The Funding & Procurement Code

This Code was originally published in May 2000, and was revised and republished as the Funding and Procurement Code in 2005. It aims to influence behaviour by putting forward a framework for the financial relationship between the government and the voluntary and community sector, setting out undertakings for both sides, based on what each can expect from the other.

Funding & Procurement Code [PDF 255KB, 36 pages]

Funding & Procurement Code Summary [PDF 36KB, 2pages]

Many voluntary and community organisations enter into a financial relationship with the government to deliver outcomes on its behalf. The Code seeks to improve funding and procurement relationships and it is of relevance to any organisation in England which is involved in distributing, seeking or receiving public funds.

The Code calls for all funding and commissioning processes to be fair and effective. It recommends that funding arrangements with the community and voluntary sector are resourced on a full cost recovery basis, with three year funding, and include a joint government, public and voluntary and community sector training programme to develop skills and best practice in procurement and contracting. This should cover negotiation, risk and management issues.

Overall, the Code aims to ensure that the sector has the capacity to keep pace with government initiatives, boosting the voluntary and community sector’s service delivery role. It promotes better funding decisions to support well-delivered, outcomes-driven programmes, underpinned by a Compact way of working in partnership at all levels and throughout the funding process. It also recognises that the sector mostly operates locally where the national Compact and Codes should influence Local Compacts.

Richard Williams, Policy Adviser
Commission for the Compact
Tel: 0121 237 5914
Email: richard.williams@thecompact.org.uk