A new report has urged councils to make three key changes in order to get the best from their local voluntary sector.
The report, from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), outlines how councils can support greater involvement of the charity and voluntary sector in public service delivery.
This includes service co-design, capacity building in the market and changes to the commissioning process.
It argues service co-design enables commissioners to collaborate with both suppliers and service users to tailor services to community needs, while capacity building and changes to commissioning would help de-mystify complex procurement methods.
CIPFA CEO Rob Whiteman said: 'COVID-19 resulted in local authorities needing to find effective solutions to the new and complex challenges they were facing. Charities have provided local insight and knowledge to meet these challenges head on.
'We can use the momentum created by the pandemic to strengthen meaningful partnerships between local authorities and charities. This would not only achieve value for money, but also provide communities with the valuable public services they need to flourish.'
