April 2008 News
Collaboration without borders
What can UK voluntary organisations learn about collaboration from international NGOs?
Date: 4 June 2008 (12.00 to 2.15)
Venue: NCVO
In response to global challenges and the changing nature of governance, civil society organisations in different parts of the world are increasingly working together, establishing formal transnational alliances or collaborating perhaps more informally through networks. This seminar will explore the implications of working collaboratively and engaging with a range ...
What are today's social evils?
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) recently released the results of its social evils project as you might have seen in the press. I first heard about the project last Autumn when they launched their web based consultation asking people to identify their top three social evils in today's Britain. I personally didn't like the term 'social evils'. I thought it was of another time and not hugely helpful or constructive. Having said that, it struck a cord with many and over 3,500 people...
How are social attitudes changing?
The UK population and the attitudes of the people within it are diverse and unsurprisingly, their views can be contradictory. Public attitudes have significant implications for much of the VCS’s work; from campaigning, volunteering and service delivery, to its workforce and funding.
The fifth in our series of Future Focus guides explores the increasing tolerance of the British public towards difference in some areas, for example, towards ethnic diversity, the freedom to define one’s own...
Membership in the future
I wrote this think piece as the basis of a presentation on the drivers shaping the future of membership, for the NCVO membership schemes conference on the 22 April. It draws on lots of our previous work, including on public attitudes in the last Voluntary Sector Strategic Analysis, the ICT Foresight work and our Future Focus guides on social attitudes and volunteering. It will inform our proposed project on the future of membership which we are developing with colleagues at the RSA, Ruralnet ...
New Horizons: Funding and finance for the future
3 June 2008
Wellcome Collection Conference Centre
London
Do you want to know about new funding and finance opportunities for your organisation? This year’s NCVO Sustainable Funding Project’s Annual Gathering will scan the horizon for new finance and funding opportunities for your organisation to benefit from.
The day will consist of an exciting programme of presentations from leaders in the field, informative and practical workshops, and 1-2-1 surgery and advice sessions. You will come away...
NCVO Membership Schemes Conference – Tuesday 26th April 2008
Managing a successful membership scheme is not just about increasing the number of new members. How do you balance recruitment, member communication and interaction whilst maximising loyalty and retention?
This day long conference at will help you to manage your membership scheme more effectively. Experts in the field of membership schemes will share their knowledge and experience on how to get, engage with and retain members. The interactive and practical workshops will equip you with top...
Trust in public institutions – lessons from the BBC
Who is to blame, if anyone, for the apparent decline in levels of trust in institutions? An interesting speech given by the BBC Director-General in January explores the relationship between the media and the public sphere. The speech was given after Tony Blair’s memorable speech blaming the media for low trust in politicians, as well as the scandals that damaged trust in the BBC (the faked Blue Peter phone-in and manipulation of footage of the Queen for example).
Thompson explores whether...
We are recruiting – Events, communications and admin assistant
We are currently recruiting for last member of our newly expanding team. This advert went in the Society Guardian last Wednesday:
“Organising and administering a range of events, you will lead on communicating our findings about the trends shaping the future of civil society, as well as marketing our services and undertaking small research projects in support of the team.
You will have excellent team working skills and experience of managing a busy office. You will have strong communication...
Here Comes Everybody, and the future of membership
I am reading the new book by Clay Shirky, Here comes everybody – the power of organizing without organizations. In the book Clay explores how social media is changing organised activity. The two chapters I've read so far have unpicked the power of networks and lower barriers to publishing, and the shifts that mean that loosely affiliated groups can often now be more effective than hierarchical institutions. It's an excellent read and I'd recommend it to all in our sector. Why? I'll let Clay...
Future trends - international migration, population movements and cohesion
Ahead of our seminar on the impact of migration on the VCS next Tuesday, I was doing a bit of reading about migration and came across this report which explores future trends and impacts on international migration and population movement within the UK. Participants attending the seminar might want to have a read of this as a bit of background research to the day but equally it’s a useful summary of some of the main trends affecting migration for anyone interested in this area. The report is...
