The secondees, he said, “really have made a profound difference and been very important to the charities involved.”

The prince, pictured above with guests at the reception, recalled thinking 20 years ago: “If only we had more interoperability between the civil service and the voluntary sector.” This initiative is building those links, he said, adding: “I’m so grateful to the permanent secretaries who encourage their fast streamers to get involved.”

The initiative, run by Charity Next – which was founded by the Prince’s Charities Foundation, and is being run in partnership with the Whitehall & Industry Group – is being championed in Whitehall by Ian Watmore, the head of the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency & Reform Group.

Speaking to CSW at the reception last week, Watmore explained that the programme is “a brilliant way of helping the charitable sector, but also helping the civil service to develop skills they’ll need in future.”

Pointing out that the Big Society agenda will require civil servants to develop a better understanding of the voluntary and community sector (VCS), Watmore noted that secondees learn “what role the sector can play in developing public policy” and gain an appreciation of how departmental policies impact on VCS organisations. “Once people have worked on the other side of the fence, they’ve see the policymaking process from the other end of the telescope,” he said.

Secondees also quickly learn just how tough the jobs are in the voluntary sector, he said – but no matter how difficult, these roles appeal to the public-spirited nature of many fast streamers. “It taps into the public service ethos of the people we recruit,” said Watmore.

Asked what the civil service gains from the scheme Kevin White, the Home Office’s HR director, told CSW: “What we get out of it is the future leadership of the civil service having a much better understanding of how the government delivers on the ground. The secondees gain confidence, and become better managers.”

It will become much more important for the civil service to understand the VCS as the Big Society agenda progresses, said White. “It’s the case that central government has never understood how much the voluntary and community sector delivers,” he added. “Because of the direction of policy, it’s more important than ever that it does so.”

Above: Prince Charles prictured with guests at the reception, including Ian Watmore (far left) and Mark Gibson, chief executive of the Whitehall & Industry Group (far right).