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Codesigned a compact  

Summary

the challenge

The solution

what we did

the impact

In Kingston and Tower Hamlets, I facilitated a co-design process to create new compacts between the public and voluntary sectors. Through workshops, drafting, and high-level negotiations, partners built trust and agreed shared principles and commitments. The resulting compacts will strengthen collaboration, ensuring that local resources are used more effectively, the voluntary sector is able to thrive and volunteering is maximised.  

In two London boroughs, public sector partners and voluntary sector leaders needed to refresh their local Compact. Their old agreement had lapsed, and they wanted an inclusive, expertly facilitated process to create a new one together. A Compact is a high-level agreement that sets out how the public and voluntary sectors will work together — their principles, commitments, and ways of partnering. 

A facilitated co-design process that produced new Compacts in Kingston-upon-Thames and Tower Hamlets. 

I brought stakeholders together across sectors, designed and facilitated the co-design process, and guided it from first draft through to adoption. This included: 

  • establishing a cross-sector working group 

  • running in-person and online workshops on outcomes, principles, and commitments 

  • drafting and refining versions of the compact, informed by my knowledge of best practice elsewhere 

  • chairing high-level negotiations to resolve tricky issues.  

The process wasn’t always easy — but that’s what genuine collaboration looks like. By working in a positive collaborative way, we modelled building trust, partnership, and shared ambition. This resulted in two jointly owned Compacts that will lay the foundations for:   

  • the VCS to be respected and sustainable 

  • volunteering opportunities to be maximised  

  • local resources to be used more effectively and efficiently 

  • public services to be more responsive and effective. 

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