Sessions
Opening Plenary: The Director's Reality | Navigating Pressure, Priorities and Partnership
What does leadership really look like in today's social care environment?
As organisations navigate financial pressures, workforce challenges, increasing demand, digital transformation and regulatory complexity, directors are balancing competing priorities while continuing to deliver high-quality support for disabled people and their families.
In this opening plenary, senior leaders from VODG's Finance, Operations, Digital, HR and Housing networks will share personal reflections on the realities of leadership today. Through honest accounts of difficult decisions, unexpected challenges and cross-functional collaboration, delegates will gain insight into the pressures shaping director-level roles across the sector.
Chaired by an experienced systems leader, the discussion will explore the common themes emerging across different functions and consider what they tell us about leadership in an increasingly complex and interconnected environment.
This session will set the tone for the day ahead, highlighting that while directors may lead different functions, many of the challenges they face are shared—and that the most effective solutions are often found through partnership rather than within organisational silos.
Sarah-Jane Dale (Chair)
Victoria Brown
Kaushika Patel
Jim Aspdin
A1: Director Exchange | The Challenge I Can't Solve Alone
The expectations placed on directors have never been greater.
Today's leaders are expected to navigate complexity, influence across organisational boundaries, embrace new technologies, respond to policy change and lead increasingly diverse teams, all while maintaining high-quality services and organisational resilience.
In this thought-provoking session, Philip Middlewood will explore how the role of the director is evolving and the capabilities that will be most important in the years ahead. Drawing on his extensive experience working with senior leaders across sectors, Philip will challenge delegates to reflect on what effective leadership looks like in an increasingly uncertain and interconnected world.
Through practical insights, real-world examples and audience discussion, the session will examine how directors can strengthen their ability to lead through change, influence beyond their formal authority and build the relationships needed to succeed in complex systems.
This session is designed to encourage delegates to step back from the immediate pressures of their roles and consider how leadership itself is changing, and how they can continue to grow their impact as leaders in the years ahead.
Philip Middlewood
Craig Richards
Sebastian Moh
Brian Watts
A2: Governing Well in Uncertain Times | Boards, Directors and Strategic Leadership
As organisations navigate an increasingly complex operating environment, boards and executive teams are being asked to make decisions that balance mission, performance, innovation, risk and long-term sustainability. At the same time, leaders face growing expectations from regulators, funders, service users, colleagues and wider stakeholders.
This session will explore how governance is evolving in response to these challenges and what effective relationships between boards and executive teams look like in practice. Moving beyond compliance and assurance, the discussion will consider how governance can enable strategic leadership, support innovation and strengthen organisational resilience.
Drawing on experience from across the voluntary sector, delegates will examine how boards and directors can work together to navigate uncertainty, maintain focus on purpose and create long-term impact.
A3: AI and the Future Organisation | Opportunity, Risk and Leadership
Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to everyday use. From workforce planning and administrative efficiency to data analysis and decision support, AI has the potential to reshape how organisations operate.
Yet many leaders are still grappling with important questions around adoption, governance, culture, risk and responsibility.
This session will explore what directors need to understand about AI today, the opportunities it presents, the risks organisations should be considering and the leadership capabilities required to harness its potential responsibly.
Rather than focusing on technology alone, the discussion will examine how AI is changing decision-making, roles, skills and organisational culture, and what this means for leaders across finance, HR, operations, housing and digital functions.
B1: The National Care Service | What Might It Mean for Providers?
The future direction of social care reform remains uncertain, but discussions around a National Care Service continue to shape debate across the sector.
This session will explore the emerging policy landscape, what a National Care Service could mean for voluntary sector providers, and how directors can prepare for potential changes in commissioning, workforce, funding and accountability. Delegates will have the opportunity to consider both the risks and opportunities that reform could bring and discuss what strategic decisions organisations may need to make in the years ahead.
B2: Financial Sustainability Beyond Cost-Cutting
Financial sustainability is one of the defining leadership challenges facing social care organisations today. Yet long-term resilience cannot be achieved through cost reduction alone.
As directors balance rising demand, workforce pressures, regulatory expectations and the need to invest in innovation, the conversation is increasingly shifting from financial survival to financial stewardship. How can organisations remain true to their purpose while building the resilience needed for the future? Where should leaders invest, and where should they challenge traditional approaches?
This session will explore how directors can make confident, strategic decisions in an environment of uncertainty and constraint. Bringing together finance and sector leaders, the discussion will examine how organisations can align financial sustainability with organisational ambition, ensuring resources are deployed to support both current priorities and future opportunities.
The session will provide practical insight into the leadership decisions that underpin sustainable organisations and offer an opportunity to reflect on how finance can enable, rather than restrict, organisational success.
Stuart McKay
Shabir Ladak
B3: Workforce 2030 | Building the Future Workforce
Workforce challenges remain one of the most significant issues facing social care leaders. Yet the conversation is increasingly shifting from recruitment and retention towards the future shape of the workforce itself.
This session will explore how organisations can attract, develop and retain talent, build leadership pipelines and respond to changing workforce expectations. Delegates will consider the skills, roles and cultures needed to support high-quality services in the years ahead.
Jane Brightman
Laura Welchew
Kerry Demner
B4: Homes, Communities and Independence
Housing plays a critical role in helping people live independent and fulfilling lives, yet organisations continue to face significant challenges in securing and sustaining appropriate homes and community-based support.
This session will explore the changing relationship between housing, care and support, and consider how organisations can work collaboratively to create opportunities for greater independence, inclusion and choice.
Liz Zacharias
Aidan McCarthy
C1: Digital Transformation | Moving from Projects to Impact
Digital transformation is no longer a standalone initiative. It has become a strategic imperative that affects every part of an organisation.
This session will explore how directors can move beyond pilots and projects to realise meaningful organisational impact. The discussion will focus on leadership, culture, adoption, data and value creation, ensuring that technology investments deliver measurable improvements for the people organisations support and the teams who work within them.
Pete Oestreich
C2: The Future Director | How Is the Role Changing?
The expectations placed on directors have never been greater. Today's leaders are expected to navigate complexity, influence across organisational boundaries, embrace new technologies, respond to policy change and lead increasingly diverse teams.
This session will explore how director roles are evolving and the capabilities that will be most important in the years ahead. Delegates will reflect on the changing nature of leadership and consider how they can continue to grow their impact in an increasingly uncertain and interconnected world.
C3: Cyber, Risk and Resilience
Cyber security is no longer just a technology issue. It is an organisational leadership issue that affects governance, operations, finance, reputation and service continuity.
This session will explore the cyber risks facing organisations today and consider the role directors play in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disruptive incidents. Delegates will gain insight into how organisations can strengthen resilience and ensure cyber security becomes a shared organisational responsibility.
C4: Commissioning for the Future
Commissioning arrangements continue to evolve amid changing expectations, financial pressures and increasing demand for collaborative approaches.
This session will explore how organisations can position themselves as strategic partners within local systems, demonstrate value and influence future service design. Delegates will consider emerging commissioning models and the opportunities they present for innovation, partnership and long-term impact.
Dan Gower-Smith
Closing Plenary: The Director's Advantage | What Social Care Leadership Can Teach the World
Throughout the day, delegates will have explored many of the challenges facing leaders today, from financial pressures and workforce shortages to technological change, housing, commissioning and organisational resilience.
Yet social care leadership is too often defined by the challenges it faces rather than the strengths it has developed in response to them.
Every day, leaders across the sector navigate complexity, build partnerships across organisational boundaries, lead diverse teams, balance competing priorities and maintain a relentless focus on people and outcomes. In doing so, they have developed capabilities that are increasingly relevant far beyond social care.
In this closing plenary, we will explore what organisations across sectors can learn from leaders operating in complex, resource-constrained, and highly relational environments. Drawing on decades of research into leadership, teamwork and organisational culture, he will challenge delegates to recognise the distinctive strengths of social care leadership and consider how these can be applied to wider conversations about organisational success, performance and human-centred leadership.
As the conference draws to a close, delegates will be encouraged to reflect not only on the challenges ahead, but on the value and influence that social care leadership can bring to the wider world.
