Leading in Uncertainty: online peer support sessions for charities
Provided through IVAR these sessions ‘combine open peer support with expert-led conversations, tackling the most pressing and recurring charity challenges leaders face.’
Why this? Leadership in 2026 is less about certainty and more about containment, sense-making and shared load. Structured peer spaces recognise that many challenges are systemic rather than personal.
What to watch: Growing demand for and availability of facilitated peer support.
Relevance: Practice & People
AI ads are neither
It’s been a while since I included one of Seth Godin’s post but this one struck a chord!
AI and search ads are about confusing and tricking users, burning trust and ultimately taxing any entity that is willing to pay money for attention–particularly those that feel they have no choice. The AI won’t recommend the best choice–it’ll point to the highest bidder. And the more they conceal that fact, the more money they’ll make. For a while.
Why this? Many cultural and charitable organisations rely on digital advertising and platforms to reach audiences. As AI intermediaries become less transparent, the risk is not just wasted spend but long-term reputational damage and declining trust.
What to watch: Increasing scepticism about paid reach and renewed interest in direct, trusted relationships with audiences.
Relevance: Practice & People • Money & Survival
How to build financial resilience for small charities
Why this? For many small organisations, “resilience” has become shorthand for coping with chronic instability. These resources reinforce the need for realistic financial planning that acknowledges constraints without normalising precarity.
What to watch: Tension between funder expectations of resilience and the limited structural support available to achieve it.
Relevance: Money & Survival
Holyrood 2026: what the voluntary sector wants
Why this? Election cycles create rare moments where sector priorities can be articulated collectively. The challenge is turning shared asks into sustained influence once the political window closes.
What to watch: How effectively sector demands are translated into policy commitments, funding decisions and accountability mechanisms.
Relevance: Power & Policy
You Should Put a Codex in Your Pocket Instead of Your Phone
I’m going to suggest something simple, accessible, affordable, and with a proven track record against the scroll: You need a pocket codex.
Why this? In an attention economy dominated by scrolling and algorithmic distraction, analogue and slower forms can become acts of resistance. For cultural practice, this opens up questions about format, pace and presence.
What to watch: Renewed interest in print, tactile and time-based experiences as counterweights to digital saturation.
Relevance: Practice & People
Where Artists and Texts Meet: An Exhibition of Artists Books
Continuing the book theme. In case anyone is in Liverpool in the coming weeks, there’s a great book arts show coming up. I might be a little biased (and please excuse the self promotion!) as my ‘I am River’ book has been included. I’ll be talking about my book art practice on the 19th so do come and say hello.
Liverpool Book Art and Liverpool John Moores University are delighted to announce a new Book Art exhibition to be held in Liverpool, entitled ‘Where Artists and Texts Meet’. The exhibition will run from February 6th to March 29th in the University’s Library. Entry to the public is free. An associated Book Art Insight Day will take place on February 19th, with talks, workshops and demonstrations.
Why this? This is a reminder that cultural value is often created through deep, materially grounded practice and local networks
What to watch: How practice-led work continues to hold meaning and community value amid digital acceleration.
Relevance: Practice & People
This week’s themes…
Leadership is becoming more collective and less performative, with peer support filling gaps left by overstretched systems.
Trust is emerging as a strategic asset, particularly as AI-mediated platforms become more extractive.
Financial resilience remains uneven, especially for smaller organisations navigating often unrealistic expectations.
Older forms and slower practices are gaining renewed relevance as antidotes to digital overload.
References
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. A. (1996). Remediation. Configurations, 4(3), 311-358.