Mike Aiken (IVAR) writes:
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to be able to give you details of the VSSN Day Seminar on Wed 1 December 2010 in London which will take place 5 minutes walk from Kings Cross Station. The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) is pleased to be hosting this event. To avoid disappointment please book early as there will be limited space available. Bookings are now open but when we are full we are full.
There are an exciting range of contributions bringing together top name international researchers such as Janet Newman who will offer her analysis of the new policy agenda by asking: The Big Society: The return of the repressed or business as usual?She will be complemented by a panel including Pete Alcock who has been developing his own take on what the Big Society may mean to the voluntary sector and Karl Wilding who will add to the discussion from his insights into what he sees happening in the sector so far. Your questions and reflections are an important part of this session and for this reason we will be ably chaired by Margaret Harris who will also act as an informal discussant to the conversation.
In our first session Bryan Collis from WCVA will add to this theme with his analysis of the effects of the credit crunch on third sector organisations in Wales. Our morning will end with a 30 minute VSSN slot which will offer a chance to learn about some of the business of, and developments in, VSSN including the AGM. It also provides an opportunity to share your own news of books, new research or events you are engaged in. Our VSSN chair, Chris Cornforth will kick us off. Lunch and networking is included in your registration fee.
After lunch, in our second session, Rob MacMillan will ask if transforming the voluntary sector is a perpetual work-in- progress machine? We are delighted to gain an international perspective in our third session, on the career paths of volunteer managers, from Karen Smith a visiting scholar from New Zealand.
Our final session for the day represents a mild innovation on our usual format by offering three researchers a chance to present their work in brief with questions at the end. So we are delighted that Ceri Davies will be examining neighbourly relations between campus and community with Mariana Bogdanova considering the nature of partnerships for a developing third sector in Bulgaria while Eddy Hogg will sketch his research into the Demographic Opportunity: volunteering in older age. We will conclude with a tea break.
The fee for the day covers entry to the event, lunch and all refreshments. We do ask all participants, including presenters and chairs, to register and pay for the day as VSSN is a network whose main funds come from members’ subscriptions. See the weblink for full details of the programme, abstracts, and how to register and pay. The registration fee is £30 for members, £60 for non-members. Concessionary rate: £20 for VSSN members without financial support. We warmly welcome you to join VSSN if you are not already a member. Details of membership benefits (including a subscription to the journal Voluntary Sector Review) are here.
If you wish to attend, please register online. The VSSN executive officer will then contact you about payment. If you have any difficulties registering please contact us at: bookings@vssn.org.uk
We will provide details of the venue, which is a 5 minute walk from Kings Cross Station in central London, and a link to a map to all registered participants.
Book soon to avoid disappointment! We look forward to seeing you shortly.
