All of us have moments at work where we have to have a difficult conversation. These are the moments when the stakes are high, opinions clash, emotions run deep or power dynamics come into play. While some may shy away from these dialogues to avoid conflict, mastering them can lead to significant benefits for individuals and boost organisational productivity. Join us in this engaging plenary session, where Tess will dive into the art of handling these conversations with skill and authenticity. She'll explore the topic with the audience, offering valuable advice on how to navigate these critical interactions effectively.

The work of Advancement teams is ever-changing to meet the needs of those we seek to engage with our institutions – and the needs of our institutions themselves. How can you diagnose when a change to a process, a role or a function is needed and collaborate across your team and institution to deliver it? Fran Sponsler, Executive Director of Proposition Development and Campaign at London Business School will share a case study on how to approach change management based on the lessons learned from setting up a new proposition development function over the last year.

Major gifts rely on the successful identification of transformational wealth. However, this is no easy task! There are complex roles, assets, business structures and financial terms to navigate and value. Are we sure we are prioritising the right prospects, the truer sources of transformational wealth? Are we factoring all their assets effectively? Are we aligning our asks at the right time and in the right way? Join Jonathan Jeffery, Co-Founder of Pyro.Solutions & PyroTalks CIC, as he explores true sources of transformational wealth, outlining high potential roles and sectors, their assets, liquidity moments and ask planning, along with practical tips on identifying prospects that might be right before eyes.

The session will outline how The Universities of Leeds and Bath are using data insights to align the work of our engagement and fundraising teams. At the core is measuring levels of engagement over time. We then combine that with prospect interests and capacity to target the work of engagement/communications to enhance our donor interactions and develop a pipeline of future prospects. Insights from the data also bring focus the work of fundraisers to show how effectively we are using our time and resources to maximise fundraising performance. Intermediate Level CASE Career level: 3 - 4