Communicating with Civil Servants

communicating with

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Civil Servants

Civil servants need much more convincing that charities can be effective service delivery partners.

Many civil servants have very limited contact with external organisations.

37%

35%

47%

31%

45%

believe charities can be inefficient or wasteful with relation to service delivery

believe charities' approaches to problems are often too small & uncoordinated

would trust a charity to provide services reliably and on budget

have had no contact with charities in the last 12 months

have volunteered their time over the last 12 months

Civil servants want to see charities using well-evidenced information and acting in a professional, politically neutral manner.

The most common ways in which civil servants engage with charities are passive.

61% prefer obtaining a written report

56%

believe charities and community groups are well-intentioned but can be amateurish or unprofessional

58% prefer to use charities' websites

55% prefer one-to-one meetings

42% prefer attending an event

37% prefer receiving a letter or email

Civil servants can be frustrated by a perceived lack of understanding about government among charities. To engage them effectively, they believe charities need greater knowledge of how government works and how policy is made.

Only a third of Conservative councillors trust charities and community groups to:• tell them the truth about the scale of a problem • accurately represent the views and interests of the communities they serve • provide services reliably and on budget

There is an opportunity for charities to engage more closely with some civil servants but not all.

40% believe their department should establish closer links with charities

60% believe there should be more engagement between policymakers & charities

50% believe charities are effective partners in policymaking

Source: YouGov survey, 6-28th July 2021, 62 civil servantsUndertaken for the Law Family Commission on Civil Society.