The ever-popular Innovation Zone returns to conference
Where else can you find sector-leading solutions to service pressures alongside cutting-edge artificial intelligence applications?
Or first-person insights into improvement and intervention served up in a friendly learning atmosphere, with great coffee too?
These are just some of the reasons that the Innovation Zone has become the ‘ideas hub’ of the LGA’s annual conference, giving councils and partners the opportunity to showcase their innovative solutions to the sector’s challenges.
Taking place within the main conference from 1-3 July in Liverpool, the zone will once again provide a vibrant and interactive space for delegates, with more than 40 engaging talks on everything from social services and artificial intelligence (AI) to housing, workforce and more.
All sessions will be creative and interactive, with opportunities for delegates to ask questions and share learning about improving local government services and communities across all regions.
Our highly regarded ‘Spotlight on’ sessions feature again this year, providing talks on cutting edge issues that aim to challenge and inspire.
Our first ‘Spotlight on’ will be focused on the work of Westmorland and Furness Council to build a sense of belonging and encourage staff engagement in the new council, including their exciting staff expo.
Their session will have valuable learning for colleagues creating a new culture in a unitary council after reorganisation.
This year, for the first time, a workshop and fringe session in the main conference programme will be utilised to showcase some of the best of the Innovation Zone.
The workshop will focus on the Prisoners Building Homes project – an award-winning, cross-government programme that unlocks land to deliver affordable, high-quality, low carbon modular homes for local communities while creating paid job opportunities and nationally accredited training for serving prisoners and prison leavers.
The fringe session will highlight projects across different local authorities through a panel discussion focused on AI. This includes North Yorkshire’s Policy Buddy, which is transforming social work, and Basildon’s creation of a strategy to embed AI solutions into the council’s infrastructure.
I am particularly looking forward to chairing an ‘In conversation’ session on tech-enabled care. This will cover St Helens Borough Council’s introduction of a new TEC Hub to enable individuals to live more independently while still receiving effective care; and Hampshire County Council’s partnership work with the Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation to model future demand for extra care housing, using advanced analytics and techniques not previously seen in the sector.
With thanks to Newton, our Innovation Zone sponsor, the zone will also include a series of talks hosted by the company and its partners, including a session with the Royal Borough of Greenwich on how it restructured its services to create an extended Disabled Children and Young People Service, achieving a 40 per cent reduction in care costs for young people transitioning to adult social care.
Finally, besides its own excellent programme of events, Newton will again be supplying free coffee throughout the conference, brewed by professional baristas, to give delegates a chance to recharge. I look forward to seeing you in Liverpool!
- Visit www.local.gov.uk/conference to find out more about the Innovation Zone and book your conference place