Surviving Over Time and Space? The Experience of the English Compact

Abstract Since it was first agreed in the autumn of 1998, the English Compact has achieved international status, as a marker of – or vehicle for - a new and improved relationship between the state and the third sector. Over the twelve years or so since its first publication, it has been supplemented by local compacts across the country and has been ‘refreshed’ or renewed twice. As such it has proved remarkably durable across time and space. But the political context in which it operates has now changed. A government committed to partnership has been replaced by one with a strong ideological commitment to limiting the powers and role of the state. How will this affect its future role?