Working with civil society

The Government believes that civil society organisations, along with citizens and communities, are at the heart of the Big Society. The Government is committed to working in partnership with civil society to deliver the Big Society vision.

In March 2010, the previous government published Shaping Our Future, a joint report by a Task Force comprising ministers from Defra, DECC, DCLG, and the former Office for the Third Sector (now the Office for Civil Society), and civil society groups with a strong interest in sustainable development and climate change.

Shaping Our Future explored the capacity of civil society organisations to contribute to tackling major sustainability issues, especially climate change. It set out principles for how government and civil society should work in partnership on this agenda, and a vision for 2015:

“The third sector shapes the future by mobilising and inspiring others to tackle climate change and maximising the social, economic and environmental opportunities of action.”

The Coalition Government believes that the report’s vision and underlying principles are fully consistent with our vision for the Big Society, and that the report continues to provide a valid template for action both by civil society and government. The four departments have now completed a joint review of the actions assigned to government in Shaping Our Future. The resulting Implementation Plan sets out proposals for taking forward these actions, helping to meet relevant commitments in the Coalition’s programme for government.