Case Study: Your Voice Counts

About Your Voice Counts

Your Voice Counts is a North East charity. Established in 1991, they operate across Gateshead, Newcastle, and South Tyneside. They support:

• people with learning disabilities
• autistic people
• people who are at risk of exclusion due to disability, illness or other challenges

Their person-centred services are shaped by Experts by Experience, who influence governance and strategy.

Activities and contributions

Both Caitlin and Joel were involved in quarterly meetings of the full Board. These brought together all the leads and committee heads of key areas such as finance, HR, people, strategy, and data. They joined mid-board meetings that carried discussions forward between quarters, and took part in planning sessions where future priorities were shaped.

As shadow trustees, they didn’t have voting rights. However, they regularly observed high-level decision-making and shared their perspectives. This meant they could contribute fresh ideas and external viewpoints from their respective professional and academic backgrounds.

They supported conversations across finance, HR, data, and strategy. They added to the richness of board discussions without being directly involved in the final votes.

Caitlin and Joel also joined away days. For example, they were part of a town hall-style event in Gateshead. At this event, staff, volunteers and trustees reflected on YVC’s achievements and discussed the charity’s five-year vision.

Towards the end of their term, they attended a workshop at the Gateshead office. This gave them the chance to meet individuals and families supported by YVC. They got to see first-hand the difference that the organisation makes in people’s lives.

Outcomes and benefits

YVC strengthened their board with new perspectives, diverse backgrounds, and insights. They gained access to specialist knowledge in HR and financial governance.

The MBA Shadow Trustee scheme has now become a valuable part of their governance model. They have successfully renewed their partnership with the scheme for another year.

“Because the MBA is a 12-month programme, the scheme offers us a regular turnover of perspectives,” said Gareth Rowe, Head of Finance at Your Voice Counts. “Our standard term for trustees is four years. Imagine if we took two Shadow Trustees each year—we’d have a vast amount of different trustees in that four-year period.”

For our students

For both Caitlin and Joel, it was their first experience of working at board level. It gave them a much clearer understanding of:

• governance
• how mission and vision are balanced against financial realities
• how trustees plan for the future of the organisation

Caitlin gained insights into how HR and people strategy functions at board level. Joel developed his understanding of areas such as budgeting and reserves. He also saw how financial decisions connect directly to areas such as staff retention and resource planning.

Both students came away with stronger skills in strategic thinking, governance, and stakeholder engagement. They also developed a real appreciation of the difficult choices required to keep a charity sustainable.

“This experience has really developed my big-picture thinking and my understanding of how boards operate,” said Caitlin. “It’s also helped me appreciate how to communicate effectively at a senior level, framing information in a way that resonates with board priorities.

"I’ve been able to observe and contribute to board-level strategic discussions, gaining insight into how key decisions are made. The People Committee allowed me to engage with issues around workforce strategy, organisational culture, and HR governance."

“The experience has been deeply rewarding,” Joel echoed. “It’s shown me the power of collective leadership from various backgrounds and strengthened my commitment to social impact in my future career.”