Based on a long-term national research project, with Karl Wilding from NCVO as keynote speaker, this one day conference will offer a chance for discussion on the scale and nature of change in the voluntary and community sector.

For the past ten years a research team associated with the Third Sector Research Centre has been following a group of voluntary organisations to understand how they experience, navigate and bring about change. The Change in the Making study involves voluntary organisations of different sizes and geographical remits and has taken place during what have been ten incredibly challenging years for many in the voluntary sector. 

Although austerity and increasing political uncertainty have put voluntary organisations under significant pressures in supporting their work and meeting their objectives, the research findings suggest that voluntary organisations are not just passive recipients of change, but employ significant creativity in navigating change, as well as shaping events in their own right. 

This conference will give representatives from the voluntary and community sector, in Greater Manchester and beyond, an opportunity to explore and reflect on their own experience of change over the past ten years in the context of the research findings. Alongside presentations from the Change in the Making team, three organisations from the local area will talk about how they have experienced change and Karl Wilding from NCVO will provide an overview of the national context. 

Please note, although the conference booking page focuses on Greater Manchester, the event draws on research which is England-wide and will have relevance to organisations from across the country. 

A limited number of bursaries are available for reasonable travel expenses.