SCVO digital senior leaders programme

AI and everything else...

Creating a digitally confident Scottish voluntary sector in 2026

SCVO’s Digital Senior Leaders Programme is built for voluntary‑sector leaders working with limited time, budget and specialist support. It provides practical, adaptable approaches to strengthen strategic digital leadership and help your organisation become more effective, resilient and future‑ready.

Digital now shapes how people find help, how services run and how trust is built—and used well, it can transform outcomes. Used poorly, it increases risk, exclusion and pressure.

With AI accelerating, hybrid work embedded and cyber threats rising—alongside tight funding and uneven digital confidence—leaders don’t need trends. They need capability, confidence and practical digital leadership that works in real‑world constraints.

SCVO’s Digital Senior Leaders Programme will help you lead with clarity and confidence, creating a digitally confident Scottish voluntary sector in 2026.

Each month trainers Ross McCulloch and Maddie Stark will guide you through an action learning set approach to challenge and be challenged by your peers to support you to move forward and drive evolution in your organisation.

As a digitally-savvy organisation you can: 

• Understand what your service users need in real-time, and rapidly respond.
• Enable your staff to collaborate and work effectively and securely from anywhere.
• Access real-time data on the impact they are making. 
• Make smart, strategic judgements about which technology will be most effective and learn quickly through testing and feedback loops. 

The thematic areas, directly linked to our Call to Action, are covered within the programme as follows:

• Leadership - Treat digital as a leadership and governance responsibility. Boards and senior leaders must prioritise digital, data, AI and cyber risk as strategic issues, setting clear direction, realistic ambition and sustained investment over time.
• Culture - Invest in skills, confidence and culture – not just tools. Digital confidence comes from people who are supported to learn, experiment and improve continuously. Technology alone will not fix problems rooted in ways of working, capacity or culture.
• User-centred design - Put people first in all digital change. Design services, systems and communications around real user needs, accessibility and lived experience – not internal assumptions, legacy processes or supplier promises 
• Data-driven - Use data to drive insight, learning and impact. Move beyond reactive reporting towards purposeful, ethical and secure use of data that informs decisions, improves services and clearly demonstrates difference.
• Cybersecurity - Build cyber resilience as a core duty of care. Recognise cyber security as a fundamental governance issue. Protect systems, data and people through leadership attention, training, planning and ongoing investment.
• Artificial Intelligence - Approach AI with curiosity and care. Explore the potential of AI through small, safe, values-led experiments. These should be grounded in good data governance, transparency, trust and human judgement, not hype or fear of missing out.
• Roadmapping - review and reflect on your organisation's digital journey and map out your next steps. Identify opportunities for improvement and celebrate your successes. 

This programme is for people holding a senior leadership role within the Scottish voluntary sector.

A senior position is required for this programme.

This programme will start Monday 18 May 2026 - Monday 7 December 2026 delivered over 8 months.

This programme will be delivered over 7 sessions,

• 6 half-days online over Zoom 9.30am - 12.30pm
• 1 full day in person session, in Glasgow 9.30am - 4pm, Wednesday 19 August

We ask that you are able to attend 5 out of the 7 sessions. There will be plenty of opportunities for questions, discussion and practical exercises.