“The Faith Covenant works” – new research into the effectiveness of cross-sector partnerships
On Tuesday afternoon this week, we gathered in Westminster with faith leaders, local authorities, charity leaders and national government partners to launch the anticipated new research into the effectiveness of the Faith Covenant: Ten Years of the Faith Covenant: An Independent Evaluation.
The Faith Covenant, now active across 33 local authority areas and reaching over 12 million people, was originally created to build trust and collaboration between faith communities and councils.
The research was commissioned by FaithAction, and the APPG on Faith and Society, and was conducted by Dr Dan Range and Dr Aurélie French of the Centre for Inclusive Evaluation in partnership with Coventry University. It is the first time the Covenant has been comprehensively evaluated since its origin over a decade ago.
The key message from the research is that the Faith Covenant works – but that it works best when it is lived, supported by strong leadership and governance, not just signed.
There are plenty of examples of improved trust and collaboration – particularly in moments of crisis response – but also areas for improvement, and we are looking forward to carrying forward a programme of work to support and strengthen Covenants, as well as implement the report recommendations.
Faith communities are also uniquely placed to offer community insight, support social cohesion or rapid mobilization in times of crisis. Given the wider changing policy landscape, we think that faith maybe offers something distinct. Faith communities can provide continuity amid local government reorganization, as well as at existing networks, practice and learning to new initiatives such as the Civil Society Covenant and Protecting What Matters social cohesion strategy.
Zöe Franklin MP, Chair of the APPG on Faith and Society, opened proceedings, welcoming the research findings and framing the occasion as both a celebration and a call to action – an opportunity to take stock of over a decade of partnership work, as well as ask, what’s next?
Across our society, social cohesion is sadly under strain. Communities are dealing with rising pressure from inequality, the lingering effects of the pandemic, cost of living crisis, and global events that resonate deeply at a local level as well as national. And trust between institutions, and often, communities can sometimes not be taken for granted. And it's in this context, the Faith Covenant really, really matters. Not as a one off document but as a long term framework for trust, dialog, and collaboration.
We were also joined by the research team, and welcomed panellists Mustafa Field (Faiths Forum for London), Amrick Singh Ubhi, (Nishkam Civic Association, Birmingham) and the Rt. Revd. Rob Wickham (Church Urban Fund) who led a lively discussion, with audience Q&A, reflecting on Covenant successes, challenges and emerging opportunities.
We’ll be summarising our discussion and next steps shortly, but we invite you to read the report for yourself, which you can access below.
Ten Years of the Faith Covenant
And if you have any questions about the research, or see opportunities for joint work or collaboration where you are, get in touch with us at assistant@faithaction.net.
