NCVO and Acevo have launched their first-ever joint conference, just weeks after announcing that they are moving in together.

The Localism Conference 2011, to be held in Birmingham on 9 December, is jointly branded and will be addressed by both Acevo’s chair, Lesley-Anne Alexander, and NCVO’s chief executive, Sir Stuart Etherington (pictured, right).  NCVO chair Martyn Lewis will also chair a panel discussion but Acevo CEO Sir Stephen Bubb (pictured, left) is absent from the agenda.

The event aims to explore the reality of the government’s new localism agenda.

News of the event comes hot on the heels of the announcement that the two umbrella bodies, who have historically enjoyed something of a competitive relationship, are to be flatmates.  Acevo will move into NCVO’s King’s Cross headquarters next summer, though they will not share the same floor.

The two organisations have been keen to stress that the move is not a precursor to a merger.