In case you missed it is a monthly round-up of what we have been up to at ACEVO. Communications officer Heloisa Righetto shares links to recently published content, newly launched events and services available to members.
A narrated version of this blog is available at the bottom of the page
Latest resources
At the beginning of the month, we published the final report from the Rebalancing the Relationship project in partnership with NCVO and the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Launched in 2018, the project explores competition and collaboration between charities and social enterprises delivering public services. Rebalancing the Relationship aims to improve the frequency, effectiveness and spirit of partnership between voluntary organisations working in a challenging commissioning environment. Although the report focuses on organisations delivering public services, some of the lessons about collaboration will be relevant to all organisations.
This month we have also published two new reports about disability in civil society leadership written by disability activist Zara Todd and third sector researcher Ellie Munro. “Accessing Leadership: supporting disabled leaders and future leaders in the voluntary sector” is a scoping review that summarises what is already known about disabled voluntary sector leaders.
The second report, “Hidden Leaders: disability leadership in civil society”, builds on this research through 10 semi-structured interviews with ACEVO staff, trustees, members and non-members. It concludes with a series of practical recommendations and a light-touch audit tool to help charities assess their progress on disability inclusion.
ACEVO commissioned the project to support its aim of creating a more disability-inclusive staff team, board and membership. We have published both reports because we think it is important for ACEVO to be acting transparently. We hope it will help other charities which may also be looking to improve equity, diversity and inclusion. However, much of the reports’ content is specific to ACEVO, so we have produced a separate briefing highlighting the key learning points relevant to other civil society organisations. The briefing is available to download from the reports’ page.
Announced new events
There are four upcoming webinars in March and April and many members meetings, such as The Friday Review, regional networks and special interests. We will soon publish the events calendar for the Summer months, and stay tuned as there will soon be an announcement about the next edition of #ACEVOFest!
Support for you
ACEVO’s support team has prepared a special afternoon of support. On Wednesday 28 April, from 2pm, we are hosting three sessions exclusive to members to provide advice on several topics and a safe networking space. Join us for one or all of them, according to your needs and availability. We hope to see you there!
News from ACEVO
ACEVO’s current three-year strategy was launched in 2018 and ‘runs out’ at the end of March 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the schedule for developing our new strategy, so the board has agreed that 2021-22 will be a transition year leading into the launch of a new three-year strategy from April 2022 to March 2025. We are hosting a series of online discussions to talk through our strategy development with groups of members selected randomly from our membership. Still, we also want to allow all members to feed into the process. This blog explains how you can take part.
Last week we moved out of our office in Fenchurch Street in London to become (for the time being at least) a fully virtual team. ACEVO’s new registered address is 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ but please continue to contact us via email (info@acevo.org.uk) and phone (020 7014 4600) rather than post.
