Salford is at the forefront of effective public sector partnerships with voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Greater Manchester.
Salford CVS works to support the voice and influence of Salford VCSE organisations in the city and beyond. We do this by facilitating Vocal Strategic Forums which bring together voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises in Salford to develop strategic priorities and collaborative working. As part of this work we also have a number of thematic peer support networks that bring the VCSE sector together to collaborate.
In order to maintain effective relationships and collaborative working between the VCSE sector and public sector partners we have a number of agreements that lay out how we will work together.
VCSE Charter
Salford City Council and organisations across the Salford Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) (through the city’s VCSE Vocal Strategic Forums and with individual organisations), have a long and proud tradition of working together to support communities across Salford, to promote the city, and to work towards social justice and inclusion.
The VCSE Charter is a statement of our mutual commitment to continue to work together in support of those aims.
Together we want to build a fairer Salford – socially, economically, environmentally, for existing and future generations.
Our relationship is built on collaboration – where the norm is that we will:
- Respect each other’s expertise
- Arrive at solutions together, based on principles of co-thinking, co-production and co-design.
We may not always agree, but we are commit to ongoing conversations to better appreciate each other’s challenges and opportunities, and to work together on mutual solutions wherever possible.
Salford Compact
The Salford Compact underpins the relationship between the statutory sector and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Salford, with the aim of improving communication and understanding and strengthening our collective capacity to work together to improve the quality of life for Salford citizens. The Compact was agreed in April 2006 between Salford City Council, Salford Primary Care Trust and Salford CVS. In 2013 when NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group took over Salford Primary Care Trust, they also agreed and signed up to The Compact, it was also agreed and signed up to by NHS Greater Manchester when they took over.
The Compact and its associated Codes of Practice remain in place in and are still a useful resource for VCSE and public sector organisations in Salford.
Codes of Practice
Salford VCSE Manifesto
Salford VCSE Manifesto was developed by VCSE Vocal Leaders Forum and was agreed and signed up to by Salford City Council, VCSE Leaders and other public sector partners in 2016. It provides a framework for collaboration involving VCSE leaders and organisations in the delivery of the city’s strategies and services.
It also highlights the ongoing contribution that VCSE organisations can make in Salford and challenges partners to continue to engage with and invest in the sector so that local people and communities can help to address the challenges and embrace the opportunities of the future as equal partners. It is built around six pillars of involve, recognise, collaborate, value, invest and end people dying which are central to Salford’s VCSE Strategy.
Greater Manchester VCSE Accord
The Accord is a three-way collaboration agreement between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and NHS GM and the GMVCFSE Sector represented by the GM VCFSE Leadership Group, based in a relationship of mutual trust, working together, and sharing responsibility. Its purpose is to further develop how we work together to improve outcomes for Greater Manchester’s communities and citizens.