Louise MarshallSenior Fellow in Public Health < Speakers < Previous Next > Louise Marshall Senior Fellow in Public Health The Health Foundation Louise Marshall is Senior Fellow in Public Health at the Health Foundation, where her work focuses on the wider determinants of health, and complex systems approaches to health and health inequalities. Louise is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and is registered as a Public Health Specialist with the UK Public Health Register. Alongside her role at the Health Foundation, Louise worked as Consultant in Public Health at Oxfordshire County Council during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021,… Show More

Susan ParsonageDeputy Spokesperson for Children and Families < Speakers < Previous Next > Susan Parsonage Deputy Spokesperson for Children and Families Chief Executive, Wokingham Borough Council Susan Parsonage has been Chief Executive for Wokingham Borough Council since April 2019 and has been driving the vision, ambition and strategic direction – also putting residents at the heart of the organisation. In the past years as well as leading and enabling a fantastic and innovative response by staff to COVID and there’s been significant improvements in social care for adults and children, and a positive step change in our relationship with the voluntary and community sectors. Also a… Show More

Simon Lewis MBEHead of Resilience < Speakers < Previous Next > Simon Lewis MBE Head of Resilience National Emergencies Trust With a background in Crisis Management, Emergency Planning, and Security Coordination, Simon has held key roles at the British Red Cross and the Metropolitan Police Service, and now as Head of Resilience at the National Emergencies Trust. His expertise includes emergency panning for the London 2012 Olympic Games, leading responses to major incidents such as the London terrorist attacks, and various crises including the Grenfell Tower Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon's dedication and leadership have been recognised through awards like the MBE and… Show More

< All sponsors SpaceHive Stand 24 www.spacehive.com Spacehive is the fundraising platform for locally-led projects. We help to crowdfund local ideas and have raised over £35 million across the UK and Ireland. We partner with local authorities to amplify funding, community engagement and social impact by integrating grantmaking with crowdfunding.

All Speakers Dr Peter O’Brien Executive Director, Yorkshire Universities Peter leads the Yorkshire Universities’ (YU) Executive Team, and he is the Company Secretary for the Limited Company and Charity. With over two decades’ experience, as a practitioner and academic, Peter has driven YU’s increasing and influential policy engagement activity, including YU’s strategic relationships with local government and combined authorities in Yorkshire. He has worked extensively at a senior level across the north of England and published widely on research relating to local and regional development. He represents YU and the higher education sector on many high-level national and regional groups. Peter is a Commissioner on the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, and a member of the Universities UK Civic and Local Growth Network Steering Group. Thursday 16 October 2025 15:45–16:25 Public Collaborations: What are they for? Who does all the work? How long do they last? And who really benefits? Pearl Suite, Royal Armouries Go to session

Professor Catherine StaiteEmeritus Professor of Public Management < Speakers < Previous Next > Professor Catherine Staite Emeritus Professor of Public Management University of Birmingham Professor Catherine Staite LLB, MBA, FRSA is an Emeritus Professor of Public Management at the University of Birmingham. She is involved in research and consultancy, specialising in leadership and governance. She currently works with Darlingburn Ltd, providing specialist consultancy in governance, especially where councils are at high risk of failure. She is a former Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV) and a former Director of the Office for Public Management. Between 2001 and 2005 she worked for… Show More

All Speakers Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL Playwright, memoirist, performer and broadcaster Google “Lemn Sissay” and all the return hits will be about him. There is only one person in the world named Lemn Sissay Awarded the 2024 Hay medal for poetry Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL is also a playwright, memoirist, performer and broadcaster. His latest book “Let The Light Pour In” is a Sunday Times Best Seller. The paperback comes out in 2025. His autobiography My name is Why was a Number One Sunday Times Best Seller. In 2021 he helped select the work for Hold Still which also became a Sunday Times Bestseller. His Theatre adaptation of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Refugee Boy is a text on The National Curriculum. In 2022 he was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. In September 2024 Sissay was made honorary fellow of Mansfield College Oxford and 2020 he became Honorary Fellow at Jesus College Cambridge. Lemn was named MBE for services to literature, awarded by The Queen at Buckingham Palace and then he was named OBE for services to Literature and Charity, awarded by King Charles at Windsor Castle in 2023. He was chancellor of University of Manchester from 2015 to 2023. He is the only Guest Director of Brighton Festival two have been two years (2020 and 2021). In 2024 he was the curator of the first Ethiopia Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2024. He has read poetry on stages throughout the world: from The Library of Congress in The United States to The National Theatre in Addis Ababa. From the Opera House of Dubai in The United Emirates to London Palladium in England. Sissay was the first poet commissioned to write for The Olympics in 2012. His Olympic poem Spark Catchers is a landmark poem on Queen Elizabeth Park today. His other landmark Poems are in Manchester London and Addis Ababa. There have been a few BBC TV documentaries about his life the latest is “The memory of me”. Listen to his desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 or “Origin Stories” his series on Superheroes relating to the care system. His Channel Four Documentary “Superkids” was nominated for BAFTA, Broadcast and Grierson Awards. Lemn Sissay has received seven Honorary Doctorates at Universities throughout UK.. He is presently Honorary Bencher at The Inner Temple. He is Honorary Chair of creative writing at The University of Manchester. Lemn was approached by The City of London and accepted Freedom of The City of London. To be approached in such a way is an honour which includes Nelson Mandela. He has been photographed by Steve McCurry, Rankin, Zoë Law and Ethiopia’s greatest living photographer Aida Muluneh. A painting of Lemn is in The National Portrait gallery. He is trustee of The Foundling Museum under its new director Emma Ridgway and he is founding trustee of The Gold From The Stone Foundation which supports Christmas Dinners for Care Leavers on Christmas Day. Thursday 16 October 2025 16:30–17:30 Empowering the Vulnerable: Lemn Sissay's Journey of Advocacy and Change Main Stage, New Dock Hall Go to session

Asim AliVice-President of Sales < Speakers < Previous Next > Asim Ali Vice-President of Sales Granicus For almost 25 years, Asim has worked closely with Public Sector organisations, helping them use digital tools, technology, and consultancy to gain better outcomes for their customers, whilst creating significant internal efficiencies and cost-savings. Over the last decade, UK public sector bodies, have been under tremendous pressure to continue to provide services to their communities whilst having to make huge cuts to their budgets. Over 450 public sector agencies have turned to Granicus to help them to reach and… Show More

Leanda CableLead Specialist in Strategy & Resource Directorate < Speakers < Previous Next > Leanda Cable Lead Specialist in Strategy & Resource Directorate Maldon District Council Leanda has worked in local government for 18 years mainly specialising in skills and economic development. She has a passion for delivering projects for local businesses and communities. In her current role, Leanda is leading on Maldon District Council’s UK Shared and Rural England Prosperity Fund allocations and delivering the Corporate Plan Priority of Helping the Economy to Thrive.

< All sponsors Govmetric Stand 23 www.govmetric.com Customer engagement solutions built for the public sector. Harness the power of the customer voice to design services that meet the needs of your citizens and communities.

Hal KhanomHead of Strategy and Community Participation < Speakers < Previous Next > Hal Khanom Head of Strategy and Community Participation London Borough of Barnet Hal is a strategist and service designer who works alongside communities to develop new solutions to increasingly complex challenges. She rethinks systems, the ways we work and how we relate to the place around us, to support democratic renewal and greater fairness. Translating ideas into delivery, she has lead work at neighbourhood level that creates the conditions for inclusive economies; leading socioeconomic projects and programmes in inner and outer London in local government, and across the most disadvantaged areas in… Show More

All Speakers John Clarke Head of Client Solution – Healthcare, Netcall John Clarke is Head of Client Solution – Healthcare at Netcall, leading strategy and partnerships across the NHS and wider health sector. A former Chief Information Officer with over two decades’ board-level experience, he is recognised for driving innovation in patient engagement, data-led decision making, and technology-enabled service redesign. Passionate about aligning local power with national ambition, John works with leaders across health and care to help deliver the 10-Year Health Strategy through more efficient, collaborative, and patient-focused services. Thursday 16 October 2025 14:15–14:55 Local Power, National Plan: Delivering the 10-Year Health Strategy Bury Theatre, Royal Armouries Go to session