Our shared PACT

How can we shape the future together?

Power »
Accountability »
Connection »
Trust »

We are putting forward a PACT for civil society, by civil society – shared aspirations for us all to commit to, for the decade ahead and beyond. It’s not waiting for permission, or hoping others will provide a plan. It’s civil society making a commitment to get ready for the future. It is a response to the changing world we live in, based on what Civil Society Futures has heard from thousands of people across England.

Carers and chief executives, funders and activists, national networks, major institutions, regulators, civil servants and local authorities, local community groups, young people from Liverpool to Gloucester – many, many people’s voices have shaped this PACT.

It is intended to support us all to thrive in the future, and to build on the very best existing initiatives across civil society. Collectively, we have the power to change ourselves and shape our country and communities for the better. Let’s take responsibility for the future of civil society and society itself.

This PACT is something we can all put into practice in what we do as part of civil society.  

Change will come through our individual and collective leadership, and through the ways we organise and work together.  It needs to be part of our everyday actions and decisions as well as informing our long-term dreams, visions and strategies. Those with established prestige and power might have more of a role to play – but every one of us can help to lead the way.

This change won’t come from outside – it is in our hands. It requires all of us to re-examine and renew our behaviours, attitudes and practices.

Explore more about Power, Accountability, Connection, Trust.

Read what others within civil society have said

Explore 92 ways to put the PACT into practice

Download and use the PACT jigsaw images (Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

See artist Rebecca Strickson’s response to the PACT
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