• Massive reduction in paper consumption – using less paper over the past year than in the previous 6 months
• Using an employee action day to motivate staff and conduct an environmental project
• Reducing the amount of waste from long print runs

This builds on previous years where we have switched to a greener energy tariff and conducted an energy audit to identify cost and energy savings.

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s Chief Executive says:

”It’s good to see NAVCA continuing to make progress. I know many members are also looking at becoming more sustainable and are finding that it can save them money too, whether by reducing energy costs, reducing expenditure on printed publications or adopting more sustainable practices.”

“But becoming more sustainable is about more than just saving money. It fits with our core values too. Climate change has the greatest impact on the most disadvantaged people, both locally and internationally. Reducing our impact on the environment should be everybody’s business.”

• Read sustainable development progress report
• NAVCA’s guide: Creating your green action plan can help members develop their own plan.

The NAVCA Quality Award is a rigorous, externally audited evaluation of the services offered to voluntary and community groups by a local infrastructure organisation.

Achieving the NAVCA Quality Award gives local infrastructure organisations a compelling means of demonstrating that they deliver high quality services to their local voluntary and community sector.

It also provides evidence of the organisation's role in helping their local authority to achieve its objectives. 

You can find out if your local NAVCA member holds the Quality Award by searching our directory and looking for the following symbol: 

How do organisation get the award

An organisation will undergo a rigorous assessment process to test that it is delivering quality services to its local voluntary and community sector.

Step one: self-assessment against NAVCA's Performance Standards

Step two: visit from a NAVCA-accredited auditor (funding bodies and peer organisations may be contacted for their opinion of the organisation as part of this process)

Step three: issue of award, which is valid for three years

Our performance standards

The Performance Standards, on which the NAVCA Quality Award is based, have been mapped against several quality frameworks including PQASSO, Matrix and Community Legal Services Quality Mark.

Achieving the NAVCA Quality Award will furnish local infrastructure organisations with the evidence they need for these and other systems.

If you would like more information about the award please contact rebecca.balhatchet@navca.org.uk.

The LGA, which is the voice of local government in England and Wales, shares NAVCA’s concerns about the government pledge. On their website they say that it is geared ‘much more towards Big Business. In contrast, local government purchases a much greater percentage of goods and services locally, and often up to 80 per cent or more from SMEs’. Therefore the LGA has created their own pledge, the LGA Procurement Pledge for Local Authorities. This pledge focuses on engagement and co-production and contains a greater focus on SMEs and the voluntary sector. NAVCA believes this pledge is more suitable for the voluntary sector, as the majority of voluntary sector providers supply services at the local level.

Whilst NAVCA supports the LGA pledge, it is also calling for a recognition that competitive procurement processes are unnecessary and do not deliver value for money for community based services that respond to the needs of individual citizens. These are the types of services that small local charities tend to deliver. Evidence supports NAVCA’s view that grant funding is the most efficient and cost effective way to commission these services.

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s Chief Executive, said

“The government’s pledge is a good idea that has been executed badly. The LGA’s pledge is much more voluntary sector friendly which is why NAVCA is happy to support it. In fact, in these days of localism, as the LGA pledge is backed up by local government, it is more relevant to the work of the voluntary sector.”

“As well as the pledge, we really welcome the recognition from the LGA that there is currently a risk-averse approach to public sector procurement that requires a change in culture at local government level. We believe that the voluntary sector and the LGA have many shared interests and look forward to others in the voluntary sector getting behind this pledge.”

• View the LGA procurement pledge (opens in new window)
• View the Cabinet Office procurement pledge (opens in new window)

Neil Cleeveley, Director of Policy and Communications, said:

“NAVCA is delighted to see the Small Donations Bill in the Government’s legislative plans. This measure to get top-up payments similar to Gift Aid for small cash donations could make a significant difference to thousands of local charities.”

“This looks like a measure that could help the Government achieve its aim of making running a charity easier. We look forward to seeing more details but it is a nice reminder that the majority of charities are small and that a huge difference can be made with relatively small amounts of money.”

BBC's list of all bills in the Queen's speech

We are the national voice of local voluntary sector infrastructure organisations in England.

Our members are leaders of their voluntary sector. They work in every local authority area to represent and develop local charities and community groups.

With their support, charities and voluntary organisations are more likely to engage with local public bodies and be more valued by local authorities.

Helping you engage with your voluntary sector

Our unique position means we can give public bodies the information, intelligence and ideas they need to engage with local communities.

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Find out more.

If you'd like to speak to somebody about your priorities and how we might help you achieve your objectives, please contact Bill Freeman.

bill.freeman@navca.org.uk
0114 289 3967

Bill is NAVCA’s Director of Services and Business Development.

Before joining NAVCA in 2007 he held leadership roles in a number of national membership associations, including the British Youth Council and an alliance of health charities, where he built up a strong track record in running organisational and leadership development programmes.

Other ways to keep in touch

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We built on what was already working and helped identify those parts of the sector that were not engaged.

We mapped existing capacity and networks, and produced a communications and engagement strategy.

We arranged a series of consultation events with local third sector groups, Bury Council and other local public bodies, culminating in a full day consultation event for third sector organisations across Bury.

Our experience, relationships and understanding of the voluntary sector means that we can help local authorities meet their objectives and engage with their local communities.

We can help you map your local sector, asses needs /priorities and understand:

The size and segmentation of your voluntary and community sector

The needs and challenges different groups face

Where investment in representation could cut public sector costs

We can also conduct a state of the sector report to inform your plans and help you establish the support and development services that are most needed.

We can help you develop strategies aimed to increase engagement with sector.

We can also give you the support you need to identify and remove duplication or uneven access to services.

We specialise in examining the potential for joint or aligned commissioning, which can offer significant value for money for a range of public bodies.

We can help you idenitfy the best way of securing the right service provision in your area.

This can include how to commission to achieve better outcomes and value for money, and how to assess the value of funding streams and the impact of decisions on social capital.

We are also experienced at facilitating bidder's days and providing support in a variety of other areas related to commissioning and procurement.

We can help you evaluate the effectiveness of services.

This can include an evaluation of the effectiveness of infrastructure organisations and the impact of their outcomes on the local sector.

We already offer local infrstructure organisations accreditation to our Quality Award, and can use the performance standards that support this to evaluate your local infrastrucute provision.

Paul Nelson

The most soul destroying thing a marketer can hear is the phrase “we’ve finished designing our new service, now we can get on with marketing it”. It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of marketing.

Organisations that act like this miss out on 99% of the value marketing can offer.

Marketing isn’t promotion

Promotion is part of marketing, but marketing isn’t just promotion. Marketing is simply a way of getting value from your organisation to your stakeholders (and back again).

In fact, marketing is just the term academics use to describe one of the largest collections of management tools available to every organisation.

Certainly not rocket science

Marketing isn't complicated; it only seeks to answer four simple questions:

1. Where are we?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How do we get there?
4. Are we there yet?

This can be in the context of business planning, customer / user research, communications, promotional activity, income generation or a variety of other topics. The models change, but the principles remain the same.

Take, for example, the question “where are we?” in one key context.

Business planning

Marketers love a matrix when it comes to business planning. Especially if that means we can use complicated acronyms or opaque language (question marks on a BCG anyone?).

However, many models are not easy for local support and development organisations to apply. Particularly when the services under analysis are new, or are moving from grant funded to earned income support.

One of the best analytical tools I’ve come across is Adrian Sargeant’s nonprofit portfolio analysis, included in his book Marketing Management for Nonprofit Organisations.

This looks at products and services by their external attractiveness and internal appropriateness. Ranking the former by public concern, number of people aided and immediacy on beneficiaries and the latter by experience, importance, expertise and compatibility:

You can use this to work out where to focus your efforts, as well as identifying what to stop doing.

Give it a chance

I guess what I’m saying is… don’t wait to get your marketing professional involved in your most important projects, or ignore a discipline that could give you fresh ideas at a time when our movement needs them the most.

Paul is NAVCA’s Marketing Officer. He will be facilitating the ‘Marketing your services’ workshop at CORE 2012, NAVCA’s annual residential event for chief officers and senior managers from local support and development organisations.

The workshop will be a chance to explore how this, and other marketing tools, can be applied by infrastructure organisations.

The key contributor to the workshop will be Lisa Wimborne from Matter&Co.

It is not intended to prescribe how local civil society should organise itself. However, the guidance should help local civil society organisations develop arrangements that strengthen their influence with local partners and widen the participation of local groups.

Whilst primarily aimed at local partnerships, the guidance may be useful to those in civil society organisations engaged more directly with public and private sector partners. The aim should be to create an environment that enables those with a legitimate interest in a particular issue to be heard. This could be achieved in a number of ways for example, but not exclusively, through civil society representation on local partnerships; through individual local statutory bodies; through community groups' participation in local partnerships' various thematic bodies or sub-groups; directly to local councillors or in a wide variety of other ways.

This guidance should not be used to restrict the access of individual civil society organisations to local partners, nor should it be seen as requiring or encouraging a single local group to act as the sole representative of all the other groups in an area.
Many areas have developed networks, forums or assemblies which, if they are to reflect civil society's diversity, are likely to be the hub of a wide range of specialist networks for smaller groups with shared interests. For example, groups engaged in supporting the elderly, environmental activism or community transport are likely to be involved in themed networks that might themselves form part of a wider civil society network – what might be termed a network of networks.

Whatever the local solution, what is important is that there is buy-in from all parts of local civil society: this is where the guidance can help.

The aspiration should be to strengthen the voice of civil society, so that all communities can make the most of opportunities to influence local decision-making, either directly or through a local civil society organisation that represents their interests.

It is important to understand that it is not always easy to represent often divergent interests; reaching agreement may sometimes prove difficult. The very process of involving people, canvassing opinion, consensus building and gathering and disseminating information is inevitably time-consuming. Yet it is ultimately worthwhile – when people are involved in decision making they are more likely to understand how and why decisions are made and consequently retain a greater faith in those who make them. It may even motivate them to become more directly involved in the process.

There may be occasions when it is appropriate for people from civil society organisations to be involved in partnerships or other forums while not representing the wider civil society, for example:

• where they are invited as a provider with expertise in a particular area of service delivery
• where they have expertise on issues relating to marginalised or under-represented groups or individuals
• where there is a need for the views of under-represented groups, whose voices often go unheard, to be presented

It is vital to involve elected members fully when applying these principles locally. There is a clear distinction between their representative role as democratically elected councillors and that of civil society representatives who act as advocates for civil society or for a particular community priority. It is essential that civil society role is supportive of local democracy and adds value to the work of local councillors.

The guidance is not meant to be exhaustive and local partners should be cautious about simply copying it without careful consideration of how it fits local circumstances. Context is important, so find a solution that works for your area. In doing so it is important to recognise that, whatever the local approach, support and resources are required to make it work effectively. The nature and level of support and resources ought to form the basis for an open and honest discussion between local partners.

The guidance offer a framework for effective civil society participation in local partnership arrangements. They will not deliver this on their own and cannot be obligatory standards, but rather they form the basis for a discussion about 'how we might get there together'.

The guidance sets out aspirations, something to work towards. The reality is that it takes time to build effective structures that enable local civil society organisations to participate in the work of local partnerships. It is likely to be a process of continuous review and improvement by civil society organisations. But the objective is always to strengthen the capacity of civil society and the community to the point where groups are able to articulate their concerns and be confident that their voices will be heard and will influence decision making appropriately.

Strengthening civil society's voice on local partnerships and in the local area should be core aims. This does not mean civil society organisations speaking with a single voice; it is about creating the space for community groups with a legitimate interest to be heard.

The guidance also attempts to offer a framework that will help civil society organisations build their case more effectively, whether collectively or in support of specific groups or causes. For instance, supporting a proposal with evidence that stands up to scrutiny will enhance civil society organisations’ credibility and strengthen its influence with partners. This requires clear and effective methods from civil society organisations for communication and consultation – gathering, assimilating and analysing information from members of civil society organisations to bring clarity and force of argument to the civil society voice.

The intention is not to replace existing good practice, but to build on what already works and address shortcomings. For example, the guidance can be seen as supplementary to the local Compact in an area, and can be used to encourage better communication within civil society organisations and between civil society organisations and the local partnership and local public bodies.

The coalition Government's Big Society agenda places great importance on the role of civil society organisations, although it differs markedly from the previous government's more centralised approach. Areas are no longer required by government to have local strategic partnerships, sustainable community strategies or local area agreements, and comprehensive area assessment has consequently been abandoned too.

Recent Government initiatives provide many opportunities for local civil society to engage with public and private sector partners in the design and delivery of services and in local planning and development, but there is no longer any statutory place for civil society representation; only strong guidance requiring public sector bodies to consult widely with communities likely to be affected by their decisions.

Given this context and the extent of public spending cuts, it is more important than ever that the objective of partnership working should be to avoid duplication and introduce a coherent approach to civil society engagement.

Areas have developed local enterprise partnerships, as set out in the Local Growth White Paper, many of which cross local authority boundaries. Some of these cover enormous areas while others are much smaller. Some include civil society representation while others have yet to understand its value.

Effective civil society representation on a local partnership requires a well networked and co-ordinated civil society that has the skills and capacity to participate. Some areas have invested in the past in the capacity of civil society, its infrastructure and networks, to support and widen its participation.

Civil society networks and infrastructure have always considered participating in the local decision-making process to be an important part of their work and, while there are no new resources available from government, the current policy climate presents an opportunity for local civil society organisations to have meaningful discussions with public and private sector partners about what is needed locally and how it will be resourced. Civil society organisations need urgently to review how best they use remaining resources to support strong participation.

Experience shows that building effective participation in multi-tier county-and-district local authority areas can be challenging: there are likely to be differing but equally legitimate democratic mandates; there may well be a multiplicity of partnerships at all levels; there are often large, sparsely populated areas that can present a very practical challenge to wider community engagement and participation. Civil society needs to be aware of the challenges in this area.

In dealing with the practical realities of building and maintaining a network it is essential to keep in mind the valuable traditions and values of civil society organisations. Building a network will mean change and some of the effects might be predictable whilst others might be unexpected and challenging.

For many in civil society organisations, working more closely with the public sector might be a culturally difficult task and this should be recognised, as should be the benefits that can result.

Civil society organisations should

• recognise and preserve the independence of civil society organisations from statutory bodies, but be pragmatic about building respectful relationships between the sectors
• recognise and value the diversity of its membership and the different strengths they bring to the wider network
• recognise and act upon opportunities for mutual development with internal and external stakeholders
• recognise the mutual inter-dependence of all internal and external relationships, and the benefits that can be enjoyed by all the stakeholders
• recognise the legitimate roles of members and avoid duplication by building upon their work
• think about whom it involves and be open and honest about the extent of that involvement, considering how to target those individuals and groups to whom the issue is most relevant. This approach will help to avoid consultation and participation fatigue. It is also more likely to ensure greater diversity and quality of involvement
• develop civil society capacity to provide evidence to support its views

Civil society assemblies, forums and networks should conduct their business as openly as possible. This is vital for its credibility both with their own members and with their external partners and stakeholders.

Civil society organisations should:

• ensure that discussions and decisions are recorded and open to all as the norm; conducting meetings behind closed doors only in exceptional circumstances, and explaining the reasons for this decision fully, clearly and if possible in advance of the meeting
• have an agreed and well publicised process for selecting civil society representatives on the local partnership and its theme groups
• communicate clearly and promptly with all stakeholders, using the appropriate media
• welcome challenge as an opportunity to learn and improve
• deal positively with failings by acknowledging and addressing them
• ensure that it shares credit where credit is due in its dealings with the media, network members and external stakeholders and ensure the form and content of communications is agreed between the relevant stakeholders
• establish clear and consistent lines of communication
• between network members
• with wider civil society
• with the wider community
• with the local partnership sub-groups working around themes such as children and young people, community safety and environmental concerns
• with any potential stakeholders – locally, regionally and nationally

It is important for civil society organisations and local public bodies to understand fully the costs involved in starting and then maintaining an effective network for civil society organisations and organisations in an area. In particular it may be necessary to consider investment in capacity building to ensure that representation is inclusive. Once identified, priorities should be agreed and future resource requirements explored fully as part of the future planning process.

Civil society organisations should:

• build relationships and interdependencies that strengthen the position of local civil society and enhance its capacity to develop and innovate
• seek and secure resources to support the expression and dissemination of its collective voice
• look to develop the skills and capacity of network members and examine the potential for sharing costs and capacity that might arise from working more closely together
• work in ways that make the minimum use of all non-renewable resources, and explore ways of using renewable resources sourced from within the organisation’s geographic boundaries wherever possible
• be flexible enough to take advantage of new opportunities that might arise
• make the most of the talents already at the network’s disposal
• identify the skills, experience, and competencies required of members and representatives and invest in their development
• put in place simple and robust arrangements that enable reflection, learning and continuous improvement
• build civil society capacity to engage with all stakeholders, in particular local partnership partners and local communities

Establish a clear sense of purpose about what you want to achieve, expressed in whatever terms are appropriate. Do not simply deal with the day to day issues; think ahead beyond the immediate horizon. Be clear about the issues that the network will deal with and what will be dealt with by specific civil society organisations. This could cover issues of resilience to natural/unnatural disaster, such as flooding or terrorist attack.

Civil society organisations should:

• establish a broad consensus of shared values from which to develop common goals and aims. However, the process should be fully democratic with everyone expressing a view and having that view heard and taken into account
• plan for the long-term as well as the short-term
• clearly define the stakeholders you wish to work with, including but not limited to local partnership structures
• reach agreement on who should sit on the decision making bodies in your area, including but not limited to the relevant local partnership boards
• be responsive to change, anticipating the need for developing and supporting new groups that arise from demographic changes, aiding integration
• embrace demographic and cultural changes that might be required to deliver the wider aims of the network whilst staying true to its values

Local civil society representatives will be dealing with experienced senior public officials. This will require strong leadership skills: negotiation; mediation; assertiveness; dispute resolution; political and influencing skills. However, leadership is not about telling others what to do; rather it is the ability to represent wider civil society, looking beyond your own organisation or sectional interests when taking part in the decision-making process.

This links strongly to the principles of accountability and transparency.

Civil society organisations should:

• be prepared to tackle difficult issues
• share and celebrate success
• work within the network’s defined structures
• develop and utilise the skills and experience of its members and consider training where appropriate
• challenge the network to reflect changing contexts and needs
• include all its members and conduct wider consultation in assessing needs and priorities and in developing its future direction and purpose
• recognise and involve its external stakeholders in its development, building inter-dependence and mutual understanding
• not always take the majority view when trying to resolve conflicting interests. The voices of a legitimate minority deserve to be heard equally

Reducing inequality should be at the heart of civil society organisations' work. Civil society organisations should work to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and empower people to make their voices heard. It is important that the nine protected characteristics referred to in the Equality Act 2010 – age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation – are fully incorporated into civil society organisations' work.

Public bodies and their networks, and any civil society or private sector organisation delivering public services on behalf of a public body, are legally subject to the equality duties, although the responsibility for ensuring their implementation remains with the relevant public body.

Civil society forums and assemblies should:

• be open to all communities in the area, regardless of size, that accept the basic principle of equality for other groups
• engage communities and individuals from under-represented groups directly where they are newly arrived and/or do not have the necessary infrastructure and groups to articulate and promote their interests
• ensure that the partnership represents and reflects the community it serves, proactively reaching out to engage the most excluded groups. For example, it may be relevant for the partnership to consult in depth those service users who have been failed by public services. It may also be necessary to take positive action to engage those service users
• work with all equalities groups, forums and organisations, including, but not limited to, those representing the nine protected characteristics mentioned in the Equality Act 2010
• take into account the voices of people who are not able to participate in groups or do not feel as though they belong to one
• actively support marginalised groups to organise separate mechanisms for representing their interests and concerns on the local partnership where they wish to, recognising that disadvantaged groups need space for self-determination
• make sure that their involvement aids cohesion and local relations rather than damaging them
• remember that real progress will take time, particularly in engaging under-represented, 'hard to reach' or 'seldom heard' groups and individuals who are most disengaged from decision making processes. People need to be given time to develop expertise and relationships, and to find the most appropriate approaches to participation

Civil society representatives on local partnerships ought to be responsible to local civil society. Clear lines of accountability also allow civil society’s participants to speak with real authority. This does not mean that all decisions are subject to a consensus, but representatives should be prepared and able to explain decisions and actions.

Civil society should:

• ensure civil society representatives on local partnerships and its theme groups understand their roles and responsibilities
• ensure that wider civil society understands its responsibilities to its representatives, including the provision of support and resources as required
• put into place reporting mechanisms that support the flow of information without creating unnecessary burdens
• make arrangements that enable all civil society organisations to participate as fully as is practically possible
• ensure there is clarity about when civil society representatives on local partnerships have a clear role as advocates for civil society (civil society organisations may take a collective view on grant aid or the local commissioning strategy) and when they do not, (when an issue affects a specific group it is for that particular group to be given the 'airtime')
• clearly define roles for any officers that might support civil society’s representation work

The coalition Government has identified civil society organisations as having a fundamental role in delivering the Big Society vision for the nation's future, by strengthening the involvement of local people in local decision making.

The Government has set localism at the heart of its policy programme and has repeatedly stated its intention to decentralise decision making from Whitehall to local councils and communities, mostly defined geographically but also acknowledging 'virtual' communities of identity, interest etc. There is no universally agreed definition of localism, but, as expressed in the Localism Act 2011 and associated legislation, it means devolving decision making power to the lowest practicable level at which it can be exercised.

Bringing localism to life, especially in a period of significant cuts in public spending, requires a new way of working for everyone, including civil society, in order to strengthen partnership working. The Government's Best Value Statutory Guidance sets out its expectations of how local authorities will conduct themselves in relation to local civil society. In particular it reaffirms the Government's commitment to the renewed Compact and requires local public bodies to honour the terms of local Compacts.

Like its predecessor, the present Government recognises that local situations vary widely and seeks to avoid any 'one size fits all' approach by promoting the development of local solutions to local needs.

The skills, knowledge and experience of local civil society organisations in working with vulnerable and marginalised communities and individuals remain essential both to the identification of local needs, and to the design, delivery and evaluation of services that address these needs. Local civil society organisations can and do help ensure that services are targeted to where they are most needed and that resources are used as efficiently as possible. In other words, the sector is essential to the local delivery of 'best value'.

More on Context and challenges

Cross-sector partnerships

Although previous statutory guidance has been rescinded, so that local civil society organisations no longer enjoy a statutory right to a place at the local partnership table, it is more important than ever that local civil society is recognised and respected as a key partner by every local authority and public body, and represented in a way that enables those with a legitimate interest in a particular issue to be heard in the decision making process.

Since the publication in 2007 of the joint NAVCA and Department for Communities and Local Government document Principles of representation: A framework for effective voluntary and community sector participation in Local Strategic Partnerships, there have been radical changes in the partnership landscape: Some areas have chosen to retain their local strategic partnerships in one form or another, but many others have developed them into local executive boards or disbanded them entirely. Moreover, we are currently witnessing the development of new area-based initiatives, including Local Enterprise Partnerships and Healthwatch bodies, often covering newly-defined and sometimes much larger areas, rather than being tied to existing administrative boundaries. With no centrally imposed national model, these vary greatly in their membership and terms of reference.

Effective representation and partnership working

While the types and nature of local partnerships have changed in many ways, guidance for improving representation and partnership working between local civil society organisations and local public and private sector partners is even more relevent in a period of austerity.

NAVCA has revised and renewed the recommendations originally published in Principles of representation. Like the earlier document, these are intended as a framework to support the development of partnerships locally, rather than as a template.

The intention underlying that original document, however – that it should stimulate local, bottom-up discussion and debate about how best to ensure effective and inclusive civil society engagement in all relevant aspects of local partnership working, rather than being seen as top-down guidance – is, if anything, reinforced by the coalition Government's determination to rescind a large amount of centrally imposed practice and guidance. It should be considered as a living resource that partners may wish to develop.

The guidance offers a framework that civil society organisations might use to organise effective representation on local partnerships. They might be used to develop terms of reference or other clear statements that describe the nature of any network or collective body, its participants and what might be expected of them.

The guidance should not be seen as exhaustive or prescriptive, but as a reference point from which to start a discussion between civil society organisations about how they might participate and engage more effectively in their own area. Indeed, civil society organisations may decide to develop their own guidance with their own headings reflecting their understanding of what they mean and how they can best be applied.

How can the guidance help?

What can the guidance offer?

The guidance is divided into seven sections:

1. Accountability – define clearly responsibilities for all decisions and actions
2. Equality – place equality, diversity and inclusiveness at the core of what you do
3. Leadership – the sector’s representatives will need to think and act strategically
4. Purpose – be clear about the local sector’s objectives and support them with a strong evidence base
5. Sustainability – ensuring the continuation of the collective voice
6. Openness – be as open as possible in all your dealings and relationships
7. Values – identify and build on the values of the local civil society organisations