On 17 July 2025, the UK government launched the Civil Society Covenant, a new framework of work that aims to bring closer the government and civil society organisations.
SJOG welcomes this initiative that recognises the importance of collaborating with governments and public bodies when shaping more equal and fair societies. We, therefore, support the set of principles and commitments that will see people and communities at the heart of decision making.
Key principles involve:
Mutual understanding and respect – The Covenant emphasises the importance of recognising the distinct roles and contributions of both government and civil society.
Independence and legitimacy – It includes a commitment to respecting the independence of civil society organisations to advocate and hold government accountable.
Collaborative working – The Covenant encourages joint design, funding, and delivery of policies and services.
Inclusivity and participation – It promotes inclusive and participatory approaches to decision-making, ensuring that diverse voices are heard.
Accountability – The Covenant reinforces the importance of both civil society and government being accountable for their actions and decisions.
In practice, specific commitments aim to:
Protect the right to protest- The Covenant includes a commitment to protecting the right of civil society organisations to engage in peaceful protest.
Avoid ‘gagging clauses’ – It aims to prevent practices that restrict civil society organisations from speaking out on behalf of their beneficiaries.
Co-production of policy – The Covenant promotes collaborative policy development and implementation.
Address financial challenges – It recognises the financial pressures on many charities and the need for sustainable funding models.
SJOG’s role in shaping the Covenant
In 2024, NCVO and ACEVO led a major engagement exercise with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) hearing from over 1,000 civil society organisations, including SJOG.
Our feedback contributed to better defining the actions needed to improve the relationship between public bodies and civil society organisations, to innovate solutions for tackling societal problems together, and to draft the framework principles.
In particular, based on our experience in engaging with public bodies on consultations and procurement exercises (e.g. market engagement and evidence-based practice and recommendations), and notably, in delivering the Homes for Ukraine programme from 2022-2024, we expressed our commitment in continuing successful collaboration.
However, on some occasions, we notice that decision making processes can be slow, and this can impact on the support we provide to people in the services. We also notice an increased turnover of staff in public bodies over the past 18 months. This can contribute to longer decision making. The lack of funding is also impacting the ability of public bodies to commit to support civil society’s work.
We suggested therefore that access to opportunities for engagement in open discussions, evidence-sharing initiatives and campaigns, in transdisciplinary research and projects, and in practical steps to create impact at local level, are important actions that would consolidate this partnership.
The full report can be found at: https://ncvo-app-wagtail-mediaa721a567-uwkfinin077j.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/ncvo-acevo-civil-society-covenent.pdf
What happens next?
As part of the Covenant’s launch, the government has confirmed:
- A new Joint Civil Society Covenant Council, which will bring together civil society and senior officials to oversee how the Covenant is implemented.
- A Local Partnerships Programme, designed to support better working relationships between local authorities, public bodies and civil society.
- A developing VCSE-HM Treasury forum, providing a regular space for engagement on economic and financial issues affecting the sector.
SJOG will continue working with government, infrastructure bodies and organisations across civil society whenever possible for better representing the needs and voices of people we support and for contributing to innovative solutions that address certain societal or individual problems.
By Ioana Brezeanu, Senior Policy and Research Officer
Read the full Society Covenant at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-society-covenant
August 2025