London.

The conference brings together leading figures and specialist advisers in the charity world to help develop the skill and confidence required to govern effecively as the sector evolves.

Building on new developments in the legal and policy framework, including the Charities Act, the conference includes sessions on:

-Partnership and collaborative working
-Reporting performance
-Generating income thought contracting
-Impact reporting
-Creating a high performance board
-SORP
-Risks, responsibilities and liability

Contact Paul Stirrat at Sayer Vincent, 020 7841 6360, email: svinfo@Sayervincent.co.uk or see www.sayervincent.co.uk.

Volunteering information on Welsh umbrella body WCVA’s web site has been improved, with over 30 new pages of news and information and three new sections Research and Publications, Policy and Campaigns and Volunteer Centres.

See http://www.wcva.org.uk/volunteering.

‘It’s our space: a guide for community groups working to improve public space’ is from CABE, the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space.

Published last week, the print version is already oversubscribed, but you should be able to download a copy in pdf format from http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1718.

The Media Connections 2007 awards scheme gives twenty people who work for charities a unique opportunity to get inside the mind of the media via a 1 to 2 week placement with respected bodies such as the BBC, The Independent and local radio.

It is open to anyone based in the UK who has worked in the voluntary sector for at least two years and has some experience of media relations, but has not already worked in a media organisation.

See http://mediaconnections.org.uk for more. Closing date 2nd April.

The independent review on social housing, commissioned by the government from Professor John Hills of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics, calls for urgent debate and major reforms to ensure social housing meets its aims.

The report is available (full or summary) from
http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/news.asp#SocialHousing, or read the press release.

The Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations apply to organisations with 100 or more employees from 6th April this year, and for those with 50 or more next year.

It gives rights for workers to be
- informed about the business’s economic situation
- informed and consulted about employment prospects, and
- informed and consulted about decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations, including redundancies and transfers.

More details from ACAS at http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=338.

The United States has changed the dates of spring and autumn Daylight Saving Time clock changes from this year. Over there clocks will go forward on the second Sunday in March and not the first Sunday in April as previously (Europe is last Sunday in March), with DST ending on the first Sunday in November, rather than the last Sunday in October.

This means, for instance, that between 11th and 25th March there will be a four hour, rather than a five hour, time difference between London and New York.

This could confuse direct communications, plus not all automated systems will have been updated. http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/rules/usa.htm

(From Out-law.com)

London.Need a fresh approach to your communications?

Sounddelivery’s podcasting workshops offer practical training in the skills you need to collect stories, case studies and other relevant audio material to get your message across. The workshop includes hands-on experience of digital recording, simple editing, creating MP3 files, uploading audio to a website and setting up a regular podcast.

For more information about our workshops or other services contact Jude Habib 07803 721 481 jude@sounddelivery.org.uk or visit website www.sounddelivery.org.uk.

London.Need a fresh approach to your communications?

Sounddelivery’s podcasting workshops offer practical training in the skills you need to collect stories, case studies and other relevant audio material to get your message across. The workshop includes hands-on experience of digital recording, simple editing, creating MP3 files, uploading audio to a website and setting up a regular podcast.

For more information about our workshops or other services contact Jude Habib 07803 721 481 jude@sounddelivery.org.uk or visit website www.sounddelivery.org.uk

Welsh umbrella body WCVA has produced an online survey as part of its Making the Connections Improvement Fund Project, which aims to identify ways in which third sector organisations involved in public service delivery can work more efficiently.

Charity Commission chair Suzi Leather is interviewed by ePolitix.com, focusing mainly on the impact of the public benefit test under the new Charities Act and public services. One comment among several of interest: “Boards of trustees will have to ensure they’re always sticking to the purpose of the charity, not to dance to the tune of the commissioners but to maintain their own integrity and stand on their own ground.”

There’s a variety of interesting articles in the Charities supplement to last week’s Society Guardian (21st February) published to coincide with NCVO’s annual conference. Available online via http://society.guardian.co.uk/voluntary/page/0,,2017297,00.html, the topics include the right of charities to challenge government, the changing face of volunteering, media relations and the demands of charity leadership.

Coram Family, a children’s charity with a long history, has become the first voluntary organisation to take on the management of a local authority’s adoption services. Harrow Council in north-west London made the move in an effort to cut lengthy delays in finding homes for children in care, and it was welcomed by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering.

News item on The Telegraph at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/18/nchild318.xml; also front page item on Third Sector, http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charity_news/full_news.cfm?ID=21707.