CVSL Conference 2025: Collaborating with the Voluntary Sector Organisations

Join us for this year's annual conference hosted by the OU's Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL) in the Business School. This year's conference explores CVSL's collaboration with voluntary sector organisations and other stakeholders in leadership development, research and knowledge exchange.

The conference builds on the 2024 annual conference, where we reflected on voluntary sector organisations' collaboration with other institutions to address the social challenges exacerbated by the economic crisis. This year's conference will also mark the ninth anniversary of CVSL. Several CVSL's voluntary sector partners will share their insights and reflect on the difference collaboration makes. Collaboration is not just a theoretical concept but a necessary process and approach to addressing societal challenges that a given organisation can not handle alone. Realising the benefits of collaboration requires all the stakeholders to be authentic and invested in collaboration.

Conference participants will contribute their insights in the breakout sessions and the facilitated discussions after keynote presentations. CVSL expects a broad audience, including practitioners, researchers, leadership consultants, philanthropic organisations' representatives, policymakers, academics and curious people looking for ideas on solving societal challenges they are passionate about.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Anand Shukla, Chief Executive, Henry Smith Charity
• Maddy Desforges, Chief Executive, NAVCA

Register to join us in person Register to join us online