OD&D Network: Focus on Relational OD

About this event

Explore practical relational skills to help OD, HR and People professionals work confidently with complexity, ambiguity and change.

Organisational development & design (OD&D) network

This national community is for CIPD members with a passion for organisation development & design (OD&D), bringing together HR professionals and specialists at every stage of their career.

It provides a dedicated space to connect with peers across the UK, share insights, and explore solutions to common OD&D challenges. Whether you work internally or in a consultancy role, the network is for those who influence how organisations develop, adapt, and thrive in a changing world.

Members gain access to a trusted network where best practice is shared, emerging trends are discussed, and the evolving nature of OD&D is explored. There are also opportunities to contribute to CIPD research and policy development, ensuring members play a part in shaping the future of practice across the profession

About this session

In this session, Gareth Evans will explore the relational skills at the heart of effective Organisational Development practice, especially in organisational spaces shaped by complexity, ambiguity, diversity and emergence.

Gareth will share seven relational processes and five relational micro-practices that support practitioners to work more skilfully with what is happening in the room, in the relationship and across the wider system.

The session will connect these ideas to core OD principles and practices, including use of self as instrument, reflexivity, shared inquiry and working live with the group processes that emerge in real time when we work with groups, teams and systems.

This will be a practical and reflective session for OD practitioners, HR and People professionals, leaders, coaches and facilitators who want to deepen the relational quality of their work and develop greater confidence in working with complexity as it unfolds.

About Gareth Evans

Gareth is the Lead for Specialist OD in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, NHS Wales, and an independent OD consultant with experience across government, third sector, education, policy, research and impact evaluation.

He is an experienced OD practitioner, coach and facilitator of small and large group processes. He is the developer of the Conversational Spaces framework and Story Space Work, and co-author of a white paper and OD practice framework for working with organisational trauma.

Before moving into Organisational Development, Gareth worked for 18 years as a mental health clinician with children, adolescents and families.

This broad range of experience, practice and training has shaped an approach to OD that is first and foremost relational. His work pays particular attention to inclusive presence, use of self, shared inquiry, dialogic practice, contextual awareness and developing shared ways of understanding and adaptively intervening in systems.

Key Information

Network membership eligibility

Important: These events are exclusively for CIPD members who have successfully joined the relevant People Professional Network. Our network events are designed as member-only spaces where professionals can connect with peers, share experiences and discuss challenges in a trusted environment.

To register for this event, you will need a network member access code.

All approved network members receive this code:

• In their network welcome email.

• In subsequent communications relating to the network.

• In invitations to network events.

You will be asked to enter this code on Eventbrite to access tickets for this session.

If you cannot locate your code, please contact operationsdelivery@cipd.co.uk before registering.

Not yet a network member?

If you are a CIPD member but have not yet joined the network, you'll need to apply before registering for this event.

You can apply to join the network here: networkapplication.co.uk

Once your application has been approved, you'll receive a welcome email containing your network access code, which you'll need to register for future network events.

Please note that event registration cannot be completed without a valid network member access code.

Participating in the session

This is a member discussion session, not a webinar.

Our People Professional Network events are designed to help network members connect, collaborate and learn from one another through active participation and peer-to-peer discussion.

Throughout the session, attendees will participate in breakout room discussions with fellow network members, sharing experiences, challenges, ideas and practical solutions.

To get the most from the session, please come prepared to contribute to conversations and engage with your peers. You do not need to be an expert; the value comes from members learning together.

Joining instructions

You'll receive your joining instructions again before the event, along with a reminder shortly before the session starts.

Guest speakers

Some events may include external speakers. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CIPD.

Participating in the session

We encourage attendees to make the most of the discussion by using the chat, Q&A and other interactive features during the event. We ask that attendees participate directly and do not use AI bots or automated tools during the session as these will be removed.

Joining the event

To help us start on time and ensure a smooth check-in process, please join a few minutes before the scheduled start time. Where possible, use the name you registered with on Eventbrite.

Accessibility and reasonable adjustments

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your participation, please contact us and we'll do our best to accommodate your needs.