What is a Champion Body
In the 2005 UK Sustainable Development Strategy Securing the Future, the Government set out the actions it would take to strengthen delivery of sustainable development, including at a regional level. Following a review of regional delivery by the Sustainable Development Commission, the Government published Securing the Regions' Futures in 2006 that set out their approach to strengthening regional delivery.
A key element of this was creating a strengthened role for regional roundtables for sustainable development as champion bodies for the regions.
Securing the Regions' Futures stated that an effective regional champion body should be:
- independent (providing an effective critical friend role to regional bodies and where appropriate constructively challenging regional policies or strategies from a sustainable development perspective
- inclusive (with wide cross-sectoral representation)
- influential (as a result of its membership and actions)
- capable of delivering campaigns, programmes and projects that exemplify sustainable development excellence
- well-networked (through partnerships within and beyond the region, including the Sustainable Development Commission)
- sustainable (run effectively with resources secured from within the region to ensure stability and from outside the region where relevant opportunities arise).
It also sets out the common purposes for champion bodies as:
- raising the profile of particular regional sustainable development issues based on sound regional evidence and data
- identifying opportunities for joint projects or initiatives which, by acting as catalysts, would significantly improve regional performance on sustainable development and which could not be delivered by other existing mechanisms or single agencies working alone
- providing a well-managed critical friend and constructive challenge function in the region to further the achievement of sustainable development through relevant regional plans, policies and programmes.
Here in North East England, the Government Office, Association of North East Councils and One North East have been working together with regional partners to establish a new Champion Body for Sustainable Development in North East England, to be known as Sustaine.
To comply with ‘Securing the Regions’ Futures, Sustaine works closely with the three sponsoring bodies: the Government Office for the North East, the Association of North East Councils and One North East.
Follow this link to visit the Defra website:
www.defra.gov.uk/