Looking at Sustainability with Building Change Trust and IVAR

This will be followed by an open discussion on the potential relevance of this research for the sector and its funders in Northern Ireland.

In late 2017 the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) published their ‘Thinking about sustainability’ research report.

The report looks at the meanings and assumptions behind the word and what funders can do to help. This is important because expectations and requirements for 'sustainability' can become a source of misunderstanding and difficulty

The research identified growing tension between funders’ encouragement of, and,  sometimes requirement for, sustainability, and the turbulent environment that sector organisations operate in.

As well as this, the research identified that funders use the concept of sustainability as a key element in deciding what and how to fund.

This can be problematic if there isn’t clarity and agreement around what sustainability actually means, and if approaches to funding and engagement aren’t designed to support the agreed meaning and if communication isn’t clear.

The event will start with lunch at 12:00 for a 12:30 start and finish no later than 14:15.

Whilst this is a free event, places must be booked in advance to allow us to plan for catering.

If you’d like to attend, please register using this link.