We were delighted to be asked by local charity Age UK Sunderland to support their trustee away day for the third year in succession. The event held at Bede Tower in Sunderland provided an opportunity for the Board and senior team to spend time together to review the organisation’s progress against its strategic objectives and to look to the future.
The theme we selected for the day was Alice in Wonderland – the story is renowned as a metaphor for curiosity, creativity and self awareness which aligned with our plans:
- as there were some new trustees and colleagues, we began with a two part activity called ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’. In the first part we found out a bit more about each other on a personal level and in the second, we reflected on our thinking and learning styles. Knowing more about who we are and how we operate as a group is really important as this makes for better collaboration and collective action.
- we then went ‘Through the Looking Glass’ to think about the future and completed an OPTIC analysis (examining Opportunities, Partnerships, Threats, Impacts and Challenges) to inform Age UK Sunderland’s next three year strategy from 2025 to 2028.
- finally, in an exercise called ‘Six Impossible Things’ we explored how the unique skills that we have combine to deliver their aims and objectives, and examined the frameworks, procedures and ways of operating in place to ensure success for the next strategy and beyond.
Our Director, Lucy Malarkey said “It’s been a pleasure to work with the great team at Age UK Sunderland again and to see first hand how their approach is adapting year-on-year to the changing environment they operate within and as their strategic objectives are delivered.”
