Looking ahead: strengthening VoiceAbility for the future
Our new Director of Operations, Donna Bronson-Barnes brings over 25 years’ experience in social care and delivering sustainable outcomes for the people and communities services exist to support. She discusses what advocacy means to her and her vision for strengthening VoiceAbility.
Having recently joined VoiceAbility as Director of Operations, I’m very aware that I’ve arrived at a pivotal moment for the organisation — and for the wider health, social care and charity sectors.
I’m excited to be part of an organisation with such a strong commitment to ensuring people’s voices are heard when it matters most, and I look forward to working closely with commissioners, partners, stakeholders and colleagues across the sector to effectively support and amplify the voices of the people and communities we serve.
My background spans children and young people’s advocacy and support services, operational leadership across contracted and commissioned services, and delivering within both regulated and non-regulated environments.
Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about building high-quality, sustainable services that improve outcomes while remaining person-centred, values-led and responsive to changing needs.
Like many charities and providers across health and social care, VoiceAbility has had to carefully review how we’re structured to ensure we remain sustainable, resilient and able to meet growing demand in the years ahead.
Over recent years, demand for advocacy and voice services has continued to increase significantly, while the wider financial pressures facing the public and voluntary sectors have also intensified. Across the country, organisations are having to make difficult decisions to ensure they can continue delivering high-quality support long into the future.
At VoiceAbility, our priority throughout this process has been clear: protecting frontline advocacy services and continuing to support people to have their voices heard when it matters most. We want to reassure commissioners, partners and the people who use our services that these changes are focused on strengthening our organisational foundations, improving how we work, and ensuring we are well placed for the future. The restructure does not reduce our commitment to delivering safe, high-quality, person-centred advocacy.
In fact, we remain ambitious about the future of VoiceAbility. Over the past year alone, we supported more than 36,000 people across England and Scotland, responded to over 45,000 enquiries, and continued expanding our reach into new communities and services.
We continue to focus on:
- driving quality and consistency across services
- building strong operational foundations
- investing in our people and leadership
- improving sustainability and resilience
- expanding the impact of advocacy and co-production services across the UK.
Our vision remains unchanged: everyone has a voice which is heard and responded to, and no-one has to face life-changing decisions alone.
I’m proud to have joined VoiceAbility at a time when the organisation is taking proactive steps to strengthen itself for the future with honesty, care and ambition. We’re currently balancing a number of priorities and completing a review of contractual obligations to help shape delivery focus. By making these changes now, we are ensuring we can continue supporting commissioners, partners and, most importantly, the people who rely on advocacy services in the years ahead.
We value the strong relationships we have with commissioners and stakeholders across the country and remain committed to openness, collaboration and delivering excellent services together.