In October 2006 Moray Community Planning Partnership (MCPP) published an agreement between partners and the voluntary sector, known as the Moray Compact. The Compact sets out how they will all work in partnership for the benefit of the wider public good. Since the Moray Compact’s publication, understanding of the voluntary sector’s role has developed, with the sector seeing itself represented within various strategic partnerships.

The two main bodies representing the sector at a strategic level to date are Moray Voluntary Service Organisation (MVSO) and Volunteer Centre Moray (VCM). MVSO are acknowledged, by partners, organisations and service users, to be the primary focal point for general voluntary sector issues. VCM exists as an enabling service for volunteering to take place throughout Moray. There is a perceived expectation that MVSO and VCM are the authoritative voice of the sector. However, both organisations are only two voices which are not always best placed to represent the whole sector on every issue.

The weakness in the current arrangements therefore stems from the fact that there exists a wide range of voluntary sector viewpoints that are not adequately expressed. A huge majority of current arrangements are ad-hoc and do not best represent the sector. Conscious of this, early 2008 saw MVSO and VCM developing in-house ideas for forums involving a wide range of stakeholder representatives.