Community Services Sector Charter
The Community Services Sector Charter is a statement of who we are as a sector, what we stand for, and provides a shared vision of what we aim to achieve. It is intended to give rise to a more unified community services sector by articulating a shared identity for the sector, and to define and communicate to other sectors of society (government, business and community) what the Queensland Community Service Sector is, and to raise awareness of its vital role and invaluable contribution to society.
Additionally the Charter aims to provide a vehicle for community organisations across Queensland to assert a strong collective voice and thereby increase our influence on key issues of concern.
The Community Services Sector Charter was developed through extensive consultation with the community services sector the following activities:
Creating a Future for our Sector (Aug – Nov 2006) – A state-wide consultation process tapping into the views of more than 200 organisations.
Future of the Sector Roundtable(March 2007) – A forum bringing together 60 representatives from 20 community service state wide peak bodies and networks to discuss the consultation findings and agree which information would form the basis of the charter.
2007 QCOSS Conference – Poverty, Prosperity & Progress: Ensuring the Inclusion of all Queenslanders (March 2007) – A workshop attended by 20 conference delegates to discuss the first draft of the charter document.
Development of the Charter was led by the Community Services Futures Forum as part of the Future of the Sector Project. The Charter is also the basis of the Community Services Sector Communication Strategy. The Charter was launched in August 2007.
Download the Community Services Sector Charter
The Community Services Futures Forum is continuing to progress the communication strategy as part of the next step of the Future of the Sector Project. This is about communicating to other sectors of society what the community services sector is – what it does and its contribution to society – in order to strengthen its position. The strategy is essentially about providing tools to ensure that the sector presents key messages consistently and effectively from a united front. This will ensure the sector has a stronger voice and more influence when speaking out about key issues affecting the sector.
For more information contact Anne Curson from the QCOSS Sector Strategy and Service Development Team on 07 3004 6900 or email annec@coss.org.au.
