Page 1335 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 2012
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community sector, and these are broadly aligned to the ACT social compact, outlining the framework of a working relationship between the two parties.
I digress there to say that one of the ideas about a social compact came from some work that I was doing when president or vice president—I cannot quite remember—of Volunteering Australia. We met with the British Home Office to discuss the value of having a social compact at that time.
The ACT social compact is currently being refreshed by the joint community-government reference group, as was said before, and this is an important time for both the government and the community sector to reflect on how the compact has assisted both to work together and how they can both continue to strive to achieve all its expectations.
I am looking forward to the refreshed social compact, which is expected to be launched in the next few months, along with the social compact portal on the ACT time to talk community engagement site. I would recommend that everybody access that at the time.
The compact is important as it outlines the significant relationship, role, contribution, principles for working together and undertakings of government and the community sector. The community sector and government have distinct and complementary roles to play in the delivery of public policy and services, in social planning and in building healthy communities.
The importance of the social compact is highlighted in Engaging Canberrans: a guide to community engagement, which assists government and the community sector to engage with the community in a transparent, accountable and equitable way. It is also included in the service funding agreement which underpins a robust and effective funding relationship.
The compact provides a number of important principles for constructive working relationships between the community sector and the government such as: trust, openness and transparency of communication and processes; mutual respect for diversity and independence; valuing each other’s role, as I mentioned before; integrity, ethical practice, accountability and leadership; consumer and community participation; and innovation and continuous improvement.
Another essential feature of the compact is an outline of undertakings for each party in the document. Undertakings are guiding standards for both the community sector and the government in their shared commitment to their working relationship. These standards are promoted and used in all aspects of the government and community sector working together. They are used for planning and policy development to involve the community, use culturally appropriate consultation, reflect community views and take joint ownership and responsibility for decisions.
Commitment to a high level of management and accountability in governance and management are also stressed in the compact. For example, these can lead to better
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