The next meeting of the VODG Operations Directors Network will provide an opportunity to explore current challenges, share learning and gain practical insights on some of the key issues shaping provider organisations.
Our first session, What does good ESG look like? Practical sustainability, service engagement and implementation, will be led by John Mackintosh, Independent Consultant at GreenGoals Consulting. Designed as an interactive discussion, the session will explore how organisations can translate ESG ambitions into practical action, regardless of size or resource. Topics will include carbon data management, measuring environmental impact across complex property portfolios, engaging frontline services and the people they support in sustainability initiatives, and overcoming common barriers such as upfront investment costs. Following a short presentation, members will be invited to share experiences, challenges and approaches, creating a valuable opportunity for peer learning and discussion.
The meeting will then turn to The future of personalised commissioning: ISFs, Direct Payments and the PA Model, presented by Chris Watson, Founder of Self Directed Futures. With growing interest in more personalised approaches to support, this session will examine current developments in commissioning and what they may mean for providers. Drawing on his extensive experience supporting local authorities and provider organisations, Chris will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with Individual Service Funds (ISFs), Direct Payments and the Personal Assistant (PA) model, before opening the discussion to member questions and reflections.
A further session will focus on media licensing and recent MPLC enquiries, a live and developing issue affecting many organisations across the sector. Following recent reports of providers being contacted by the Motion Picture Licensing Company (MPLC), VODG has brought this discussion into the agenda to support members in understanding the practical implications. The session will include a short legal overview from one of VODG's legal partners, alongside member experiences and lessons learned. Discussion will focus on operational, governance and compliance considerations, as well as organisational approaches to risk management and decision-making. While the session is not intended to provide legal advice, it will offer a valuable opportunity for intelligence sharing, peer learning and discussion of common themes emerging across the sector.
Book your place today to join the conversation and learn from sector experts and fellow operations directors on the issues that matter most to providers.



Chief Operating Officer, One Fylde
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14:00 |
Welcome, sector updates and network priorities |
Kerry Hamilton, Director of Membership and Operations, VODG, and VODG Co-chairs |
|
14.10 |
What does good ESG look like? Practical sustainability, service engagement and implementation |
John Mackintosh, Independent Consultant at GreenGoals Consulting |
|
14.25 |
Facilitated discussion and member experiences |
John Mackintosh, Independent Consultant at GreenGoals Consulting and VODG Co-chairs |
|
14.25 |
The future of personalised commissioning: ISFs, Direct Payments and the PA Model |
Chris Watson, Founder, Self Directed Futures |
|
14.55 |
Questions and discussion |
Chris Watson, Founder, Self Directed Futures and VODG Co-chairs |
|
15.05 |
MPLC Enquiries and Media Licensing |
Speaker tbc |
|
15.30 |
Member experiences |
Paul Anson, Chief Operating Officer at One Fylde, and members |
|
15.45 |
Key takeaways |
VODG Co-chairs |
|
15.55 |
Future topics and wrap-up |
Kerry Hamilton, Director of Membership and Operations, VODG, and VODG Co-chairs |
|
16.00 |
End |
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Please note, should you have any accessibility requirements, we will do our best to make necessary arrangements to support you; however, we may require up to four weeks notice, so please list your requirements on the booking form. Closed captions are used as standard in online meetings. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
The operations directors' network provides colleagues a secure space to discuss pertinent issues and topics via our online forum, to upload documents and to view the lastest network events.
Join us at our quarterly operations directors' member meetings, chaired by leaders from across our membership.
Group Director Operations , Avenues
Group Director Operations , Avenues
Director of Business Development and Partnerships, Fitzroy
Director of Business Development and Partnerships, Fitzroy
Diane leads on driving our growth and income, building meaningful collaborations, and boosting our visibility and reputation through strategic communications. With 25 years of experience in business development and partnerships across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including healthcare, she is dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable people and making sure their challenges are heard. Diane heads up business development, communications, fundraising, community engagement, and partnerships.
Operations Director, Canterbury Oast Trust
Operations Director, Canterbury Oast Trust

Independent Consultant, GreenGoals Consulting
John Mackintosh is the Founder of GreenGoals, established in 2022 to help organisations navigate the complexities of the climate agenda. Drawing on extensive experience across the private sector and both central and local government, John recognised the increasing challenges decision makers face in responding to the climate crisis. GreenGoals was created to bring together his understanding of national and local environmental policy with his deep expertise in performance management, enabling clearer insights and more effective action.
John’s career has centred on using evidence to inform policy, guide decisions, and improve organisational performance. He spent five years at the former Department of Energy and Climate Change, where he led the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting—overseeing data management, the publication of UK National Statistics, and the submission of reports to meet domestic and international obligations. His work also contributed to the development of the UK’s carbon budgets.
Prior to this, John worked at the Strategic Rail Authority, including five years leading the analysis of rail performance for the Department for Transport. In that role, he developed tools and processes to monitor and report operational performance, helping drive improvements across the rail network. More recently, he has supported the Surrey Environment Partnership in its efforts to meet local recycling targets.
John’s background offers a unique combination of environmental reporting expertise, performance management experience, and knowledge of the public, private, and third sectors—providing a strong foundation for helping organisations make informed and impactful decisions on climate and sustainability.

Founder, Self Directed Futures
Chris Watson is the founder of Self Directed Futures. Chris has over 24 years’ experience working across the public and voluntary sector in the fields of health, social care and community development, with a focus on working with people with learning disabilities to achieve citizenship within their communities.
As well as working alongside people as a support worker at a grassroots level, in community based supported living projects, Chris has also worked at a strategic level in a local authority and on programmes delivering national priorities around helping people move out of institutionalised living environments and into their own homes.
It was within services that Chris started to realise that for people to have good lives they needed approaches to support that were designed around them as unique individuals, and that flexibility, in every area, was key to this. And so, he decided to set up Self Directed Futures, an organisation that is based around inspiring and supporting organisations to apply the principles of self determination, citizenship and self directed support.
Chris is a Fellow of Citizen Network, and a Fellow at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
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