A Considered Reflection on CVSL’s 9th Annual Conference

This blog offers several reflections from my in-person attendance at the recent Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) Conference - ‘Reflections and Takeaways from Nine Years of the CVSL Research’, held simultaneously in-person and online, at the beautiful Open University Walton Hall Campus on the 21^st May this year.

Photograph left to right, Anand Shukla (Chief Executive, Henry Smith Charity), Fidele Dr Fidele Mutwarasibo (CVSL Director)  and Ian Revell (Chief Executive, MK Community Foundation)

Many of you will have lost count of how many conferences you have attended. We all recognise that feeling when you are at a conference, and you start thinking of the jobs you need to do, the paperwork you could be completing, what you might have for dinner and then you start planning your early escape, via the snacks trolley, before making the dash for the exit. This conference was not one of those. If I was to sum up my sentiment, it would be more like ‘pity it wasn’t longer’ or ‘what a lovely place to do a residential conference’. Now, that isn’t me being especially nice to my OU colleagues, it is because I like to feel that wherever I travel to a conference that the significant amount of energy, time and money I have committed to it, has not been wasted. The bar I set is that I come away with new and refreshed ideas, invigorated to do more, do some things differently, explore a little deeper and push to make and retain better collaborations. If I don’t get that, then I do think I had best stayed at home, walked the dog and cleaned out a cupboard. Of course, as conference delegates, we are not passive recipients of information. We are part of making the event a success by our level of engagement, the effort we put into our interactions and the insights we share from our practice and research.

In unpicking what constitutes an uplifting and engaging conference, I have my internal tick list. It needs to:

• Energise and engage with speakers who share practice and academic insights
• Facilitate a lively (safe) debate that enables multiple voices to be heard and facilitate opportunities for generating novel ideas
• Offer opportunities for small group discussion using ‘breakout rooms’ that provide valuable opportunities for interaction and exploring topics in more depth
• Make time in the programme for audience participation via real-time questions from in-person and online delegates and speakers, equipped to provide detailed responses that provide the audience with useful and relevant content and signposting 
• Provide for well-spaced breaks that provide time to not only have a drink and a snack, but to interact and chat with delegates and to explore some of the ideas and thoughts being generated during the conference.

For me, this conference did all of those and more.

Whilst the theme of this year’s event provided CVSL with an opportunity to share an insightful précis of the rich diversity of research and collaborations that has spanned a busy nine years, it also signposted initiatives for the forthcoming years. The conference blended an interesting and relevant mix of reflections from CVSL members with those from colleagues representing third sector organisations. Considering the complexity of issues facing many third sector organisations, and higher education institutions, the diversity of initiatives that emanate from these relationships, highlighted the importance of collaborative action, sharing of ideas and insights, across a diverse range of organisations. 

If I were to select three of my takeaway vignettes from this conference, I would concentrate them around three nouns and some of the dynamics that oscillated around our conversations:

Resilience:

• Rich, informal discussions around the often taken-for-granted quality levied at ‘third sector’ organisations and the perception of their ability to ‘bounce back’; irrespective of what is precipitating the ‘bounce’, and indeed what the actual reality is for individual agencies. A need to apply a more critical examination to the use of terms and the layers of often unhelpful expectations that flow from their use.

Sustainability: 

• Exploring and asking questions, such as: how can you create value through collaborative knowledge exchange that contributes towards organisational sustainability? What qualities and skills do organisations/individuals need to have to continue to provide services over time in changing and challenging conditions? Identifying social and economic conditions within their communities and their impact; mechanisms to enable substantial changes to business practices and organisational culture; ‘future proofing’; ‘achieving without compromising our Vision and Mission Statement’

Realism:  

• The importance of recognising turning and tipping points in organisational dynamics; identifying key steps that may need to be taken to mitigate the effect of them.

• Whilst I don’t wish to spoil the mood of this blog, I do need to highlight the importance placed by several conference attendees during informal discussions, on recognising a decline in what they achieved on a day-to-day basis. This was contrasted with the rhetoric they felt from ‘several quarters’ of higher levels of expectation being placed on them to ‘deliver’. They contrasted this with the very real and continuing impact of financial crisis and cliff-edge economics eroding what was possible for them to achieve. For some organisations, this manifests itself in their day-to-day experiences being of the ‘paddling upstream’ and ‘it’s not getting any easier’ variety. 

Conferences that facilitate rich meaningful exchanges have the potential to amplify messages and key themes through a myriad of networks and alliances.  Academe certainly has a very important role to play in this respect. This conference showcased some of the diversity of collaborative initiatives that a hub such as CVSL, who operate within the OU’s Business School, within an internationally recognised higher education institution, can facilitate. This is something to celebrate and realise that the impact of the amplification of all our collaborative activities can make the difference. 

The Open University is a world leader in design, content and delivery. This is not a position gained from an ivory tower position of naval gazing but one honed over many years. It is a world leader in working in diverse collaborative partnerships and helping to amplify the experiences of others. When done well, higher education initiatives such as this one, facilitate the richest of collaborations. They don’t always shout loud enough about them. I think we ‘insider-outsiders’ need to help amplify these achievements.  

Well done to all the staff and delegates who made this year’s CVSL Conference an enjoyable, relevant and thought-provoking event. I look forward to CVSL’s 10^th Anniversary Conference in 2026.