Welcome to the Third Sector Assembly Annual Conference

The conference was introduced by BVSC chief executive, Brian Carr, who ran through the agenda for the day: the new political landscape.

The first part of the day will focus on the local poltical landscape:

• Update from Birmingham City Council, from Cllr Sue Anderson
• Update from the Local Strategic Partnership, with Jackie Mould, director of Be Birmingham
• Then there will be the chance to break out into group discussions for the World Cafe: Key issues affecting the sector today.

The next part of the conference will look at the national political picture, with Ann Blackmore, head of campaigns and communications at NCVO talking about the national political landscape since the May 6 elections.

After lunch there will be two workshops:

• The Coalition: Opportunities and Challenges for the Third Sector
• Collaboration and Partnerships

And then Brian Carr will close the conference with a few words about the future.