Poverty is the single greatest barrier to a child’s attainment in Scotland today. While there is growing consensus on this truth, the gap between political ambition and practical delivery remains. Policy alone cannot close the attainment gap without structural change in how services support families, schools, and communities. Tackling poverty and boosting attainment must therefore be a coordinated national mission that brings together education, health, housing, and local government in practical partnership.

This conference takes place online.

Scotland is ageing – and fast. While longer lives are a testament to progress, they also reveal growing cracks in care services, workforce sustainability and rights-based support for older people. Gaps in provision, pressures on unpaid carers and fractured funding arrangements pose urgent questions about quality, fairness and continuity of care. Therefore, we must reconsider how we deliver, fund and reform care for older people across Scotland’s public, private and third sectors.

This conference takes place online.

Scotland’s essential services are now a constant target for increasingly sophisticated cyber attackers. While the public sector is often the primary victim, the impact of these attacks cascades far beyond councils, health boards and emergency services. They can disrupt private sector supply chains, voluntary organisations and critical national infrastructure. The challenge for organisations in Scotland is to build a unified, cross-sector approach to defending the digital front line to minimise future major breaches.

This conference takes place online.

Over a third of people in Scotland live with at least one long-term health condition. However, fragmented services, variation in provision across regions and rising multi-morbidity mean many people face long waits, inconsistent support and avoidable inequalities. Scotland’s challenge therefore is to deliver a unified, cross-cutting framework of care that strengthens prevention, coordination and equity and turns strategic ambition into tangible change for patients and communities.

This conference takes place online.

These are turbulent times. Imminent Scottish Parliament elections, weak public finances, potentially seismic domestic political change, continuing war in Ukraine, the unpredictable global consequences of the second Trump Presidency – all require the best judgement. Amid waves of uncertainty buffeting Scotland's public services, private sector and third sector, it is essential to know how to influence key decision makers as they respond to the challenges ahead.

This conference will take place online.

Fraud in public services erodes trust, wastes scarce resources and undermines the delivery of essential outcomes. Yet despite stronger systems and awareness, new risks keep emerging. From procurement and grants to cyber and payroll fraud and beyond, fraud keeps evolving. How can Scotland’s public sector move beyond strategy and compliance to embed prevention and detection in every part of its operations?

This conference takes place online.

Care experienced children deserve consistency, dignity and lifelong support. However, responsibilities are currently split, services are stretched and progress toward The Promise is uneven. The Scottish Government's new Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill aims to address this. So what is in the Bill, will it work, who will it impact and when will it happen?

This conference takes place online.