SWINDON is to play host to a major national conference in November involving leading figures from the government, charity and social investment sectors.

The conference is being held to help charities, public sector and other bodies better demonstrate their value to society, in order to put them in a stronger position to attract funding from the public, from government and from social investors.

Recent reductions in public spending and changes to the way local authorities and other commissioning bodies buy services from the voluntary sector have put greater pressure on entities working on a not-for-profit basis to cut costs, prove their value, and seek alternative sources of funding.

The speakers at the conference, to be held at the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday, November 14, include Jim Clifford OBE, who is a partner at accountancy firm Baker Tilly, and chairman of IAAM Adoption.

Any local charities, community interest companies or public bodies interested in attending the conference can register for the event on the Baker Tilly website www.bakertilly.co.uk