NEWS & BLOGS

Episode 2 of our Open Voice Lab Podcast is now live! And we are diving into one of the biggest debates in modern engagement: are community stalls still effective, or has digital engagement already taken over? Community stalls have been a core part of engagement and consultation for decades. But with digital reach, targeted ads, online listening, and high‑volume conversations happening on social media every day, many organisations are asking whether traditional face‑to‑face me

We’ve pulled together some information to support engagement professionals who need to understand what has happened with the updated EHRC Code of Practice, and how it may impact on the work you do with communities. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has now brought its updated Services Code of Practice into force (August 2026). This follows the 2025 Supreme Court ruling that “sex” in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, and the code sets out how organisatio

Digital engagement is now central to how public‑sector and VCSE organisations listen, involve and communicate with communities. But most engagement and comms teams were never formally trained in what “good” digital engagement looks like - or how digital channels can support trust‑building, inclusion and better decision‑making. Open Voice Lab has launched the September cohort of our Digital Engagement Masterclass, a practical four‑session online course designed for people work

“So this is our first ever Open Voice Lab podcast, and we're a little bit excited, we're a little bit nervous. Hopefully we're gonna have some fun…” Introducing our UK engagement and consultation podcast We are so excited to announce the launch of our new podcast designed for people working in community engagement, consultation, participation and public involvement across the UK public sector, NHS, charities, and VCSE organisations. We will be bringing clear, honest conversat

A dog wearing sunglasses relaxing on a deck chair on a beach wearing flip flips and a beach towel. Most organisations treat July and August like a “quiet period”. Engagement pauses, new projects wait until September, and teams assume nobody will come to an event. But people don’t stop caring when the weather gets good - and summer can actually be one of the most powerful moments for meaningful insight. That’s why Open Voice Lab is running a free lunchtime learning lab: Summer

We’ve recently delivered our new 'AI for Engagement: Your Essential Human Guide' course to NHS engagement and communications professionals — and the feedback has been exceptional. Designed specifically for public sector teams, the course gives people the skills, confidence and governance awareness they need to use AI safely and effectively in real engagement and consultation work. Participants described the training as “very clear and inspiring… changed my perspective on AI”

We're pleased to announce that dates are now confirmed for three of our Open Voice Lab training courses, and bookings are open. This is training for engagement professionals - not adapted from a communications programme, not generic digital skills training. Our courses are built from the ground up through the engagement lens, by people who truly understand what this work involves and why it matters. Whether you want to get to grips with AI in your consultation practice, sharp

We're really pleased to share that Open Voice Lab and the Consultation Institute are working more closely together - and we're excited about what that means for the engagement community. Coffee mornings You may have already spotted us guesting on a couple of their coffee morning sessions, where we explored digital aspects of engagement - from continuous engagement to reaching new audiences. The conversations were brilliant. They’ve just announced season two of their coffee mo