Scotland’s social care system is at a turning point. Demand is rising, needs are becoming more complex and the sector is being asked to do more. Supporting people to live independently. Preventing avoidable hospital admissions. Sustaining communities. All while operating under intense financial pressure. Recent warnings from providers and commentators underline how quickly financial strain translates into service instability, delayed discharge pressures and reduced capacity on the ground.

This conference takes place online.

Artificial intelligence is moving fast from buzzword to everyday tool in Scotland’s public services. With tight budgets and rising demand, councils, the NHS, central government and the third sector are all looking for smarter ways to work.

This conference takes 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.

Scotland’s public and third sector leaders are being asked to hold service quality steady while funding tightens, costs rise and demand keeps shifting. The result is a familiar pattern of short-term firefighting, incremental savings that often slip and transformation programmes that struggle to work in the real world. To complicate matters further, Shona Robison MSP – Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Scottish Government – explicitly called for public sector reform to deliver £1.5 billion in efficiencies in her 13th January Scottish Parliament statement.

This conference takes place online.

Freedom of Information in Scotland is entering a pressure-test year. Reform proposals are live in Parliament. The question being asked is not only whether the law should change, but whether day-to-day FOI practice is keeping pace with how modern public services are delivered – through arms-length bodies, contracted provision and increasingly complex partnerships.

This conference takes place online.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025  - DUAA - marks the UK’s most significant round of post-Brexit data reform to date. Its impact is now moving from 'what’s in the Bill?' to 'what do we need to change on Monday morning?'. Commencement is now under way and further provisions will bed in through 2026. Scottish data practitioners now have to keep pace with shifting regulatory expectations while continuing to deliver safe, lawful services under real operational pressure.

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.

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.

Public service reform in Scotland is no longer optional – it is now urgent. While Scotland’s public bodies are under pressure from rising demand, constrained resources and accelerating change, they must still deliver better outcomes for people and communities. However, systemic inertia, fragmented leadership and uneven performance threaten the pace and depth of change required. How therefore do we now move from intention to action – across organisations, systems and localities – to deliver real reform?

This conference takes place online.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) landscape in Scotland is at a crossroads. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 enacted twenty years ago put in place a commitment to transparency and accountability as a cornerstone of Scottish governance. However, the rise of the digital age and the evolution in public services delivery has led to calls for FOI legislation to be extended. What needs to be changed in FOI law and in best practices to ensure they remain robust and effective?

This conference takes place online.