The Systems Change Group brings together stakeholders form all sectors to take forward the implementation the Way Ahead. It does this by stimulating take up of the recommendations, tracking and sharing progress and responding to opportunities, challenges and changes in the environment as transition to the new system unfolds.
Jeanette Bain-Burnett, Greater London Authority
James Banks, London Funders
James joined London Funders in September 2017, after working and volunteering in London’s voluntary and community sector for over 15 years. Immediately prior to joining the team, James was Chief Executive at Greater London Volunteering, the regional membership body for social action charities in the capital, and worked closely with London Funders and partners on The Way Ahead initiative, and also worked as a consultant across London’s civil society.
Previous roles have included Trustee or management roles in civil society support organisations in four London boroughs, as well as being Chief Executive at the Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau in central London. James has been Chair of South West London Law Centres since 2009, and on the Trustee Board of his local Citizens Advice service since 2010, and continues to volunteer in his local community outside of work.
Current role: Specialist Support
Wider Networks: Frontline – volunteers, groups and organisations, Local Support, London Hub, Greater London Authority, London Councils, Business
Antony Berwick-Smith, Voluntary Action Islington
Lisa Charalambous, London Borough of Camden
Lisa has been at Camden Council for nearly 5 years. She is a Community Partner and a part of the Community Partnership Team whose role is to develop and implement the Camden’s VCS strategy, support its £5.1m funding programme and develop stronger partnerships between civil society organisations and the Council. By developing closer links with other teams in the Council, it is envisaged that the Council will have a more consistent approach to the sector and increase opportunities for closer collaboration and partnership working.
Lisa was involved in the development of Camden’s 7 year Strategic Partner Fund, now in its second year, which provides core funding to 23 civil society organisations in Camden and who are the focus for the council’s relationship with civil society. Lisa is currently leading on the Council’s review of the future infrastructure support needs of civil society organisations in Camden, which should be completed by the summer of 2018.
Before joining Camden Council Lisa worked in the voluntary and community sector in various roles including frontline service delivery organisations and second tier organisations. She was manager of the Central London CVS Network that was a sub-regional network of six CVS that came together to collaborate, deliver sub-regional programmes and have increased access to funding opportunities. A major success was the securing of over £1.5 m for three ESF projects to build capacity in the sector and overseeing the Capacity Builders programme.
Lisa has also been a freelancer delivering a range of services including business planning, organisational development, facilitation and evaluation.
Current role: Local public sector
Wider Networks: London Councils, Elected Representatives, Frontline – volunteers, groups and organisations
Karen Chillman, Croydon Voluntary Action
Gordon Deuchars, Age UK London
Gordon is Age UK London’s Policy and Campaigns Manager. He joined Age Concern London, as it then was, in 2003. He has developed and coordinated campaigns on issues ranging from social care to transport and employment for older people and most recently, raising awareness of the needs of older private renters. As part of Age UK London’s contribution to The Way Ahead, Gordon has been contributing to work on equalities and campaigning and facilitating older people to respond to the London Plan and Mayoral strategies. Gordon also sits on The Way Ahead's equalities group.
Before joining Age UK London, Gordon was Policy Officer for AGE, the European Older People’s Platform, which he joined in 2001 soon after its launch. Gordon was responsible for developing international networks on issues like pension reform and social inclusion. He has been in different voluntary sector and campaign roles since 1990 and worked before that as a translator and language teacher.
Current role: Specialist Support
Wider Networks: Frontline – volunteers, groups and organisations, Greater London Authority
Jake Ferguson, Hackney CVS
Jake is Chief Executive of Hackney CVS, the umbrella organisation which supports Hackney’s large voluntary and community sector. Jake joined Hackney CVS in 2001. Since then he has helped the organisation grow from an annual turnover of £300k to over £3.5m in recent years. His background as a medical student led him to work in Mosside Manchester on Diabetes research, and he then moved to London to focus on environment and health impact assessment at University College London. He has worked with Drug Action Teams and public health departments in Central London.
As CEO of Hackney CVS, Jake has responsibility for the development and support to Hackney’s voluntary and community sector including strategies around commissioning, premises and new funding. For example, Jake founded Hackney Giving which, to date, has raised over £300k for local charities from donations from corporates companies and residents. Internally Jake oversees the organisation’s approach to business planning and sustainability as well as ensuring it is continually improving to deliver the organisation’s vision of A Fairer Hackney.
Current role: Local Support
Wider Networks: Frontline – volunteers, groups and organisations, Business, Local Public Sector
Jenny Field, City Bridge Trust
Christine Goodall, HEAR Network
Christine has been the Coordinator of the HEAR Equality and Human Rights Network since June 2013, and previously a member of HEAR's steering group since shortly after its inception in early 2004. Through her involvement with HEAR, both paid and unpaid, Christine works closely with civil society equalities groups across London, including many grassroots, user led and small informal voluntary and community groups, campaigners and activists . Prior to Christine’s paid employment at HEAR she was London Development Officer and then National Development Officer for Disability Law Service, a national charitable legal practice providing legal advice for disabled people. In these roles she worked on developing training for the voluntary and community sector, particularly user led groups, and building links with disabled people's organisations across England and Wales. Christine also worked with Law for Life and the Advice Services Alliance on public legal education projects and co-authored a major report on access to justice for disabled people in Wales, which was launched at the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff. Christine currently teaches masters level Social Welfare Policy for Staffordshire University, and has also taught Voluntary Sector Management and Disability Studies at undergraduate level. She has a particular interest in forced migration and relations between new arrivals and host populations, this being the subject of her doctoral thesis and a number of research studies carried out for the UNHCR. Christine also has an interest in trust theory as relevant to community relations and has authored a chapter on the subject in the Handbook of Research on Trust.
Current role: Specialist Support
Wider Networks: Other specialist support; frontline – volunteers, groups and organisations; London Hub; Equality and Diversity Forum; academic-social policy, voluntary sector policy and history, management and organisational behaviour.
Andy Gregg, ROTA
John Griffiths, Rocket Science
John is the co-founder and Managing Director of Rocket Science UK Ltd, a consultancy practice established in 2001. With offices in London, the North East and Edinburgh, Rocket Science has developed a range of grant and programme management services, working for among others the Greater London Authority, the Government Equalities Office and Newcastle City Council. In addition to administering funds in London, including the GLA’s Young Londoners Fund, Rocket Science regularly evaluates programmes’ effectiveness and impact, engaging and consulting London partners and stakeholders, as well as conducting evaluations of national programmes such as the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All and the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Transition Fund.
John is a former elected member of LB Tower Hamlets where he is a non-executive, founder director of the award-winning social enterprise, Bikeworks CIC, based in Bethnal Green and a school governor.
Current role: Specialist Support
Wider Networks: Greater London Authority, Local Public Sector, Independent Funders/Philanthropy, Business
Cllr Bob Littlewood, London Borough of Redbridge
Sharon Long, Greater London Volunteering
Sona Mahtani, The Selby Trust
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