Civil Society Covenant launched to improve relationship between charity sector and government

Earlier in July, the government launched its long-awaited Civil Society Covenant (the “Covenant”), a framework designed to “catalyse a wider conversation across civil society and government”.

The Covenant sets out a reciprocal, principles-based agreement to guide the relationship between the charity sector and the UK government.

In October 2024, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published the draft Covenant, which is seen by many as the natural successor to the “Compact”, an agreement which was developed by the Labour government in 1998 and set the foundation for partnership between the government and civil society.

The Commission for the Compact was established in 2007 with the responsibility to oversee and promote it, however this was closed in 2011. Despite policy changes in recent years that have adversely affected civil society’s ability to deliver in partnership with the government, and to hold the government accountable, the Compact has not been updated since 2010.

The Covenant is not intended to be legally binding; instead, it will guide the relationship between civil society and government at national, regional and local levels.

It’s hoped that the Covenant will serve as a much-needed reset to the relationship between government and civil society.

Principles of the Civil Society Covenant

The four key, high level principles of the Covenant, developed in collaboration with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), are:

1. Recognition and value – to ensure a strong and independent civil society
2. Partnership and collaboration – to ensure effective service delivery and policy making, and shared learning of best practices
3. Participation and inclusion – to ensure people and communities can be heard and make a difference
4. Transparency and data – to ensure civil society and government have the information needed to best serve people and communities.

These principles were drafted following engagement with over 50 voluntary infrastructure organisations in the months after last year’s general election.

Feedback and next steps

Following the publication of the draft framework, DCMS, NCVO and ACEVO called for feedback on the principles from across the sector.

Findings were summarised in a joint report, published in May 2025, setting out the steps to be taken “to ensure that the Civil Society Covenant makes a positive and lasting difference” to relations between the government and the charity sector:

1. Direction: Setting clear principles and practical steps for both the charity sector and the government, protecting civil society’s right to campaign and upholding and exceeding standards set by the previous Compact
2. Responsibility: Driving progress by appointing ministerial and senior civil service leads for civil society to embed their commitments, establishing a joint oversight panel between civil society and government and strengthening local partnerships
3. Conditions: Removing the barriers to partnerships working by amending legislation and standards that inhibit advocacy, committing to fair and flexible funding arrangements and improving policy impact assessments
4. Support: Testing new ways of working and building capability by developing communities of practice for civil society and government leaders, providing training, guidance and codes of practice to support implementation, and embedding an understanding of civil society in government training and leadership programmes
5. Mechanisms: Supporting engagement with the Covenant by creating a ‘front door’ for civil society in government and establishing regular fiscal engagement by a dedicated Treasury unit focused on civil society
6. Review: Understanding what is and isn’t working by conducting an annual review of stakeholder experiences, establishing a real-time issue reporting mechanism and conducting a formal consultation on the Covenant to ensure continuous improvement.

Contrasting views across the charity sector

Commentary online has indicated a general feeling that the Covenant, in its current form, is well written, and was done so with good intentions.

However, some in the charity sector remain sceptical.

Two such people are Sir Stuart Etherington and Sir Stephen Bubb (formerly of NCVO and ACEVO respectively), who were both backers of the 2010 updates to the Compact, and spoke of their concerns in an article with Civil Society in December last year. Sirs Etherington and Bubb both expressed that they feel meaningful, tangible action needs to be taken for the Covenant to realise its potential for change in the sector.

Further, a report was published by The Future Governance Forum at the end of January 2025, in partnership with social sector think tank, NPC, and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.

The report found that, while the Covenant is a “positive start”, mechanisms need to be introduced to allow for a truly equal partnership between government and civil society.

It was explained that a genuine two-way partnership, where each party holds equal footing and sway with the other, is rather uncommon in these circumstances. Instead, it is often the case that the government sets the terms in such arrangements, rather than through negotiation.

The report made a number of recommendations to address this imbalance:

1. Facilitate and catalyse partnerships from the centre of government
2. Involve civil society throughout the policy development lifecycle
3. Strengthen expertise across the civil service
4. Involve civil society organisations in a ‘test and learn’ culture of innovation
5. Embrace disagreement in the interests of better policy development and decision-making
6. Create a satellite account for civil society which takes responsibility for collecting and collating data relating to civil society’s contribution to the economy.

Implementing the Civil Society Covenant

The government has recognised that effectively embedding the Covenant’s principles will require “sustained commitment and buy-in” from organisations across the sector.

In announcing the Covenant, the government set out its first steps for implementing it:

• Establishing the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council, a cross-sector board central to the delivery and review of the Covenant
• Introducing ‘Task and Finish Groups’, which will focus on specific policy issues impacting the relationship between civil society and government
• Building capacity and understanding across the sectors, including encouraging more cross-sector secondments
• Establishing an online hub for practical guidance and resources relating to the Covenant.

Rounding off its roadmap for implementation, the government affirms its commitment to working with local authorities, mayors, local health and local civil society organisations to support partnership arrangements that build on local strengths and meet local needs.

As many across the sector have commented, it will not immediately be obvious whether the Covenant has had its intended effect in catalysing a conversation between government and the civil sector.

The Covenant’s success will have to be measured not in short term promises but rather, in long term change.