NEW HORIZONS STAGE
Waves of change: digital frontiers in resident-led policymaking

Drawing on learnings from the Waves tech-powered democracy pilots, this session will explore how councils are experimenting with new tech-powered democratic practices to enable mass participation and deep deliberation and build trust with residents.

Alex Evans, Strategic Planning Assistant Team Manager, South Staffordshire Council
Miriam Levin, Director of Participatory Programmes, Demos
Shahaduz Zaman, Head of Participation, Camden Council

Chair: Emma Southgate, Director of Practice and Programmes, New Local

STUDIO STAGE
Making neighbourhood health neighbourhood-led

In Barking & Dagenham, Care City and partners are developing a neighbourhood health model shaped by local people and everyday realities. We’ll share what’s working, what we’re learning and improving, and practical steps you can try straight away in your own community. Shared ambition is easy. Making it real is the hard part. Come and see if they can help.

Emily Brook, Director of Innovation, Care City
Michael Roberts, Research and Learning Lead, Care City
Anjali Moorthy, Service Design Lead, Care City

Hosted by Care City

WORKSHOP
Learning to move together: leadership beyond silos

This interactive session explores how partnerships can work more effectively across organisational boundaries when complex needs don’t fit within a single service. It focuses on the practical conditions that enable genuine collaboration, including trust, psychological safety, shared risk-taking, and the role of informal relationships. Through reflection, dialogue, and a live exercise, participants will examine how defining “the problem” shapes outcomes and how collaboration can better support people navigating multiple services.Intro paragraph

Carl Brown, Systems Practice Manager, MEAM
Lauren Wallace, Senior Partnerships Manager- Changing Futures, MEAM

Hosted by MEAM

EXPERIENCE ZONE
ABCD and beyond: a practical guide for local government

Workshop #1

What happens when local government starts with what is strong, not what is wrong, and turns that into everyday practice?

In this practical and participatory workshop, Jeder Institute and Go Together will bring Jeder Institute’s book ABCD and Beyond: A Practical Guide for Local Government to life through hands-on tools, stories and processes that can be used straight away.

The session will support participants to explore how Asset-Based Community Development can be applied in real local government settings, from neighbourhood work and community partnerships to internal culture, commissioning, strategy and place-based action.

Participants will leave with practical approaches for uncovering gifts, connecting people around what they care about, strengthening local relationships, and creating the conditions for citizen-led action to grow.

This workshop is for people who want to move ABCD from idea to action, and build local government practice that is more relational, community-powered and grounded in the strengths of people and place.

Dee Brooks, Intermittent Nomad & Community Builder, Jeder Institute
Lee Griffiths, Community Builder, Facilitator and Consultant, Jeder Institute
Richard Holmes, FounderGo Together
Fiona Miller, Community development practitioner,

Hosted by Jeder Institute

NEW HORIZONS STAGE
Roots and repair: community resilience in the North East

Communities across the North East are navigating profound change; economic, political and social. This session brings together voices from the region to share what it looks like, in practice, to build connection, resilience and hope from the ground up, and what the rest of us can learn from their experience.

Adam Cooper, Director, Threads in the Ground
Shahda Khan, Founder, Repower Collective
Andrew McIntyre, Chief Executive, Redhills Durham

Chair: Victoria Hughes, Emerging Futures Programme Lead, JRF

STUDIO STAGE
From structural change to system change: innovation, partnership and outcomes in LGR

Together we’ll explore the potential for local government reorganisation (LGR) beyond structures, and examine how councils, residents and partners can shape reorganisation as a catalyst for better outcomes and stronger collaboration across their place.

Simon Fletcher, Chief Executive, Lichfield Council
Justin Galliford, Chief Executive, Norse Group
Caroline Green, Chief Executive, Oxford City Council

Chair: Laura Payne, Head of Network, New Local

Hosted by Norse Group

WORKSHOP
Conditions clinic: funding and commissioning to support relational, iterative and learning-centred ways of working

What would funding and commissioning look like if they truly enabled relational, flexible and learning-centred ways of working? 

In this participatory workshop we’ll design an imaginary programme funding and commissioning process built around these principles. You’ll step into the different roles involved in the process, exploring the decisions, incentives and tensions they face and the key barriers to adopting different approaches. Together, we’ll develop a draft set of principles for funding and commissioning that genuinely supports and de-risks relational, iterative and learning-centred ways of working. 

Facilitated by New Local in partnership with the Cabinet Office Test, Learn and Grow team 

EXPERIENCE ZONE
ABCD and beyond: a practical guide for local government

Workshop #2

What happens when local government starts with what is strong, not what is wrong, and turns that into everyday practice?

In this practical and participatory workshop, Jeder Institute and Go Together will bring Jeder Institute’s book ABCD and Beyond: A Practical Guide for Local Government to life through hands-on tools, stories and processes that can be used straight away.

The session will support participants to explore how Asset-Based Community Development can be applied in real local government settings, from neighbourhood work and community partnerships to internal culture, commissioning, strategy and place-based action.

Participants will leave with practical approaches for uncovering gifts, connecting people around what they care about, strengthening local relationships, and creating the conditions for citizen-led action to grow.

This workshop is for people who want to move ABCD from idea to action, and build local government practice that is more relational, community-powered and grounded in the strengths of people and place.

Dee Brooks, Intermittent Nomad & Community Builder, Jeder Institute
Lee Griffiths, Community Builder, Facilitator and Consultant, Jeder Institute
Richard Holmes, FounderGo Together
Fiona Miller, Community development practitioner, Jeder Institute

Hosted by Jeder Institute

NEW HORIZONS STAGE
Missions and the public sector reform movement: catalyst or complication? 

How do missions fit into and drive the wider PSR reform agenda? Missions are increasingly being adopted by councils and strategic authorities as a way of organising around big, complex challenges. But how does this work relate to the wider public service reform agenda, from neighbourhood working and place-based budgets to relational practice and community power? This session explores how missions are acting as connective tissue that can hold reforming practices together. It delves into practical insights from places of how to bring these practices together to increase impact.

Andrew Ferrier, Chief Executive, Test Valley Borough Council
Erika Rushton, Strategy Director, Kindred LCR
Isadora Schappell, Consultant, Inner Circle Consulting
Jason Strelitz, Community-centred public services leader
Val Keen, Public Service Reform Consultant 

Chair: Evie John, Managing Director, Prosperous Places, Inner Circle Consulting

Hosted by Inner Circle Consulting

STUDIO STAGE
People, place, care: can social care commissioning centre outcomes and community wealth?

Can social care commissioning centre the outcomes that matter to people whilst also building community wealth?
We know that the care system is not working for our people or our places. Large extractive providers are costing us more, delivering less and often do not reflect the needs of our communities. This session will explore the potential ways that commissioning care can help us bring people closer to both shaping and owning the way that care is delivered.

Niccola Hutchinson-Pascal, Head of Co-Production and Public Engagement, Co-production Collective
James Arrowsmith, Head of Social Care, Browne Jacobson LLP
Sarah Evans, Associate Director (Regional Economies), CLES
Cecily Henry, Co-Production Collective
Amy Wilkinson, Director of Commissioning, Business Operations and Insight, Children and Education, London Borough of Hackney 

Chair: Amy Hurst, Head of Practice, New Local

WORKSHOP
Tending the garden of place-based change: what does it take to sustain community-led initiative?

When a place-based initiative is established and embedded, what are the conditions that help sustain and support ongoing success? This workshop – facilitated by the Peabody Community Foundation and Renaisi – will use the concept of tending to a garden to help participants explore how to enable and sustain place-based work.

During this workshop, we will work together to explore answers to the following:

• Tending to the garden: What are the conditions that enable place-based change? What is your role in this work?
• Weathering autumn and winter: What can make sustaining this work difficult? What do we know about what it takes to sustain the work? What does this require of each of us?

We will invite you to bring your own examples and learning to share with the group. We will also be sharing our learning from two areas of work:

• Pembury Children’s Community is a pioneering approach led as a partnership between Peabody and Hackney Council, working alongside residents, schools, health institutions and the local VCS sector to transform outcomes for children living within Hackney’s Pembury estate. The programme was supported in its early years by Save the Children. During the workshop, the team will reflect on the findings from Renaisi’s recent 10-year anniversary evaluation of the programme.
• The Renaisi team will draw on learning from over 25+ years’ experience leading, supporting and researching place-based systems change. During the workshop, we will weave in insights from our recent inquiry into sustaining place-based systems change, introducing their BRAVER principles for funding and investing in this work.

Our aim is for participants to leave with a stronger understanding of what is needed to sustain place-based change.

Rachel Solomon,  Head of Community Investment, Peabody Community Foundation
Sarah Morton, Community Investment Manager North East London, Peabody Community Foundation
Cathy Hearn, Associate Director, Learning and Evaluation, Renaisi
Beth Stout, Associate Director, Place and Systemic Change, Renaisi

Hosted by Peabody Community Foundation

EXPERIENCE ZONE
The Greater Manchester participation party

Across the UK, trust in institutions is falling and too many communities feel decisions are made about them rather than with them. At the same time, public services and leaders want to work differently, but are often held back by systems and ways of working that make genuine participation difficult.

But what if communities were not just consulted? What if communities had the tools, resources, permission and power to shape the places they live and decisions that affect their lives?

Now is the moment to join the Greater Manchester Live Well team to #PressPlay on participation!

This is one of two drop-ins sessions exploring ‘Shaping how we live well together: A Greater Manchester Participation playbook’ – a practical, co-designed guide that brings together tried-and-tested participatory approaches in Greater Manchester, from citizens’ assemblies and participatory budgeting to co-production and digital democracy.

The session introduces the Playbook and the ideas behind it through interactive activities. You’ll experience some of the methods first-hand, discover practical tools you can take away, and explore how they can be used in your own work.

Come and join the party to explore new ways of working towards a future where communities have a genuine say in how they live well.

#GMLiveWell

Hosted by Greater Manchester Combined Authority

NEW HORIZONS STAGE
Shared roots, shared futures: exploring personal stories to strengthen community bonds

In this interactive session, we will explore how heritage and personal stories can strengthen inter‑generational bonds and reveal shared priorities within a community, highlighting the London Borough of Havering’s Bonds Through History project, in collaboration with 3ni, Eastside Community Heritage, and Thames Freeport.

This will be of interest to attendees looking to explore innovative and effective ways to engage with residents at the hyper-local level, identifying neighbourhood strengths and priorities, and collaborating on new funding opportunities.

Jessica Finnin, Cohesive Communities Manager, London Borough of Havering
Judith Garfield, MBE, Executive Director, Eastside Community Heritage
Revd. Nathan Joss-Pothen, Vicar, St. George’s Harold Hill, Havering

Chair: Dan Crowe, Director, 3ni

Hosted by 3ni

STUDIO STAGE
The Local Government Podcast: live recording

Last month, voters went to the polls in more than 100 local authorities at a time when the political landscape in England seems more fractured than ever, and the results could bring a wider spectrum of politicians than ever into local power.

As the dust settles on an unprecedented set of election results, join the Local Government Chronicle for a live podcast examining what the results mean for the future of public services.

John Denham , Director Centre for English Identity and Politics, Southampton University
Grace Pollard, Head of Policy and Insights, New Local
Cllr Doug Pullen, Leader, Lichfield Council
Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CEO and Co-Founder, Go Vocal

Martin George, Acting Editor, Local Government Chronicle (Chair)

Hosted by the Local Government Chronicle

WORKSHOP
From sticking plaster to sustainable solutions

For too long, the charitable and public sectors have relied on paternalistic models: demanding ‘proof of poverty’ and offering temporary, transactional fixes. This session will take you on Turn2us’ journey of evolution: from our early days of restrictive grant-making to our current model of trust-based support, income maximisation, and place-based systemic change.  We will show how our grant making, information tools and programmes have evolved to put trust and empowerment at the centre of our work and ensure people have the right support at the right time. Finally, we will explore the most critical lesson of all: that while tools and grants are essential, they are not enough on their own and how our place-based systems change work in partnership with community organisations and local authorities alike is working to break the systems that cause financial insecurity.

Hosted by Turn2Us

EXPERIENCE ZONE
The Greater Manchester participation party

Across the UK, trust in institutions is falling and too many communities feel decisions are made about them rather than with them. At the same time, public services and leaders want to work differently, but are often held back by systems and ways of working that make genuine participation difficult.

But what if communities were not just consulted? What if communities had the tools, resources, permission and power to shape the places they live and decisions that affect their lives?

Now is the moment to join the Greater Manchester Live Well team to #PressPlay on participation!

This is one of two drop-ins sessions exploring ‘Shaping how we live well together: A Greater Manchester Participation playbook’ – a practical, co-designed guide that brings together tried-and-tested participatory approaches in Greater Manchester, from citizens’ assemblies and participatory budgeting to co-production and digital democracy.

The session introduces the Playbook and the ideas behind it through interactive activities. You’ll experience some of the methods first-hand, discover practical tools you can take away, and explore how they can be used in your own work.

Come and join the party to explore new ways of working towards a future where communities have a genuine say in how they live well.

#GMLiveWell

Hosted by Greater Manchester Combined Authority

BIG IDEAS STAGE
Mission: local economy

What are the opportunities for local government, now and in the future, to use missions to build local economies that both reflect the strengths of communities and support them to thrive? This session will explore what becomes possible when partners work across boundaries and build the shared purpose and power needed to shape local economies to better serve their places.

What becomes possible when partners work across boundaries and build the shared purpose and power needed to shape local economies to better serve their place? 

Eve Holt, Head of Policy and Implementation, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Mathu Jeyaloganathan, Chief Investment Officer, Community Wealth Fund, London Borough of Camden   
Liam Kelly, Chief Executive, Make CIC    
Chris Naylor, Managing Director, Inner Circle Consulting
Jennifer Van der Merwe, Senior Place Adviser, Office for the Impact Economy         

Chair: Grace Pollard, Head of Policy and Insights, New Local

BIG IDEAS STAGE
Putting neighbours back into neighbourhoods

Many people are talking about neighbourhoods as a vehicle for organising public services – but fewer are asking how we use this shift to strengthen relationships in and with communities.

This session will look at how we can ensure the conversation about neighbourhood working goes beyond service design and delivery. How do we ensure that hyper-local working supports the relationships that enable the housing, work, transport, civic spaces and local economies needed for communities to thrive?

Claire Burnham, Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Reform and Skills, Wigan Council
Pauline Johnston, People and Place Activation Consultant, Civic and Social
Frances Jones, Head of Strategy and Operations, Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation
Liz Twigge, Director, HF Works CIC 

Chair: Helen Power, Director of Partnerships and Engagement, New Local

BIG IDEAS STAGE
Total place now: collaboration, mutual accountability and shared returns

How can place-based budgeting help us build the public sector of the future?

Place-based budgeting is back on the agenda but greater financial flexibilities are part of the wider shifts required to build the public sector of the future: one that is more joined up and collaborative and can deliver better outcomes for communities.

This session will explore how place-based budgets can help galvanise wider public service reform in places and show us what is possible if partners work together, united by shared purpose and liberated by the possibilities of shared returns.  How can local leaders and partners strengthen relationships and build trust? What do key actors in the system need from each other? What does it take to collaborate well? And how can place-based budgets help us build relational public services and community power?

Rachael Clifford, Strategic Lead for Healthy Communities and Mental Wellbeing, West Midlands Combined Authority
Claire Dhami, Head of Systems Change and Inclusion, West Midlands Combined Authority
Nick Kimber, Director of Public Service Reform (Place, Design and Innovation), Cabinet Office
James Norris, Head of Skills and Employability, Walsall Council

Chair: Anna Randle, Chief Executive, New Local

BIG IDEAS STAGE
Building to learn

How do we create the conditions for rigorous and actionable learning in place-based working?

For local government, and the systems they sit within, learning is not a ‘nice to have’ – it’s mission critical in how we address our biggest challenges while making the most of public resources. What do we need to do to design learning in to organisations and partnerships and – critically – how are voices of communities and citizens centred in that learning? In this session we explore the different ways learning can be located and embedded in organisational design by looking at different approaches taken in the public sector and beyond (including Test, Learn and Grow). 

Eddie Copeland, Director, London Office of Technology and Innovation
Andy Ferrier, Chief Executive, Test Valley Council
Toby Lowe, Professor of Public Management, Manchester Metropolitan University
Cate McLaurin, Senior Director, Public Digital

Chair: Emma Southgate, Director of Practice and and Programmes, New Local