Spotlight – the annual Bates Wells charity conference

Our annual dedicated charity sector event, Spotlight, brings together representatives from across the sector to discuss big picture questions and topics. Access resources from past conferences on the right-hand side and find out more below about how to join us this year for Spotlight 2026.

Spotlight 2026: the annual Bates Wells charity conference

Our annual charity sector conference brings together representatives from across civil society to discuss big picture questions and make connections. This year we will be exploring the theme of ‘Charities and Change’.

Gain insights from sector leaders

In the face of a host of challenges, including increased financial pressure, technological change, and rising demand, we’ll be exploring how organisations can continue to drive impact through transformative times. We will be joined by Kate Lee OBE (Chief Executive Officer, NCVO) and Jane Ide OBE (Chief Executive, ACEVO) for a ‘state-of-the sector’ discussion. Our panel sessions will then dive deeper into what is shaping delivery of operations, from collective action to bold leadership and internal decision making. We will hear from senior leaders at Coram, Save the Children, ClientEarth, British Red Cross, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and John Ellerman Foundation.

Catch the livestream

We will be livestreaming the event from 2pm to 5:30pm. Please register below to join us. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions to our panellists on the day via our online moderator, or share them in advance with us when your register.

Register here

Conference agenda

Fireside chat with Kate Lee OBE and Jane Ide

Our social, political, economic and cultural landscape is shifting rapidly – and charities are on the frontlines. In an environment defined by uncertainty, charities are not only adapting to change, they are driving it. Our fireside chat with leading cross-sector organisations, NCVO and ACEVO, will look at the current climate of the third sector; the opportunities and challenges that charities are facing, both now and over the coming years, and civil society’s resilience, connection and influence in a changing world.

Panel discussion: Working together for positive change

Cross-sector collaboration is a powerful tool for charities looking to maximise impact and improve sustainability of projects and initiatives. During this panel session, we’ll be charting our way through examples of cultural and social changes that have inspired impactful collaborations in the sector. Our speakers Dame Carol Ann Homden DBE PhD (Chief Executive, Coram), Adam Weiss (Chief Programmes and Impact Officer, ClientEarth) and Pasca Lane (Senior Director of Movement, Influencing & Communications, British Red Cross) will be sharing insights from the ground about how collective action can amplify impact.

Panel discussion: Bold decision making in charity leadership

In recent years, charity leaders are not only responding to increased external pressures with rising costs, increased demand for services, as well as national and global crises, but they are also using this moment to re-imagine how charities operate, influence, and lead. Our speakers Moazzam Malik (Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children UK), Peter Laurie (Chief Executive, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home), and Sufina Ahmad (Director, John Ellerman Foundation) will be exploring bold decision making in charity leadership, both in terms of effective change in their own operations, and in being agents of change at a time when decisive action is necessary.

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