Time: 3.30-5.00 pm

Speakers:

• Jane Ide OBE, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
• Grace Wyld, Future Governance Forum
• James Rees, University of Wolverhampton
• Rob Macmillan, Sheffield Hallam University (Chair)

Venue: Sheffield Hallam University, Charles Street Building, Room 12.4.19, City Campus / Teams

Abstract

Before the July 2024 election Keir Starmer offered a new partnership between government and the voluntary sector for a ‘society of service’, after years of policy neglect from previous governments. A new ‘covenant’ setting out the principles for that reset relationship is in development. However, the Labour government is now approaching the end of its first 9 months in office, and is challenged on multiple fronts, its attention drawn elsewhere. What then are the prospects for a reset relationship between government and the voluntary sector? And what are the contours and tension points in that relationship? Join us for a lively and informative discussion of these questions with our panel of expert speakers.

Biographies

• Jane Ide is Chief Executive Officer of ACEVO – the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, a network of over 1,750 civil society CEOs and senior leaders in England and Wales. She has leadership and communications experience in both the voluntary and public sectors. Previous roles include leading Creative and Cultural Skills and as CEO at NAVCA, the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action. She received an OBE for services to volunteering and charity in 2021.
• Grace Wyld is Head of Policy and Research at the Future Governance Forum, a think tank founded in 2023 to advance new approaches to progressive policymaking and delivery. Grace brings expertise in policy research, strategy, and measurement and evaluation, with previous roles at Trussell Trust, New Philanthropy Capital and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
• James Rees is Professor of Civil Society and Public Policy, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Community Research and Development at the University of Wolverhampton. He has been a co-editor of Voluntary Sector Review and has published widely on aspects of the voluntary sector particularly in relation to public service delivery, leadership and citizen involvement. His last co-edited book ‘COVID-19 and the voluntary and community sector in the UK’ was published by Policy Press in 2023.
• Rob Macmillan is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social research at Sheffield Hallam University.