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Debates and Workshops

23 October, The King's Fund, central London

Bond Annual Conference

Debates and workshops

Morning sessions (11.45-13.00)

1. Impact investing: the future of development funding?

Impact investing moves beyond CSR and seeks to create development impacts as well as solid financial returns. Over the last five years, the number of funds engaged in impact investing has grown quickly and led to an explosion of interest in the international development community. While there is still some uncertainty, the general consensus is that impact investing could serve as a sustainable and valuable complement to the development efforts of government and philanthropy. This session explored this new form of investment and the nuances of delivering both development impacts and profit.

Chair: Susannah Nicklin, Global Liaison, Europe, Global Impact Investing Network (Invited)

Speakers

Jonathan Schifferes, Senior Consultant, New Economics Foundation
Edward T Jackson, President, E.T.Jackson and Associates (consultants to Rockefeller Foundation on impact investing and authors of the report Accelerating Impact)

2. The new mainstream: making the marginalised part of our practice

While some NGOs continue to make clear commitments to reaching those suffering multiple rights deprivations, or have impressive programmes focused on, for example, disability or old age, for others, marginalised groups continue to be regarded as “expensive” or “difficult” targets for their work. This session explored the challenge and solutions to mainstreaming what are traditionally regarded as “specialist” concerns and looked at ways of developing inclusive practice in the context of the existing value for money agenda and the wider post-2015 settlement.

Chair: Koy Thomson, Bond Trustee and Chief Executive, Children in Crisis

Speakers

Tara Flood, Director, Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE)
Joseph Walumgembe, Country Director Uganda, ADD International
Sylvia Beales, Head of Strategic Alliances, HelpAge International
Elsebeth Elo, Evaluation Officer, Plan International

3. The politics of change: opportunities for UK NGOs in 2013

In the context of UK politics, the current economic climate and the wider international backdrop, 2013 is shaping up to be an important year for international development. This session outlined the crunch moments and political opportunities over the next 12 months. It provided a timely opportunity for NGOs to orient themselves around this evolving agenda and to share their views on where key progress could be made.

Chair: Christine Allen, Bond Trustee and Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Christian Aid

Speakers

Hans Zomer, Director, Dochas
Joanna Rea, Policy and Government Relations Manager, Bond
Max Lawson, Head of Advocacy, Oxfam

4. Climate change, conflict and planetary boundaries: post-2015 perspectives

This session explored why conflict and security, climate change and planetary boundaries need to be at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda, and if or how it is possible for a new framework to effectively address these growing challenges. Presentations from experts in these fields were followed by a chaired Q&A session and discussion with participants.

Chair: Michael Hammer, Executive Director, One World Trust

Speakers

Andrew Pendleton, Head of Campaigns, Friends of the Earth
Larry Attree, Conflict and Security Adviser, Saferworld
Prof. Melissa Leach, Institute of Development Studies

5. Doing the business: NGOs, the private sector and development

NGOs have been increasing engagement with business, especially as the private sector has extended its role in development spheres previously the preserve of the state. This session explored the current thinking from both NGO and private sector perspectives, and provided an opportunity to discuss why and how NGOs and the private sector should work together and what will happen next in this evolving relationship.

Chair: Dominic White, Head of Government Partnerships, WWF

Speakers

Dax Lovegrove, Head of Business and Industry Relations, WWF
Carmel McQuaid, Climate Change Manager, Marks & Spencer

6. The NGO guide to traveller safety and risk management

courtesy of Diversity Travel

Planning for the safety and security of staff overseas is a key responsibility of any NGO. This workshop session, brought to you by travel experts, Diversity Travel, gave an overview of the key considerations for safety when travelling, outline the responsibilities of the employer, and showed how reliable software can help to track employees and volunteers in the field. Complemented by case studies from NGOs, the session included a Q&A session, and a networking opportunity to discuss issues with other NGO staff responsible for travel and safety.

John Hutchison, Head of Sales, Diversity Travel - Charity/NGO Travel Management Specialists
Mike O’Neill, Managing Director, Optimal Risk - Risk and Travel Security Specialists
Stuart Mulholland, Director of Programme, Plan UK
Mike Hay, Business Development Director, The ANVIL Group - a leading supplier of travel risk management solutions

Afternoon sessions (14.00-15.15)

1. Philanthropists and development NGOs

When and why do philanthropists support development causes – and how successful have development NGOs been in engaging them? The session looked at key trends in philanthropy in the development sector and examined how development NGOs, philanthropists and other actors can work more strategically together to create greater development impact for poor communities.

Chair: Dr Maria Neophytou, Head of Policy and Research, International, Absolute Return for Kids (ARK)

Speakers

Kurt Hoffman, Director, Institute of Philanthropy
Prof. Myles Wickstead CBE, is on the Boards of a number of NGOs, Trusts and Foundations including Baring Foundation and Comic Relief

2. Building public support for development and UK NGOs in 2013 and beyond

In a changing environment for international development and a crowded market place within which to engage with the public, how can we ensure that NGOs do not lose the support of the public? This session looked at the latest research and assess the practical implications for NGO in terms of developing communications strategies that improve public engagement with NGOs and the development cause.

Chair: Glen Tarman, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Bond

Speaker:

Will Straw, Associate Director for Globalisation and Climate Change, IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research)

3. Beyond 2015: UK NGO action to influence the post 2015 agenda

Bond has been at the forefront of creating a platform for global civil society to work together for a strong and legitimate successor framework to the MDGs. Whether you or your organisation has been involved to date or not, this session looked at the state of play, scenarios ahead and the role, responsibilities and strategies UK NGOs are and can take to work with allies and partners for a progressive and ambitious post 2015 agreement.

Co-chairs

Anna Feuchtwang, Co-chair of the Bond Beyond 2015 Group and Chief Executive at EveryChild
Neva Frecheville, Co-chair of the Bond Beyond 2015 Group and International Development Policy Adviser at WWF-UK

4. The world turned upside down? A new world economic order and what it means for development NGOs

Today Europe and other ‘developed’ economies are the ones mired in debt and economic crisis, while many developing countries, even in Africa, seem to be booming. New developing economic powers in the BRICs and beyond are on the march. Does this mean that the old gaps between rich and poor worlds are disappearing? Has there been a fundamental shift in the patterns and causes of world poverty? This session explored the big picture of what has and hasn’t changed in the big economic trends shaping global development and poverty, and what this all means for the work of NGOs.

Chair: Ben Jackson, Chief Executive, Bond

Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, The Guardian
Owen Tudor, Head of European Union and International Relations, TUC
Nuria Molina, Director of Policy and Research, Save the Children

5. What counts as good evidence of effectiveness?

Good development work depends on robust evidence of what makes a difference to the lives of poor and marginalised people. But what constitutes good evidence? This workshop looked at different perspectives of how to assess the quality of different kinds of evidence and ensure that there’s a sufficient level of rigour in the evidence collection process. It brought together two funders and two NGOs to share their approaches and experience.

Chair: Angela Kellett, Evidence and Accountability Manager, World Vision UK

Speakers:

Dan Jones, Head of Programme Performance, Christian Aid
Mark Robinson, Chief Professional Officer, Governance, Social Development, Conflict and Humanitarian, DFID
Joanna Monaghan, International Learning Manager, Comic Relief
Wilm van Bekkum, Programme Development Advisor, Self Help Africa

6. New approaches to NGO insurance

courtesy of Clements Worldwide

Ensuring that your staff are insured appropriately and adequately for working in high risk situations is a fundamental responsibility of all NGOs. Not all insurance companies either understand or are able to provide adequate cover to international development workers, and understanding the way that insurance industry works and what constitutes a reliable insurance policy is essential for finance staff selecting insurance cover for their staff. Clements Worldwide, leading insurers to the NGO sector, provided a guide to the insurance world; the session included a Q&A, and a networking opportunity to discuss issues with other NGO staff responsible for travel and safety.

Speaker: