Manchester National Conference

A warm welcome awaits when you sign in for your delegate pass. Start as you mean to go on and get networking, as well as helping yourself to refreshments – including breakfast pastries.

Our chair for the first half of today’s conference will kick things off by welcoming you and setting the scene for the whole day.

Alison Lincoln, ICT Senior Manager of Projects and Customers, Blackpool Council

Giving places more powers is only part of the answer. To realise the full potential of devolution, local and national government need the digital capabilities, data infrastructure and collaborative leadership required to tackle challenges that do not stop at organisational boundaries. Phil’s keynote will explore how digital government can help turn devolved powers into real-world outcomes for citizens, communities and local economies.

Phil Swan, Director for Government Digital Enablement, Government Digital Service (GDS)

Digital, data and technology (DDaT) is often treated as a technology agenda. It isn’t. It’s about how councils design and deliver services around real resident needs and improve them over time. A product-led approach brings people, process, and data together, shifting the focus from systems to outcomes.

What to expect: A clear shift in perspective helping you reframe DDaT around services and outcomes, not technology.

What people will take away:

• How to refocus DDaT around resident outcomes, not systems
• How to move from one-off projects to continuous service improvement
• How to align teams around shared outcomes instead of siloed functions

Rob Stanley, Public Sector Director, HSO

Connect with colleagues and gather your thoughts from the morning so far over refreshments.

The challenges facing our communities can no longer be solved by organisations working in isolation. As local government evolves, with greater power away from Westminster, increased service integration and rising expectations from citizens, leadership is becoming less about organisational boundaries and more about enabling outcomes across place.

This panel brings together leaders from across different sectors to explore what it means to lead collaboratively in this new environment. The discussion will consider how partnerships are built, how data and insight can be shared to support better decisions, and how organisations can work together around the needs of people and places rather than institutional priorities.

We’ll examine the opportunities and challenges of place-based leadership through practical examples of delivering better outcomes for communities.

Chaired by Rachel North, APSE Associate, Specialist in Place-based Leadership and Services with:
Malcolm Lowe, Fractional CIO/CDIO, Transport for Greater Manchester
Professor Dr. Rhiannon Jones, Head of Civic and Communities, Derby University
Steven Fry, Director of Digital and Customer services, Salford City Council

Meet and hear from your colleagues in the 2026 Manchester Empowering Women cohort This final session of their course is sharing research, outcomes and recommendations to project briefs set by Workday in July:

1. Trust and Digital Safety
2. AI Literacy and Skills Pathways

For some, this’ll be their first public presentation. It’s a big stage but you’re the ideal audience to listen to and support teams Path to Success and The Truth Guardians.

Workday’s core values are anchored in their VIBE™ framework of Value, Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity.

They believe that inclusion sparks innovation and belonging powers performance. However, when women are excluded from AI development, technologies can inadvertently scale historical biases.

The AI Innovation Challenge 2026 relates directly to Workday’s mission, because we cannot build equitable, trustworthy enterprise AI without diverse voices at the table.

Blackpool Council; The British Psychological Society; Coventry City Council; Derby City Council; Kirklees Council; Oxfordshire County Council; Transport for Greater Manchester

It’s time to make new connections, say hello to people you’ve not seen for a while, and reflect on the morning over lunch. Keep the conversation going and enjoy further food for thought.

Our afternoon chair is Socitm’s President for 2026 to 2027. All the way from London to learn form the North and to share some best bits from the South.

Yogita Popat, Socitm President and Programme Director of Culture and Sustainability, London Borough of Barnet

This panel will explore the role of the private sector in shaping vibrant, sustainable, and resilient communities. From investment and innovation to regeneration and service delivery, panelists will discuss how their organisations act as long-term partners in creating better places and communities. The session will highlight practical examples of collaboration and examine the opportunities, challenges and successes across place-based partnerships.

Chaired by: Dave Sanderson, Director of member services, Socitm

AWS; Beam; GCA; HSO

Going from the original vision to the reality is not a straight line. Liz will talk with us about how digital and data solutions are making a real and tangible difference in Sunderland; better services, stronger partnerships, and more resilient communities.

Liz St Louis, Director for Smart Cities, Sunderland City Council

Keep connecting and gathering your thoughts from the afternoon so far over refreshments and snacks.

Accessibility and inclusion are critical to delivering better public services for all.

As organisations continue to transform services through digital, data and technology, there is a growing opportunity, and responsibility, to ensure that no one is left behind.

Bringing together voices from across the public sector and beyond, we’ll explore how accessibility and inclusion can be embedded into
service design from the outset. Instead of added on later as an afterthought.

We’ll examine:
1. How inclusive design improves outcomes for everyone
2. The role of leadership in creating accessible organisations
3. How voices from communities helps shape services to meet diverse needs

You’ll take away lessons learned, challenges and successes around inclusive thinking to adapt for your place.

Robin Christopherson MBE, Head of Digital Inclusion, AbilityNet
Graeme Murrell, IT Principal Officer, Kirklees Council

Does your council have a strategic approach to prevention, or simply lots of preventative activity? This interactive session will explore how data, digital and innovation can help councils understand what is driving future demand, spot opportunities to intervene earlier, and test what works. Participants will leave with a practical framework for connecting prevention to better resident outcomes, reduced service demand and financial sustainability.

Chair: Yogita Popat, Socitm President and Programme Director, Strategy, Culture and Sustainability, London Borough of Barnet, London Borough of Barnet

Yogita & Alison will pick out their highlights from the day in the closing remarks.

Yogita Popat, Socitm President and Programme Director, Strategy, Culture and Sustainability, London Borough of Barnet

Alison Lincoln, ICT Senior Manager of Projects and Customers, Blackpool Council