30 January 2025
New research calls on government to engage with civil society as “an equal”, giving the sector a seat at the table to help shape and deliver policy ambitions.
A new report out today from The Future Governance Forum in partnership with social sector think tank NPC and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales exposes the fragile state of government-civil society relations, pointing to concerns that third sector organisations have previously been treated as a stakeholder to be managed and not afforded the same status as business.
Highlighting the sector’s insight and capacity for innovation, the paper makes the case for a genuine two-way partnership between civil society and state to drive forward the government’s five missions.
The Civil Society Covenant – unveiled by the government last year to strengthen partnerships with the sector – is a display of the right principles, the report says, but without concrete mechanisms for change it risks failing to deliver meaningful improvements.
Civil society organisations must also do their part, the report notes – reassuring officials of their discretion, being mindful of the political risks they face and broadening their focus beyond their own fields and sector-specific challenges.
Drawing on extensive engagement with charity leaders, experts and the public sector, the report calls on the government to:
- Catalyse partnerships from the centre of government, facilitating good practice across Whitehall and serving as a transparent ‘front door’ for meaningful, two-way engagement.
- Integrate civil society’s insights into every stage of policy design and delivery, working in the open, increasing opportunities for informal engagement and embedding engagement into ministerial submissions.
- Strengthen civil service capabilities and boost interchange with civil society, including through a new ‘Missions Secondment Programme’.
- Involve civil society in a new ‘test and learn’ culture of innovation, teaming up with charities and social enterprises to innovate towards missions.
- Embrace challenge as integral to effective policy and decision-making, ensuring relationships are maintained despite public disagreement.
- Launch a civil society satellite account, gathering and analysing data on the sector’s economic impact and using insights to guide better decision-making.
Grace Wyld, Head of Policy and Research, The Future Governance Forum, said:
‘Central government cannot deliver its ambitious missions agenda alone. It needs to construct a different, deeper way of working partnership so that precious resources, expertise and ideas from across society exceed the sum of their parts. At its best, civil society will be critical to emerging mission partnerships, but organisations must also embrace change in this new way of working.’
James Somerville, Policy Manager, NPC, said:
‘Civil society want to be partners for change. Charities have unique insights into the needs of the communities they work with, and want to help deliver. But working together is a two-way street – Government needs to recognise the strengths and insights that charities bring, and the social sector need to not just lobby for themselves, but engage in mission-driven government.’
Nicole Sykes, Director of Policy, Communications and Research, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said:
‘At the Foundation we’ve seen how small charities are supporting people facing the greatest challenges in ways that other organisations can’t. And yet these grassroots charities rarely have the chance to use their local knowledge and connections to inform national policy decisions. The Future Governance Forum’s recommendations show how that should change to ensure the government delivers on its missions.’
