Agenda Comms

30/10/2024

Join us tonight. 🌔

In conversation with... Deborah Doane, author of The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal.

Wednesday 30 October, 19.30 GMT

👉Do you want to redistribute power and privilege?
👉Are you interested in how to tackle white savourism?
👉Are you looking for new ways to be accountable, manage risk and ensure funding reaches those who need it most?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we have just the event for you.
White savourism, the need to ‘decolonise’ aid and tackle racism – these are all issues that charities and INGOs are grappling with. And rightly so: for decades, these organisations have dominated the civil society ecosystem, marginalising and excluding local actors in the process.

In her new book, The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal, Deborah Doane discusses all these issues and much more. At the same, she offers practical and sometimes radical ideas for reimagining the INGO so that power can be redistributed and structural inequalities overcome.

Becky Slack will be chatting to Deborah about her book, the stories it contains and the ideas it offers.

All are welcome. Come with an open mind and a willingness to test traditional beliefs about charity, power and international development.

Register for free here: https://your-agenda.com/latest/events/in-conversation-with-deborah-doane

"If INGOs want to travel the path of radical transformation for reimagining their future, they would need to earnestly engage in the tough conversations raised in this book.”
Amitabh Behar, acting ED of Oxfam International.

About Deborah Doane
Deborah has held leadership roles in civil society and philanthropy for over 25 years, across the humanitarian, development, human rights and environment sectors. She is a partner of Right CoLab and a co-convenor of the RINGO project, a systems-change initiative to reimagine the international NGO and its relationships in civil society.
Buy the book: The INGO Problem: Power, privilege, and renewal: Doane, Deborah:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/INGO-Problem-Power-privilege-renewal/dp/1788534409

28/10/2024

Have you booked your place?🔥

In conversation with... Deborah Doane, author of The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal

Wednesday 30 October, 19.30 GMT

👉Do you want to redistribute power and privilege?
👉Are you interested in how to tackle white savourism?
👉Are you looking for new ways to be accountable, manage risk and ensure funding reaches those who need it most?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we have just the event for you.
White savourism, the need to ‘decolonise’ aid and tackle racism – these are all issues that charities and INGOs are grappling with. And rightly so: for decades, these organisations have dominated the civil society ecosystem, marginalising and excluding local actors in the process.

In her new book, The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal, Deborah Doane discusses all these issues and much more. At the same, she offers practical and sometimes radical ideas for reimagining the INGO so that power can be redistributed and structural inequalities overcome.

Becky Slack will be chatting to Deborah about her book, the stories it contains and the ideas it offers on Wednesday 30 October at 19.30 GMT.

All are welcome. Come with an open mind and a willingness to test traditional beliefs about charity, power and international development.

Register for free: https://your-agenda.com/latest/events/in-conversation-with-deborah-doane

"If INGOs want to travel the path of radical transformation for reimagining their future, they would need to earnestly engage in the tough conversations raised in this book.”
Amitabh Behar, acting ED of Oxfam International.

About Deborah Doane
Deborah has held leadership roles in civil society and philanthropy for over 25 years, across the humanitarian, development, human rights and environment sectors. She is a partner of Right CoLab and a co-convenor of the RINGO project, a systems-change initiative to reimagine the international NGO and its relationships in civil society.

27/10/2024

Sign up for our next event

In conversation with... Deborah Doane, author of The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal

Wednesday 30 October, 19.30 GMT

👉Do you want to redistribute power and privilege?
👉Are you interested in how to tackle white savourism?
👉Are you looking for new ways to be accountable, manage risk and ensure funding reaches those who need it most?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we have just the event for you.
White savourism, the need to ‘decolonise’ aid and tackle racism – these are all issues that charities and INGOs are grappling with. And rightly so: for decades, these organisations have dominated the civil society ecosystem, marginalising and excluding local actors in the process.

In her new book, The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal, Deborah Doane discusses all these issues and much more. At the same, she offers practical and sometimes radical ideas for reimagining the INGO so that power can be redistributed and structural inequalities overcome.

Becky Slack will be chatting to Deborah about her book, the stories it contains and the ideas it offers on Wednesday 30 October at 19.30 GMT.

All are welcome. Come with an open mind and a willingness to test traditional beliefs about charity, power and international development.

Register for free here: https://your-agenda.com/latest/events/in-conversation-with-deborah-doane

"If INGOs want to travel the path of radical transformation for reimagining their future, they would need to earnestly engage in the tough conversations raised in this book.”
Amitabh Behar, acting ED of Oxfam International.

About Deborah Doane
Deborah has held leadership roles in civil society and philanthropy for over 25 years, across the humanitarian, development, human rights and environment sectors. She is a partner of Right CoLab and a co-convenor of the RINGO project, a systems-change initiative to reimagine the international NGO and its relationships in civil society.
Buy the book: The INGO Problem: Power, privilege, and renewal: Doane, Deborah:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/INGO-Problem-Power-privilege-renewal/dp/1788534409

25/10/2024

What we learned from the Labour Party Conference and what this means for organisations looking to exert more influence on policy. 🎈

The elephant in the room, a raft of new MPs, the inclusive growth agenda and some interesting whispers from the fringes - Shamik Das, Becky Slack and Vic Barlow reflect on what they learned from the Labour Party Conference – and what’s next.

Read the full blog here https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/labour-conference-2024-what-we-learned

23/10/2024

Seven days to go ⏳

Join us

In conversation with... Deborah Doane, author of The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal

Wednesday 30 October, 19.30 GMT

👉Do you want to redistribute power and privilege?
👉Are you interested in how to tackle white savourism?
👉Are you looking for new ways to be accountable, manage risk and ensure funding reaches those who need it most?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we have just the event for you.
White savourism, the need to ‘decolonise’ aid and tackle racism – these are all issues that charities and INGOs are grappling with. And rightly so: for decades, these organisations have dominated the civil society ecosystem, marginalising and excluding local actors in the process.

In her new book, The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal, Deborah Doane discusses all these issues and much more. At the same, she offers practical and sometimes radical ideas for reimagining the INGO so that power can be redistributed and structural inequalities overcome.

Becky Slack will be chatting to Deborah about her book, the stories it contains and the ideas it offers on Wednesday 30 October at 19.30 GMT.

All are welcome. Come with an open mind and a willingness to test traditional beliefs about charity, power and international development.

Register for free here: https://your-agenda.com/latest/events/in-conversation-with-deborah-doane

"If INGOs want to travel the path of radical transformation for reimagining their future, they would need to earnestly engage in the tough conversations raised in this book.”
Amitabh Behar, acting ED of Oxfam International.

Buy the book here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/INGO-Problem-Power-privilege-renewal/dp/1788534409

23/10/2024

The elephant in the room and whispers from the fringe 🐘

Are discussed by Slack Barlow and Shamik Das in our next newsletter.

📉 Roberston talks about how to measure and track your comms so you know what's working.

And we highlight our recent challenges working with storytellers and producing a film for Aid for Palestinians

Sign up here - https://lnkd.in/e3EHRTSb

22/10/2024

**Coming soon - Sign up to keep up**

Our autumn newsletter is packed with comms insight, advice and tips:

📌The elephant in the room and whispers from the fringe find out what Slack Barlow and Das learnt from the Labour party conference ahead of next week’s Budget

📌How do you know when your comms strategy is working, Roberston shares insight on the power of KPIs

📌How we overcame the challenges of making a film about a charities aid workers living in Gaza

Plus, what’s on our comms radar, podcast recommendations, our next meet-the-author event and a conference you won’t want to miss

Sign up here - https://lnkd.in/e3EHRTSb

10/10/2024

How do you make a film when you can't directly access the people or places the film is about?

One Year In is a short film made by Agenda Comms, in partnership with Medical Aid for Palestinians and Palm Media. The film provides a first-hand account of life in Gaza, told from the perspective of the charity's aid workers who live and work there.

The answer to the opening question is with compassion and creativity. We will share more details about the making of the film in a future post. But for now, we would love it if you would watch it and share it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiiZaF6zNRw

🙏🙏🙏

A year of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment has resulted in death and destruction on a previously unthinkable scale in Gaza. More than 41,000 Palestinians ...

02/10/2024

Relationships provided a golden thread for September. Our projects looked at the strategies and tech which bring members and supporters closer to organisations while our events schedule took our team out and about to meet current and new clients and contacts.

📌Team Agenda's trip to Labour Party conference was a whirlwind of connecting with colleagues in, social impact organisations, charities, and unions, meeting new MPs, and touching base with current clients. Slack and Barlow also caught up with former associate and newly elected Labour NEC member, Arnold.
📌 With some 20 years working in comms for education organisations, Vic was delighted to join colleagues and contacts from across her career to celebrate 10th birthday, including and from the editorial team.

📌 Why members joined their union and what they value formed the basis of conversations between , Vic and NASUWT members, particularly reps and supply teachers as part of the brand refresh. And what reps and staff find most effective when they communicate with members is the current focus of and Vic’s member engagement project with .

📌 Using member stories to inform and influence decision-makers saw bloom secure a spot in the i paper for a radiographer to share his ideas for the future NHS. Over the past 15 months, we’ve worked with the of Radiographers to raise awareness that radiographers are vital to reducing NHS waiting lists.

📌 Duncan is helping with the tender process for a CRM to replace the union’s almost-20-year-old member database. A new system gives us a chance to explore the needs and hopes of staff – and a new supplier will be chosen soon!

📌 Mud, mountain climbs and cycle ride challenges to raise money for children with rare conditions were the focus of regional press and radio thanks to PR from Cooper. supports families fundraising for life-changing specialist care and support.

📌 Catherine’s thoughtful PR work meant that a surgeon and humanitarian worker both shared their experiences of volunteering in Gaza, one describing it as a ‘death camp’ and the other as ‘unrecognisable’. Both stories appeared in the regional press, bringing the work of Aid for Palestinians into the spotlight.

23/09/2024

The Agenda team Vic, Becky, Shamik and Matt arrived in Liverpool yesterday at the Labour Party conference, where they will be chairing fringe events and meeting up with our clients.

If you are there, go and say hello. Becky and Vic are chairing panel debates and discussions for the New Statesman from Sunday until Tuesday; check the fringe guide to find out when. Topics vary from tax reform to heat networks to skills—they learn a great deal every year!

We also have a two-part blog about making the most of your time there.
https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/maximising-your-impact-at-labour-party-conference-part-two

18/09/2024

Hotel reservations are made, train tickets are booked and you’re considering packing. 💼

You’re almost set for this year’s Labour Party conference and you’re thinking about the days ahead.

In part one, we asked our conference veterans what to prepare before you get to conference.

In part two, Collinge, head of policy and communications at Progressive Britain, joins Ball, our senior associate, and Fusco, head of influencing at ACEVO, to offer sage advice on what you can do when you get there.

You can read part 2 here: https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/maximising-your-impact-at-labour-party-conference-part-two

12/09/2024

Will you be going to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool?

For those wanting to have greater social impact and extend their influence, a trip to party conference can offer valuable rewards. But it needs careful planning and consideration.

In the first of our two-part blog, Matt Ball, our senior associate with 20 conferences under his belt, has curated some top tips from other seasoned conference pros:

⭐ Couper, our new senior associate for media and campaigns and former head of media, PR and supporter communications at Amnesty International

⭐ Fusco, head of influencing at ACEVO, who works with chief executives in the voluntary sector

You can read part one of the blog here: https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/maximising-your-impact-at-labour-party-conference-part-one

04/09/2024

Welcome back, we hope you had some time off! We’re gearing up for a busy autumn with new projects starting and a trip to Labour party conference with the New Statesman.

And while we’ve also had much-needed breaks, we’ve also been massively productive with Becky and Vic cracking out the post-it notes and felt tips to map out our methodology. From brand strategies to CRM, via media plans, fundraising campaigns and crisis comms, ‘The Agenda Way’ combines our years of experience working in-house and on client projects.

Keep an eye out for more info or, better still, let’s find a project to work on together!

📌 The humanitarian disaster in Gaza was pulled into focus in a three-page spread in the magazine Home and Woman. Thanks to our PR associate it told the story of Dr Ana Jeelani, a surgeon and medical aid volunteer for the charity Aid for Palestinians who had visited the conflict zone earlier this year.

📌 When comms teams are busy with business as usual, we’re on hand for reviews and recommendations. and are conducting a thorough audit of ’s member engagement routes, from welcome packs to the website, offering insight and ideas on brand consistency, messaging and ask.

📌 Did you know there’s a chronic shortage of mammographers – the radiographers who deliver breast cancer scans – across the UK meaning there's increasing delays in breast cancer diagnoses and treatment. worked with the of Radiographers on story to highlight the issue, which was covered by The Guardian, The Telegraph, the Independent and the Daily Mail.

📌 We’ve been helping turn ’s organisation strategy and new brand into a media plan, focused on raising awareness of the charity and dementia with core audiences. spent time with the comms team sharing the theory as well as practising the tactics.

📌 Regional headlines and radio shows highlighted the heroic fundraising efforts by families and friends of seriously ill and disabled children. This was thanks to our PR associate working her PR charm for the charity

03/09/2024

How to build good relationships with journalists. 👷‍♀️

An important part of any PR strategy is building good working relationships with journalists.

Here, our Agenda associate and former editor and journalist Adi Bloom shares the headlines:

💫 Give them what they need
💫 Let them know you are there
💫 Don't overcommunicate (or undercommunicate)
💫 Don't over-promise
💫 Be wary of 'no comment'
💫 Understand how to write a comment
💫 What does 'off the record' really mean?
💫 Respect deadlines
💫 Be open and honest
💫 Understand the value of a good story 💫 Know your target audience

😱 Also, there are a few things you should avoid doing at all costs.

Can you guess what?

You can read Adi's full breakdown here.

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/how-to-build-good-working-relationships-with-journalists

14/08/2024

How can you build solid foundations for a new CRM? ⚒️
The risk of bringing in a new CRM can be daunting for organisations.
But there are four key steps you can take to make the process much less painful:

1️⃣ Always start with your strategic plan
2️⃣ Map out your activities and processes
3️⃣ Dig deeper into each activity and process
4️⃣ Talk to staff, reps, volunteers, supporters, and donors

Vic Barlow, Agenda co-director, takes you through each of these steps in this blog.

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/how-to-build-solid-foundations-for-a-new-crm

06/08/2024

July: what a month. The rise of the far right in the EU elections and the subsequent snap election in France, the UK Labour landslide and a carousel of political news from America, plus the continuing devastation and turmoil in the Middle East – it's been a busy and sometimes emotional month.

📌 We've invested time and energy to understand what all these events mean and the potential impact on the wider world, using these insights to identify and respond to new opportunities and challenges. Strategies have been adapted, messages reframed and new relationships formed on behalf of clients in the EU and UK.

📌 For the past year, we’ve been supporting to demonstrate how decent pay is key to recruiting and retaining more radiographers and fixing the NHS. So it was good to hear Chancellor Rachel Reeves cite this as a reason why the new government is implementing a 5.5% pay increase for NHS staff. Thanks to our PR work, BBC News chose to interview a radiographer as part of a pre-election focus on NHS staff.

📌 We’re delighted to be starting work with two more . Vic Barlow and Martin Reid are helping train drivers’ union, ASLEF, with its engagement while Duncan Robertson has rolled up his sleeves on airline pilots’ union, BALPA’s procurement project.

📌Race and gender equality are always front and centre of our work. Becky spoke at the CIOF Foundation National Convention at a session on “Dismantling Patriarchal Structures in Fundraising,” on behalf Rogare - The Fundraising Think Tank Gender Issues in Fundraising project. She addressed how charities often fail to recognise donor-perpetrated sexual harassment, reframing gender equality so it encourages men to join the movement. https://www.rogare.net/gender-issues

📌 also shared her thoughts on the impact racism and sexism will impact the comms for Kamala Harris’s new presidential campaign https://shorturl.at/vllQT

📌 Barlow and Ball enjoyed an evening in the sun with members at their summer party before Vic joined Unions21 executive director, Wright, at the launch of UCL Policy Lab and More in Common’s report into how the 2024 UK general election was fought and won.

📌 Our work with Gesher continues with Lamb, our newest associate, helping with the school’s fundraising proposals, Younger’s social media content increasing followers and engagement, and Robertson improving content on their assessment centre’s website.

📌Grannies on bikes, rugby superstars, midsummer balls and a car races all secured fundraising coverage for thanks to our PR pro . She also bagged interviews on BBC Local Radio for fundraisers.

📌 And finally... we were thrilled to hear that our ace associate Lainez passed her Masters in International Relations from the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs in Madrid. We can't wait to watch her fly. Congratulations Paulina.

31/07/2024

Is this crucial framework missing from your organisation's comms toolkit? 🚀

A value proposition is an important tool which will have a significant impact on your ability to sell ideas, products, and services to your different audiences.

Do you know what a value proposition is and why it is so important?

Here, Read, Agenda senior associate and former director at the Education and Training Foundation, defines what a value proposition is and what it's not, and why it is important.

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/how-to-create-a-great-value-proposition-part-one

25/07/2024

How can a CRM help membership and supporter recruitment?

✅Create an easy route to join or donate online from a webpage which feeds straight into your CRM to give you immediate information on what’s working.

✅Digitise any sign-off procedures to admit new members because reducing paperwork between HQ and branches limits GDPR breaches.

✅Use onboarding emails to capture further information on members/supporters or make subsequent asks—for example, to collect equality data or highlight a new survey.

✅Use data to inform your recruitment plans. Use information about people’s roles, interests, geographical location, other memberships etc. This will help you create audience profiles and target your communications with them on the channels and activities they prefer.

A CRM can also help with retention and engagement. Barlow, Agenda co-director and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' former director of communications and membership, gives a more detailed walkthrough here:

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/using-data-how-a-crm-can-support-your-organisational-strategy

18/07/2024

How can you make the most of your manifesto now we have a new government? 💼

The prospect of an election spurred many organisations into creating manifestos, but what can you do with it now?

Of course, influencing political policy is crucial, but we would argue that your manifesto's role goes beyond that. It should continue to create greater awareness and build a strong, engaged community of members or supporters.

Here, Ball, our senior associate, breaks down how to put this important document to work


https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/make-the-most-of-your-manifesto

12/07/2024

How can your organisations build relationships with new MPs? 🤝

A striking aspect of the general election result is the sheer number of new Members of Parliament with no prior parliamentary experience.

These 334 MPs will be learning the ropes and finding their way in their newly elected roles – and this has implications for the way charities, trade unions and membership organisations engage with the new parliament.

Given the churn in the House of Commons, it’s worth thinking about a range of ways to reach and influence individual MPs.

In part two of his blog looking at navigating the new government Ball shares different strategies for building stronger relationships with MPs

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/part-2-how-to-build-relationships-with-new-mps

10/07/2024

How can you navigate the new Labour government ⛵

What steps should your organisation be taking to work with the incoming government?

Here we look at the new landscape and how to set yourself up for greater influence.

For the first time in 14 years, there’s a total change of government – a new Prime Minister, a new cabinet and new ministers across every department.

Only a handful of the new team have previous ministerial experience, though they are being supported by peers who were ministers in the last Labour government.

In our most recent blog, Matt Ball, senior associate, outlines how to work with the new government on its policy agenda.

https://your-agenda.com/latest/blog/part-1-how-to-navigate-the-new-labour-government

04/07/2024

Interested in how we work? 👀

With a limited budget and a largely volunteer comms team, we helped the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) with a manageable, practical approach to reset their comms.

Starting with analysis and research about what their members wanted, we created a recruitment and retention plan with toolkit and templates to get them going.
By coaching APTUK colleagues through the project, the association can now think big when asking members to join, stay and get involved; be brave about securing their voice in the sector; and stay real with their resources.
Find out what we did and what we achieved: https://lnkd.in/dA4Tva9j

Thank you to the team at Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK - APTUK for letting us share their story.

If you would like more real life insights on how to reach and influence your audiences, sign up for our newsletter
https://lnkd.in/e3EHRTSb

02/07/2024

International coverage, keeping up the pressure and changing hearts and minds❤️ 🧠

We’ve packed a lot into June with our big event, supporting our clients in the run-up to the European and UK elections, and securing bumper results for fundraising PR coverage.

📌 Our much-anticipated event ‘Changing hearts and minds’ brought neuroscientists, activists and experts in framing theory together with comms and campaign professionals from across charities and unions to share knowledge and learning on tackling difficult issues. Our speakers explored how to deal with polarisation, politically motivated attacks, online trolling, intense media scrutiny, as well as understanding how the brain responds. Our experience of, and feedback from, the practical sessions have inspired and to create a new offer so watch this space for more detail.

📌 As we wait for the election results, Ball and Bloom have been continuing to make the case for more radiographers with The Society and College of Radiographers . All parties have pledged to cut waiting lists and, with one million people waiting for a scan, we’ll be asking for an increase in radiography professionals to tackle the backlog.

📌 While we couldn’t be at Glastonbury festival in person, Allin helped Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) make its presence known at the UK’s biggest music and arts event. Meanwhile, has been busy securing MAP international coverage for its emergency medical team in the The New York Times and on Heart FM, both of which featured interviews with volunteer surgeons about their experiences delivering urgent care in Gaza.

📌 It was a bumper month of coverage for Tree of Hope thanks to Catherine Cooper, our PR pro. The BBC picked up a story about Dave Grist cycling 220 miles in memory of his son, while other coverage was secured about a 100km in 24-hour challenge and a 72-hole golf event – all of which boosted the fundraising income of those featured in the stories.

📌 Slack was delighted to participate in Small Charity Week providing insights on how to deal with opposition online. Her top tip for those attending: Planning is key! The more you can anticipate and prepare for opposition, criticism and abuse, the easier it is to manage when it happens. Check our website for more crisis comms tips.

📌 If you would like to be the first to hear about our events and receive our insightful quarterly newsletter, sign up in the comments below.