. On the other hand, statutory sector champions tended to promote it to colleagues within their organisation. For example:

In Wirral, for example, the Compact lead officer from Voluntary and Community Action Wirral sees herself as a ‘conduit for information’ for the sector. Part of the role as champion involves circulating relevant local, regional and national information, making sure that sector groups know about anything that is likely to affect them, and ensuring that the sector has the time and the opportunity to respond to consultations.

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What do Local Compact Champions do?

‘My role is to ensure all levels within the NHS in Calderdale are fully aware of what the Compact is about and what the implications of the Compact are for the NHS as an organisation.’

Surrey has a ‘champion of champions’, in the form of a Compact Development Director, who is based at Surrey Community Action. The role is to support Local Compact Champions by giving them information and guidance:

‘My role is to support champions and help them. The champions’ role is to spread the word within their organisation, attend the Compact Implementation Group, which was previously the Champions Working Group (we changed its name to become more pro-active). My role is to progress work coming out of these meetings and to ensure that other champions do the same, and to support them in this. My role is to make sure that everyone changes their behaviour so that I’m not needed anymore!’

In Southend, the Compact was signed only relatively recently, and champions are a new initiative. The benefits of having Compact Champions are already beginning to be apparent to people in the statutory sector. For example, the Supporting People (SP) team has adopted the Compact as a framework to help them work more effectively with the sector. This has involved increased contact between the SP team and the sector lead officer for the Compact, who is based in the local community and voluntary sector organisation. Through this, the SP lead has become aware of how he can champion the Compact within the council in other ways. As a second person from the council explained, statutory sector colleagues are rarely ‘simply not interested in the Compact’; rather, they have said ‘I don’t quite understand that bit’ or ‘I don’t know how to change it in my own part of the organisation’, and are open to guidance from people who know more about the Local Compact than they do.

Champions at a very senior level – members and non-executive directors – are able to have a real influence over the allocation of resources. They see their role as ensuring that the Local Compact is always taken into account in high level discussions about budgets. For example, in Rotherham, a cabinet member who was also a champion, explained: ‘I ensure that behind the scenes, where the sector does not sit when budgets are being cut, I am consistently aware of the potential issues for the sector through the different codes of practices and how these should be applied.’ In particular, it is members’ roles to make sure there is adequate time for proper discussion, debate and consultation and that the council is working on a consistent commissioning framework. Member champions also tend to assume overall responsibility for raising the profile and awareness of the Local Compact across the council. Directors and senior managers can remove obstacles to the implementation of the Local Compact by supporting champions to address the challenges they face, as a champion explained:

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4

‘When I’ve got a problem, I feel well supported as the people above me are good’


4section four:


Champions often champion through informal means – by taking opportunities to talk about the Local Compact and ‘weaving it into what I do anyway’ and ‘making myself available for people to talk to me about the Compact. And they do ask.’

Sometimes championing is a more formal activity, particularly in the sector, where the key issue is getting the message across to third sector organisations – ‘being an expert resource that people can go to and publicising that.’

In Surrey, having a clearly defined structure for the Local Compact is seen as a means of enabling champions to perform their roles in a combination of formal and informal ways; as the chair of the Surrey Compact explained:

In very practical terms, champions may play an important role in producing information about the Compact, servicing Compact meetings and pushing forward the work between meetings, for example by drafting documents or by following up on action points and reminding others. The champions who take on this practical work tend to be those whose role as champion falls out of their job role – for example, managers in Community and Voluntary Services (CVSs) and sector liaison officers in councils.

Marketing the Compact emerged as an important role for Local Compact Champions, and this links to the points made in section five about champions needing to have good communication skills. Some champions do this by giving talks to groups, while others are more low key, and ‘market’ the Compact by talking to people individually or taking opportunities to mention it. There was a general desire for more and better written information about the Local Compact and the role of champion – in short, easily digestible form and written in an engaging style.

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How do they do it?

‘You need to have the structure – support must come from the top and it must filter down – there needs to be a culture of supporting Compact. In Surrey this has been the case with the police, who have been extremely supportive. Their Chief Constable has strongly supported Compact and ensured that this filters down the force, with champions. And the PCT, which has now merged into one, is on board too. Apart from that it’s about being able to harness peer pressure. One needs access to senior players, to be able to speak to the Chief Executive. And in general terms it works.’

The following are some ‘top tips’ from a selection of our study areas about what a champion should do.

Lessons from Calderdale

1. Be a point of call for any queries or questions that people may have about the Compact. Make sure you know where a copy of the Local Compact is, how people can access it, and who people can go to if they feel something is not Compact compliant. ‘It’s about being an enabler rather than a challenger; a resource to sit and discuss things with, in a non-threatening way.’

2. Publicise case studies to show how people have used the Compact and the benefits it is having in the local area. This has been a very useful action and has had a direct impact on people who attended the event. As one person commented: ‘He loves the Compact now because he heard other people’s stories at our event.’ These case studies could be advertised in the local press, at local Compact events or by having a Compact stand at local conferences. Making sure that Champions discuss successes between one another is also important.

3. Be involved in/feed ideas into the Compact Steering Group (or equivalent).

4. Be a role model. If people ask, tell them why you work the way you do and relate your way of working to the Compact.

5. Do not be afraid to mention the Compact in meetings.

6. Embed the Compact into your organisation’s systems, policies and procedures. Champions have been able to do this by advocating the benefits of working in a Compact way for the organisation itself.

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4section four:


Lessons from Rotherham

1. Ensure that the benefits of people signing up to the Compact are made clear, for example by explaining how all the codes work and what they mean in practice for the Sector and public bodies.

2. Embed the Compact into your organisation’s systems, policies and procedures.

3. Use the Compact as a mediating tool to help people see the benefits of working together and finding solutions to sensitive problems such as funding cuts.

Lessons from Derby

1. Make use of Compact procedures already in place, for example the Compact conflict resolution process that is in place in Derby.

2. Put the Compact on as a standing item on any agendas that you set to ensure it continues to be discussed.

Lessons from Surrey

1. Make links with as many organisations as possible and do some research about the lines of communication in each organisation to ensure you can discuss the Compact with the appropriate people.

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Lessons from Wolverhampton

1. Ensure that the Compact is referred to when new documents and strategies are being developed.

2. Be alert to ways in which the Compact could be used to support strategic and policy development both at an organisational level but also at partnership level.

3. Build up a knowledge bank in order to document what has been achieved in relation to the Compact. This can then be used to publicise the success of the Compact. This may be done through a survey (as was the case in Calderdale).

Interestingly, some champions did not think incorporating Compact Champion work into people’s job descriptions would help anyone own the Local Compact more, take it on board or understand it. ‘It’s more about hearts and minds, but also about processes, e.g. staff induction, giving people information, workshops etc to help people understand.’

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5section five:

WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE DO CHAMPIONS NEED?

In this section, we look at what skills and experience people need to be an effective champion. Often champions are unclear about why they have been chosen, and it may be helpful to make clearer the kinds of qualities that champions are expected to have. As the experience of some of our interviewees shows, people who take on the mantle of champion may not have all these skills at first, but can develop them through being a Local Compact Champion.

Local Compact Champions need to have, or be willing to develop:

• An understanding of the Compact and its Codes

• An ability to see the bigger picture in terms of working toward positive outcomes for local communities

• An ability to stand in the shoes of people from another sector and to understand the environment they are working in and the challenges they face

• A belief in the value of cross-sector partnership working

• Tenacity and commitment to see things through

• Diplomacy and the ability to influence, often in subtle ways

• Good communication skills.

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Understanding of the Compact

Although champions need a thorough understanding of the Compact, not all champions need to have detailed knowledge of the Local Compact and all its Codes. First and foremost, champions need to have a good overview of what the Compact can do and how it is relevant to both the statutory and third sectors.

Champions need to be able to make a case for using the Compact within each sector. For the statutory sector that might mean coming up with a business case for the Compact, explaining how important the third sector is in delivering services and how the Compact can make the sector stronger and so better able to deliver services: ‘the Compact is a tool that helps that.’ For the third sector, it is important for champions to help people see that the Compact can assist the sector in being fit for purpose:

Being able to see the bigger picture

Our participants thought it was important for champions to be able to see the ‘bigger picture’, by which they meant that champions should have enough understanding of the environment in which statutory agencies and sector groups work to be able, firstly, to make good judgements about how and when the Local Compact is relevant and, secondly, to have credibility with partners from other sectors. As one person said:

Many of those we spoke to thought it was important for champions to be able to show that they understood something of the perspective of the other sector. As one person put it: ‘Personally I found it useful to have worked in both sectors, however I do not think this is a prerequisite…It helped my thinking about how we [the council] work with the sector [third sector] and I know more about how local authorities work in terms of democracy and politics.’

Knowledge and experience

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‘It is important to be able to think strategically, otherwise people will get caught up in minutiae. Statutory sector partners will disengage if you get into minutiae. They can look at the voluntary sector as if they don’t get it.’

‘a tool to empower the sector a bit more...champions need to understand how the Compact can help groups to deliver what they agreed to deliver.’


5section five:

WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE DO CHAMPIONS NEED?(continued)

At the same time, champions need to have enough knowledge about their own sector or their own particular area of work to know how to apply the principles of Local Compact to it: ‘I don’t think Compact champions can necessarily walk out of one Compact area into another one and call themselves a champion. It’s about understanding the environment in which you’ve sat’ and ‘[champions need] the ability to keep abreast of both legislative developments and technical issues. At the moment I am battling with community and mental health contracts – it’s outrageously complicated. It’s important to have experience of how these things operate within the different sectors.’

For statutory sector champions, ‘a little voluntary sector sympathy and a good understanding of the sector’ are important. In the statutory sector, champions need an understanding of the characteristics of groups: ‘otherwise there is no hope of understanding why it is important to implement the Compact. They need to understand what the sector’s about.’ If they have this understanding, statutory sector champions are better able to explain issues to their colleagues and influence practice within the statutory sector.

Similarly, third sector champions need to be more than crusaders for the rights of the sector. To build effective relationships and be taken seriously when raising issues of concern to groups, they need to appreciate the environment in which the statutory sector operates: ‘You need to know what’s out there in the community, but at the same time have the ability to understand the constraints that the local authority operates under. For example, we know it’s difficult for the council to give the amount of notice required by Compact to the voluntary sector because of the local authority financial timetable. As long as we understand this, we don’t think the council is deliberately ignoring the Compact.’

Building an appropriate level of understanding across and throughout the sectors takes time, which is why it is not always straightforward in practice to implement the principles of the Local Compact. However, there are things that Compact Steering Groups and individual champions can do to help the process along. For example, it was suggested that it would be helpful to set up shadowing opportunities for people who were signed up as a Local Compact Champion. Section six looks in more detail at what other kinds of support and training champions need to be effective in the role.

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Values and beliefs

In general, interviewees felt that a Local Compact Champion would be someone who believed that cross-sector partnership working had value and could achieve positive results. Some people went further, and suggested that Local Compact champions might be people who believed more generally in co-operation and reciprocity. One person even went as far as to describe the Compact as a commandment ‘do unto those as you would be done by.’

Tenacity, determination and commitment

If Compact Champions are to succeed in persuading others to recognise and implement Compact principles, they need not only to believe in the value of the Local Compact, but to be tenacious enough to keep working to overcome the negative thinking that still prevails in many places across both sectors: ‘you need that little bit extra where you’re willing to do something about it.’

Determination was most often cited as a personal quality of the champions who were most respected by colleagues in their own areas. It is likely that champions will already have this quality and will be chosen to be champions because they have it. The experience of being a champion will usually help to develop this quality even further. As one person explained, when talking about how a colleague from the statutory sector had been chosen to be a champion: ‘it’s all about personality so when she [the previous champion] moved within the trust, she made sure someone was ‘given’ the Compact who would understand it and would do something with it. That’s why she chose [name of champion]. She’s now a really good champion because she’s picked it up and run with it.’

Personal qualities

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5section five:

WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE DO CHAMPIONS NEED?(continued)

Diplomacy and ability to influence

Champions need to be able to influence others. As one person pointed out, individuals do not necessarily need to be senior in their organisations to be able to influence. Knowledge, diplomacy, negotiating skills, good communication and the confidence to challenge colleagues appropriately all contribute to champions’ ability to influence. One person described her own role as ‘a mixture of detail and some higher level stuff – but I’m not senior enough to do some of that with the partnerships I’m not involved in.’

In this context, diplomacy is an important attribute.

Sometimes, however, champions need to have the power to influence, which usually comes from status or seniority: ‘the bonus of having [name of champion] is that she does have influence. She does seem to be able to get to the right people at the right level.’

The role of champion is sometimes described as the ‘brokering’ of relationships. For this, interviewees felt that champions needed to have the diplomacy to know when and how to raise issues, as well as the ability to negotiate an outcome. Champions are sometimes described as ‘mediators’, but some of the people we spoke to felt strongly that it should not be the role of the champion to get directly involved in mediating between parties, except in some very specific circumstances. One person summed up this view: ‘Mediation is a very skilled job, and champions should not be expected to do it. Occasionally external consultants are called on to perform a mediation role.’

On the other hand, it might be appropriate for champions to play an advocacy role when small groups are involved: ‘for example, if there appeared to be a breach of the Compact where a small community group was involved they might feel over-awed in a meeting with the statutory sector. In that instance there might be a place for a champion to perform an advocacy role.’

Derby, Devon and Wolverhampton, for example, had developed procedures to deal with disputes, which meant that champions were not called upon to mediate on an ad hoc basis. Interviewees from both areas felt that the procedures worked well, and that the role of champions was simply to give information about using the procedure. Interestingly, in all three areas there had been few occasions when the procedure had been needed.

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If another local authority department is reneging on a commitment, I have to challenge it. It’s difficult, because I need to maintain positive relationships – I need to judge the maturity of relationships and the partnership’

Good communication skills

One of the main pitfalls of the Local Compact is that it can be made too complex, so that its meaning becomes lost in a welter of jargon. It is vital for a Compact Champion to be able to explain clearly what the Local Compact is and how it can be used. For this, champions need excellent communication skills:

We found that people from the third sector who had actually used the Compact for a specific purpose were sometimes very good at explaining it clearly to others.

As this study has highlighted, a critical component of the role of champion is publicising the Compact. To be able to publicise and promote the Compact, a champion needs to be articulate, to come across as enthusiastic and positive, and to have good presentation and networking skills. In summary, the role of champion is:

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5

‘You have to be a good jargon buster in order to make it plain and simple for everyone.’

‘not about doing battle with people but more about understanding the Compact and helping other people in their organisations feel confident to be able to use it, and understanding the codes in a bit more detail.’


6section six:

WHAT TRAINING AND SUPPORT DO CHAMPIONS NEED?

Our study found that support for champions did not look the same across all the areas we looked at, and that, even within areas, people’s views about the support they got were inconsistent.

Four areas had convened training for champions. However, the training that was available tended to cover the Compact generally, rather than being specific to champions. Participants had found it particularly useful to be able to share ideas with other champions about how to promote the Compact.

Given the lack of resources specifically for Compact Champions, and the widespread view that more resources and support are needed, we make some suggestions in this section about what should be the content of standard information and a training course for champions. These suggestions are based on a combination of ‘tried and tested’ approaches – things people had actually found useful – and things people said they wanted.

40


Few of the people we interviewed had received any kind of training for their role as champions or had been given a formal induction, although those that had said they found the training and induction very useful. There was a sense that making a success of the role depended largely on the commitment, drive, resourcefulness and organisational status of the champions themselves.

The type of training, induction and other support that is needed also depends on local circumstances. For example, in Derby, where the Compact is working very well, there is no formal training available, but this is not seen as a problem: ‘the way we’ve done it in Derby is to get the right people in the Compact Forum – who are already in the right role with the right background. So there isn’t a training course that would be suitable for all; if they didn’t have the right background, they wouldn’t be there.’ However, in other areas having structured training for Compact Champions was seen as important, albeit that most areas had not identified or commissioned any suitable training.

Any training that is available tends to be generic – about the Compact, rather than specifically about how to be a champion. These are not always useful to champions because many are already very knowledgeable about the Compact. Across the study areas, however, it does seem that champions want more support, and this is support over and above what is currently available in many places, which are events about the Compact more generally. There are mixed feelings about whether formal training is the right approach to take compared to more informal, quarterly forums/meetings for champions. This may be something that individual localities would want to decide themselves or consult their champions about. However, it does seem a widespread opinion that something more needs to be offered for champions. A participant from Wolverhampton explained that there needs to be some investment in champions:

Some of the people we spoke to made useful suggestions about the kinds of training and support that might be offered, and these are developed further in this section.

What we found

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‘We need to invest in champions to enable them to do the role. I want it to be real, not tokenistic’.


6section six:

WHAT TRAINING AND SUPPORT DO CHAMPIONS NEED?(continued)

For the most part, the support champions receive is informal and fairly ad hoc. Devon has an induction process, which consists of a face-to-face meeting with the most experienced champion from each of the sectors, some written information about the Compact in Devon and attendance at Compact Hub meetings. Champions attend other training which is relevant to the Compact even if it is not directly related – for example the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) offers training on empowering the voluntary sector, which new champions in Devon have accessed. Devon’s lead Compact officer is developing a ‘guided tour of representation’ training course, which will be useful for Compact Champions.

Wirral has been developing a resource pack for new champions, which includes a DVD of the training that was commissioned for champions. This was not available at the time of the interviews, but is expected to be available soon. In most cases, information on being a champion and induction into the role is given informally through Compact group meetings or briefings by more experienced champions.

Using the suggestions provided by interviewees, it may be a good idea for all new champions to receive a one page information sheet, which includes, as a minimum, the following:

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Support for champions on appointment

INFORMATION FOR NEW CHAMPIONS

• General information about the rationale for having champions

• How the Local Compact and the role of champion fits with local structures, such as the LSP

• Expectations of champions in terms of:

» Overall time commitment

» Attendance at meetings

» Sharing information in their organisation or sector

» Representing the views of their organisations

» Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Compact

» Undertaking ad hoc work, such as advising on possible breaches

• Other specific local information, such as where to find Compact resources and key contact details.

Alongside written information, informal mentoring and observation of other champions is also helpful. The support that new champions wanted most, apart from clarity about their role, was contact with other champions and colleagues with expertise about the Compact, and being able to ask ‘even the most basic questions’ about the Compact.

One of the most important elements of support for Compact Champions is being given time to carry out the role as an integral part of their jobs, so that championing the Compact is ‘not just a bolt on extra’. In some cases, people felt that they were unable to carry out the role as effectively as they would have liked because other aspects of their job had to take priority.

Making time for championing may require backing from a more senior level within champions’ organisations. Similarly, it is helpful for champions to have someone in their own organisations who can support them around carrying out the role. Some champions have this support and others do not, as one person who is well supported acknowledged: ‘…in other parts of the local authority or other statutory agencies [support] is variable.’

There also appears to be very little monitoring of the impact of champions’ work, perhaps because champions are often not formally accountable to anyone in their role as champions, and time to do this is restricted, or perhaps because the direct impact of championing is difficult to capture. A helpful model may be for the Local Strategic Partnership to receive reports from a Compact group, which would include Compact ‘wins’ and the role champions played in achieving these (links with local structures are discussed in the next section).

Compact Champions generally welcome opportunities to exchange experiences with other champions, however, none of the areas we looked at had groups or networks specifically for champions. Again, the lack of time to do this may be a challenge. The issue of communication between champions is explored in more detail in section eight, where we consider challenges for champions and how to overcome them.

While some of the champions said they did not have much time to read information from national sources, the majority said they were aware of these resources and found them helpful. All interviewees knew of the Commission for the Compact and Compact Voice, and had accessed information from one or the other. In particular, people felt it was useful to know about how problems had been addressed in other areas.

Ongoing support

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6section six:


Four areas (Calderdale, Surrey, Wolverhampton and Wirral) have provided training for Compact Champions. In Surrey, Wolverhampton and Wirral, the training was designed and delivered by a consultant, Ian MacKenzie, who at the time of writing is no longer operating as a consultant. In Wirral the training was a basic ‘Compact what and why’ course and lasted for three hours. It covered where Compact came from, the Local Compact itself, the codes and some practical examples. The training was very well attended and is now run by a local social enterprise who were invited to attend the first training course and learn from it. The view from Wirral now is that although the initial training was successful, there needs to be some ongoing training for champions, with a particular focus on implementation of the Compact.

In Calderdale, the Compact Steering Group has developed its own training. This is not specifically targeted at champions, but covers the Compact generally. The training is both innovative and participative, and takes the form of a ‘puppet script’, with puppets dressed ‘in character’ as stereotypes from the statutory and third sectors. The script is peppered with errors in relation to the Compact and participants have to spot them. Voluntary Action Calderdale send the training to champions for them to use in their own organisations, but champions are a little reticent about running it themselves.

In Rotherham, the Compact Group has overcome the problem of lack of time for champions to meet by setting up a web-based resource, in the form of a Yahoo Group, which acts as a forum for champions to exchange ideas and share problems.

In Warwickshire, champions are supported to attend training on generic topics, such as partnership and collaboration, which provide background to the Compact but do not address the Compact directly.

In Wirral, Compact Working Group provides peer support for champions. The group is planning to invite down the Birmingham Compact Worker and a representative from Hull to share learning.

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Examples of resources that champions have used

Interviewees from all areas made suggestions about the nature and content of support that might developed for champions. These included:

• A focus on the scope of the champion role and developing a shared understanding of the role

• Providing acknowledgement for the work that champions do

• Sharing information and ideas about how to promote the Compact

• Providing opportunities for informal networking that can continue outside of the training/forum

• Updating champions on any changes that have taken place to the Local Compact and any tools that are being developed, such as the ‘Compact proofing toolkit’ being developed in Derby.

In terms of the practicalities, it may be useful to think about the frequency of meetings, given that being a Compact Champion is not always an official part of someone’s job description. Individual areas may wish to give some thoughts to the benefits of involving champions from both sectors, rather than keeping champions from the different sectors separate.

Finally, it may be useful to mention that some areas (Calderdale and Derby) are looking to include the Compact in new staff induction training. This may help champions indirectly because more people will be aware of the Compact in their locality.

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6section six:


People in those areas that had provided training for champions said that one of the key benefits of the training was for champions to get together and share learning and ideas about the best means of promoting the Compact. It also gave champions the chance to think through how they could deal with ‘doubters’ - those people who don’t believe in, or can see no reason for, the Compact.

Based on training that has been delivered in our study areas and what people say they want, we would suggest that a model training one-day training session for Compact Champions might comprise the following:

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Key components of training for champions

A MODEL OUTLINE OF A TRAINING SESSION FOR LOCAL COMPACT CHAMPIONS

Part one: information about the Local Compact

• Overview of the Local Compact – history, purpose and aims

• Achieving better outcomes through Compact working – why and how?

• The Compact and the local policy environment – accountability and reporting

• What does the Compact mean in practice? Overview of the practical commitments made by agencies signing up to the Compact

• Procedures associated with the Compact – practical examples

• Compact proofing in your organisation

Part two: the role of champions

• Overview of the skills and experience required

• Overview of the expectations of champions, in terms of time, attendance at meetings, commitments to action in between meetings

• Practical exercises (based on scenarios developed in advance):

» Ways to tell people about the Compact

» Advising about what action to take

» Negotiating skills

» Monitoring impact

Part three: personal commitments

• Round up of actions that each champion will commit to taking over the next six months

• Agreement on how the actions will be monitored.

The training would form part of an induction process, which would also include meeting key people, attending Compact group meetings, possibly shadowing someone from another sector, and being taken through documents by a more experienced champion.

The same format would be appropriate for champions at all levels in organisations. Based on the findings of this research, it would seem appropriate for the training to be offered to different cross-sector groups, based on seniority. For example, there might be one training session for members and senior staff in public agencies and the sector, and another for champions in sector groups and at officer level in public agencies.

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7section seven:

HOW DO CHAMPIONS LINK IN TO THE LOCAL POLICY ENVIRONMENT?

The research on What makes a successful Local Compact found that Local Compacts were more likely to be taken seriously if they were linked in to ‘mainstream’ structures, such as Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP). Conversely, concern has been expressed in some areas that the Compact appears to have ‘no formal mandate’. Where the Compact is not aligned to the LSP or other decision making body, there is a danger that the Compact becomes marginalised and its principles are not implemented in practice. In our interviews with Compact Champions, we explored whether and how both the Local Compact itself and the work of champions are held accountable to local governance structures.

A major finding was that not all areas had yet been able to link the Compact into mainstream structures to the extent that they would like. For example, some were still working on getting a formal link to the LSP. In some areas, however, there were useful examples of how champions could contribute to making links between the Local Compact and other policy and decision making groups.

This section includes examples of:

• Linking the Compact to Local Strategic Partnerships

• How the Compact supports the improvement of National Indicator 7 – an environment for a thriving third sector

• How the Compact has been embedded into commissioning and procurement practices.

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In five areas (Calderdale, Derby, Surrey, Warwickshire and Wolverhampton) the Local Compact has a formal link to the local strategic partnership. In some other areas there was concern that Compact groups were not reporting to any of the important decision making bodies, as one person explained:

In Devon, there are lines of communication between the Compact Hub and the local strategic partnerships, but no formal oversight of the Compact by the district or county LSPs. Discussions are currently taking place about whether and how this may change.

In most areas, there were examples of clear line management supervision of Champions’ Compact work within their own organisations, so that champions felt that they were accountable to someone for the work they were doing. There were also examples of Compact groups using champions to monitor Compact activity.

What we found

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‘If the Compact is going to have an impact, it needs a formal line of accountability and that line needs to lead back into where the people with the cheque books sit.’


7section seven:

HOW DO CHAMPIONS LINK IN TO THE LOCAL POLICY ENVIRONMENT?(continued)

Overall, the learning from this study reinforces the view that it is important for work on the Compact to have a clear relationship with mainstream groups that set policy and allocate resources. Some examples of local arrangements that seem to be working well follow:

• The Warwickshire Compact Implementation and Monitoring Group has recently been absorbed into the Local Strategic Partnership and Third Sector Strategy Group, which reports to the local authority. Interviewees reported that this had resulted in the Compact being ‘mainstreamed, not marginalised’.

• Calderdale has a Compact Steering Group, which is represented on the Stronger Communities Executive of the Local Area Agreement.

• In Derby, links between the Compact and the Derby City Partnership (DCP – the local strategic partnership for Derby) are formalised. The revised Compact was signed off by the DCP management group, which comprises all the key partners, and they raise awareness of it in each of the executive groups.

• In Surrey, the Compact Implementation Group reports into both the Third Sector Strategy Group (a cross sector sub-group of the LSP) and the LSP itself. The Compact group sets up smaller working groups to progress certain issues, such as dispute resolution.

• In Wolverhampton, the LSP has a Development Worker who sits on the Compact Monitoring and Implementation Group (MAIG). There is now also a Third Sector Partnership which has become a thematic partnership of the LSP, and the MAIG sits under that.

Where these links are in place, champions tend to be clearer about their roles and feel that their work is more likely to have an impact on cross-sector relationships.

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Links with Local Strategic Partnerships

Where councils have selected National Indicator 7 (NI7 - an environment for a thriving third sector) as one of their Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets, the Compact can play an important role in helping to achieve improvement. It makes sense for councils to ensure that work that is happening through Compact working groups and other Compact-specific structures is not ignored or duplicated in setting up mechanisms to improve NI7. The introduction of this indicator provides an opportunity for work on the Compact to contribute directly to the measurement of local councils’ performance.

The value of using the Compact Steering Group to help with NI7 has been recognised in Calderdale, where the Compact Steering Group is represented on the Stronger Communities Executive of the LAA, which oversees NI7. This means that the Compact Group is able to do a lot more lobbying for support and resources to improve cross-sector working. In addition, the profile of the Compact has been raised, and its benefits are now recognised more widely within statutory agencies.

How the Compact fits with National Indicator 7

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7

Embedding the Compact into commissioning and procurement practices

Whether or not Compact principles are reflected in funding mechanisms for the third sector is perhaps a litmus test for a successful Local Compact. It is often the case that commissioning and procurement departments are unaware of the Compact, even where there are good relationships between the third sector and statutory officers with policy making or ‘partnership’ responsibility. We did not find any examples of statutory commissioning and procurement officers being Compact Champions. However, we did interview some champions who were heads or managers of service departments and worked closely with procurement colleagues. We found that these champions were able to influence procurement practices – some examples of positive outcomes were given in section two.


8section eight:

CHALLENGES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

We found that the challenges Local Compact Champions faced were slightly different, depending on whether the champion was a senior official or a ‘front line’ officer, and from the statutory or third sector.

The challenges that emerged from our research were:

• Limited time for champions to fulfil their role

• Lack of communication between champions

• Difficulty in getting the Compact embedded throughout statutory bodies

• The Compact being left to the champions

• Reluctance to publicise ‘Compact wins’

• Poor information for champions.

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When we asked interviewees whether championing the Local Compact was an explicit part of their job, most described championing as an ‘add on’. Indeed, some said that Compact work was seen as something that people ‘volunteer’ to take on. As a result, some people felt that they could not prioritise championing the Compact or dedicate the time to the role that was needed; as one person described it: ‘it’s just keeping it [Compact work] ticking over, grabbing time as and when. It depends what else is on.’

Although lamenting the lack of time available, champions had nevertheless been able to achieve a great deal through working creatively. It may not always be the case that additional resources are needed, if champions know how to ‘work smarter’. Approaches that may be helpful include:

• Having champions at the right levels in statutory and third sector organisations, so that communication within organisations is made easier and more efficient

• Having enough champions and not relying too heavily on a dedicated Compact worker, the director of an infrastructure body or a third sector partnership manager to implement the Local Compact on their own

• Giving champions good induction and support (as described in section six), so that they know what their role is and can channel their efforts appropriately

• Ensuring that there is a work plan (this need not be lengthy or complex) for champions and their work is monitored, so that the workload can be shared if it proves too much.

Limited time for champions to fulfil their role

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8section eight:

CHALLENGES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM(continued)

Champions would welcome the opportunity to exchange ideas with and learn from other champions in the locality, as well as in other areas. Wolverhampton was the only area that had a Compact Champions’ network, which was formed recently and meets quarterly. The Calderdale Compact Steering group is considering set up a champions’ network, and Rotherham has a Yahoo Group, which enables champions to share information and ask questions of each other. Most interviewees thought that a forum for champions was a good idea, but acknowledged that face to face meetings can be time consuming.

There is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution to the challenge of creating more opportunities for champions to communicate with each other. It is clear that champions would benefit from more opportunities to share information and learning. Whether this is done through face-to-face meetings or some virtual means will depend on the maturity of the Local Compact and the amount of work that champions need to do.

One interviewee suggested that a champions’ forum might be useful not only as an information exchange, but as a place for possible breaches of the Compact to be discussed before they reach the Compact Steering Group, which has a formal role in resolving disputes. Having a champions’ forum as a first port of call would enable the Steering Group to be more impartial should the breach become a formal complaint, and might result in more disputes being resolved informally.

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Lack of communication between champions

Different types of champion: ‘experts’ and ‘promoters’

Although the situation has improved from year to year, the people we spoke to said that the Local Compact has still not reached some parts of the statutory sector. A common observation was: ‘more work is needed in relation to getting it embedded in the council so it does it properly all the time.’ In some areas, interviewees cited the ‘cynicism’ of the statutory sector about the Compact as a continuing challenge for champions to overcome.

Opinion was divided as to whether the biggest challenge was engaging senior people in the statutory sector or operational staff. This varied from area to area, and in some areas relationships were perceived to be working well at all levels. In one area, we heard that: ‘Senior people in the statutory sector are clued up and committed to the principle, the bit that’s difficult is when you get down to the people who have to deal with it [Compact].’ Similarly, in another area, one interviewee summed up a general view: ‘there is good Compact awareness at the most senior levels but not at middle management level or below. The current challenge is how do the Codes of Practice get reflected in operational delivery?’ In other areas a major barrier is not being able to influence senior local authority officials: ‘It would help if there was a ‘political push, if a councillor was interested because ultimately they make the decisions.’

Even where councillors are engaged, there are challenges in getting the whole council to understand and use the Compact: ‘we’ve been struggling with backbench councillors. It’s pretty hard to engage with them...the Cabinet system means that they have no reason to be involved with the Compact unless they are involved with a particular voluntary organisation; they are busy people and it is difficult to get them interested unless Compact directly impinges on their work.’

Ways in which champions can take a lead in addressing these challenges include:

• Recruiting new champions at all levels in statutory bodies

• Running an event for the statutory sector to raise awareness of the Compact and what it can do to help statutory bodies work better with the third sector to improve performance and outcomes

• Focusing on helping statutory sector colleagues to see the link between Compact ways of working and improved performance, as measured by, for example, National Indicator 7, the Comprehensive Area Assessment for local authorities and PCT targets around involving local communities

• Publicising examples of how the Compact has made a difference

• Briefing statutory sector colleagues informally about the Compact.

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8section eight:

CHALLENGES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM(continued)

Champions felt strongly that the work of promoting and implementing the Compact should not be seen as the sole responsibility of those designated as champions. As one person said:

The actions and demeanour of champions can have an impact on whether people around them take on responsibility for applying the Compact. Where champions are working well, they are a bit like firelighters on a barbecue: they help the charcoal to burn, which in turn makes the food cook.

Where there are practical mechanisms (for example, dispute resolution processes) in place to manage the implementation of the Compact, the role of champions is to signpost people to the right procedures, so they can use them themselves. A focus on practical application can help ensure that champions are not seen as the only people who bear responsibility for the Compact.

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The Local Compact is left to the champions

‘there’s an issue about the whole concept of champion being taken to mean it’s someone else’s responsibility and not mine…Shouldn’t everyone be a champion ultimately…. a champion in the sense of taking responsibility for saying ‘does the Compact have a bearing on what I do?’

Several of our interviewees gave examples of the Local Compact being used to resolve disputes between a third sector organisation and a statutory body, which neither organisation wished to publicise. This is something of a challenge: it is useful for people to know how the Compact can help resolve disputes, but good relationships may not be furthered by publicising the outcome of a dispute as a ‘win’.

A solution to this challenge may be for Compact Champions to keep an anonymised log of circumstances in which the Compact has helped to resolve disputes; for Compact Steering Groups (or equivalent) to devise transparent processes for dispute resolution, and for Compact Champions to publicise the processes that are in place.

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8

Reluctance to publicise ‘Compact wins’

Poor information for champions

Some champions said they had received information that was supposed to help them in their role, but that it had not been helpful. This links to the issue of training and support covered in section six. The quality of written information for champions, both nationally and locally, has been described as ‘patchy’. At a local level, as one person put it: ‘we need more specific practical information on how to tackle the kinds of issues we face.’ It is hoped that this report, and the implementation of the recommendations that flow from it, will help to address the gap.


section nine:NEXT STEPS

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Summary of recommendations

9

1. Targeted recruitment of champions, based on:

» Job role

» Personal qualities

» Knowledge and experience

2. More people with training and/or marketing skills to be recruited as champions

3. All champions to receive an outline (one page) summary of the role

4. Induction in place for all champions – including being briefed on the Local Compact, meeting key people and possibly shadowing

5. A training package to be developed for champions, with a common component for all areas and space for local adaptation

6. Opportunities to be created in all areas for champions to share information and learning (including, where appropriate, web-based tools)

7. Local Compact partners to ensure that the Compact – and the work of champions – links into mainstream structures such as LSPs

8. Compact championing to be targeted towards commissioning and procurement teams.

Based on the research carried out, the following eight recommendations have been made. Compact Voice and the Commission for the Compact will consider these recommendations as part of their commitment to recruiting, supporting and better equipping Local Compact Champions in the future.

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Please direct any requests for translation, interpretation, large text or audio tape versions of this document to: [email protected] or tel: 0121 237 5918.All requests will be dealt with on an individual basis.

This publication is available on the Compact website at:www.thecompact.org.uk/publications

To order a hard copy of the report or for more information please contact:

Commission for the Compact77 Paradise Circus QueenswayBirmingham B1 2DTTel: 0121 237 5900Email: [email protected]

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Documents

They are Champions: The Role and Impact of