National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

Independence, diversity, voice - A manifesto for voluntary action



About NCVO
NCVO is the largest general membership body for charities and voluntary organisations in England. Established in 1919, NCVO gives voice to over 3,600 organisations ranging from large ‘household name’ charities to small self help groups involved in all areas of voluntary and social action at the local level.

Principles
Voluntary and community activity is an essential part of an active and vibrant civil society, contributing to the social, cultural, political and economic life of the country in a variety of ways, for example by:
  • bringing people together and enabling them to participate in the life of the community;
  • giving voice to their concerns and enabling their voices to be heard;
  • promoting more responsive public services, whether by providing services directly or by advocating on behalf of service users, individually and collectively; and
  • contributing to the social economy and to economic development.

    As the boundaries between the public, private and voluntary sectors become increasingly blurred, it is important to that all political parties recognise the unique role of voluntary and community organisations and the added value they provide.
    NVCO and the voluntary and community sector therefore believes that they are five principles relating to the sector that all political parties should endorse and actively support.

    These are:

    1. The independence of the sector must be understood and valued. Political parties must recognise and engage in a meaningful way with voluntary and community organisations (VCOs). VCOs must be able to determine for themselves how best to meet the needs of their users or beneficiaries, independent of any specific government targets or objectives, and must be able to exercise their right to campaign and to comment on or challenge government policy, irrespective or any funding relationship.

    2. The benefits of a diverse and independent voluntary and community sector should be recognised by supporting voluntary action in all its forms, including those parts of the sector that do not want to engage with government.

    3. A political, legal and fiscal environment should be created that enables VCOs to flourish and encourages individual and corporate philanthropy, including the giving of time as well as money.

    4. The role that VCOs play in civil renewal and engagement, the development of social capital and the creation of strong, cohesive communities should be valued. Political parties must recognise that the voices of VCOs complement and enhance the representative role of government; strong and equal partnerships between government and sector work to the advantage of both and to the benefit of citizens.

    5. Where VCOs choose to deliver public services they should be resourced on a realistic, sustainable and transparent basis because of the benefit they bring to users. Government procurement strategies must enable VCOs to work in ways that add value and should not undermine those features that make them preferred suppliers in the first place. That is, drives towards greater efficiency should not be at the expense of effectiveness and enhanced choice and voice expressed by users to local community needs.

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