People helping people – the future of public services

Whether we call it volunteering, social action or simply people helping people, we know that public services up and down the country are being transformed by using the skills and talents of the local community to augment public services.

Evidence suggests social action is changing lives. We don’t think this is a periphery activity, we think it’s at the heart of public service reform helping to improve outcomes and save money.

But what would public services look like if they were able to mobilise the latent talents and energy of the local community to solve problems? And what needs to happen to make the most of social action in the future?

Join us to explore how social action can play a bigger role in the design and delivery of public services with keynote inputs from:

Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of Nesta and former Head of the Strategy Unit

Alex Fox, Chief Executive, Shared Lives Plus

Clare Sutcliffe, Co-founder, Code Club

Joanna Killian, Chief Executive of Essex County Council

Philip Colligan, Deputy Cheif Executive, Nesta

David Knott, Head of Social Action, Office for Civil Society

Helen Stephenson, Director Office of Civil Society and Government Innovation Group, Cabinet Office

Charlie Leadbeater, social entrepreneur and thinker

Charlotte Hill, Chief Executive, Step up to Serve

Bobby Duffy, Managing Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos MORI

Graham Daly, Head of Partnerships, Transport for London

The day will also include panel and plenary sessions in the main hall, a ‘meet the innovator’ showcase and 8 interactive workshops featuring entrepreneurs, national and international speakers:

Commissioning social action in practice: overcoming the risks and challenge
The most promising models for scaling social action
Why peer support is the future of healthcare
Transforming tutoring: how social action is helping children excel
Pathways from volunteering to work: what’s really working?
Evidencing the impact volunteers make on outcomes
A service year – the new gap year or retirement plan?
New models of community action

This event would be perfect for policy makers, public service managers, commissioners and innovators in charities and social enterprises.