We're still refining the full programme, but we're thrilled to share a glimpse of the sessions and speakers already confirmed.
A1: At the Table | Leadership in IT Procurement
As digital systems become central to the delivery and sustainability of social care, IT procurement has become a critical leadership issue. For CEOs and boards, decisions about digital investment have long‑term implications for care quality, workforce effectiveness and organisational resilience.
This session brings together a panel that reflects the full ecosystem of procurement and digital change:
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Procurement expertise and a sector‑wide perspective, offering insight into market dynamics and best‑practice approaches for social care.
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A member organisation that has recently completed an IT procurement process, sharing real‑world lessons from navigating complexity, managing risk and shaping cultural change.
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A digital transformation or CIO‑level leader, exploring how executive teams set digital direction, manage legacy challenges and lead organisation‑wide adoption.
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A technology supplier, providing a transparent view of product evolution, partnership working and what meaningful collaboration with providers looks like.
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An independent chair, ensuring balance, constructive challenge and clear take‑away learning.
Grounded in real‑world experience, the discussion will examine common challenges faced by CEOs: defining system requirements, achieving value for money, managing implementation risk, ensuring interoperability, and building digital capability across the workforce.
The session will close with a concise set of practical takeaways, with each panel member offering two or three top tips for leaders approaching IT procurement and digital investment.
Christoph Marr
Hari Punchihewa
A2: Commissioning for the Future
The need to reframe commissioning and deliver change has never been more pressing, with rising demand, costs and staff vacancies. A model of asset-based commissioning based on co-production, trust, collaboration and person-centred outcomes is emerging, but it remains too rarely a reality. Our panel of experts will share their reflections and provocations on how effective commissioning can no longer just exist in pockets but is essential to the future of VCFSE delivery of care and support.
A3: SEND Futures | What do the SEND Reforms Mean for Specialist Support?
While the principles of SEND reforms are laudable, the potential impact on specialist support is concerning. The mainstream focus, potential introduction of a price cap and funding bands mean the provision many children and young people rely on will need to significantly change, impacting outcomes, pathways and the viability of existing support. This session invites speakers to share their insights on what current SEND reforms mean for VCFSE provision, organisational change issues and the opportunities that ensure essential provision is not lost.
James Watson O’Neill
B1: Reserves, Risk and Reputation | Making Confident Calls in the Public Eye
Reserves are no longer just a technical line in the accounts. For disability and care providers operating under increasing financial, regulatory and public scrutiny, reserves have become a visible signal of organisational judgement, resilience and trust.
CEOs are expected to justify reserve levels to multiple audiences — boards, regulators, commissioners, staff and, in some cases, the media — each interpreting the same numbers very differently. Too often, organisations find themselves challenged either for holding “too much” or for operating with insufficient headroom, with reputational damage occurring well before any formal financial distress.
This session explores reserves not as cash to be defended, but as risk capacity — the strategic flexibility that allows organisations to absorb shocks, respond to uncertainty and invest with confidence. It will also consider the implications of upcoming SORP 2026 requirements, which will place greater emphasis on transparency around how charities calculate their free reserves and how those figures clearly reconcile back to the financial statements.
Drawing on sector‑wide insight, the session will examine common leadership traps, how stronger organisations link reserves explicitly to organisational risk, and how some charities are adopting more thoughtful, risk‑informed approaches to setting and explaining reserve levels. Throughout, the focus will be on helping CEOs articulate financial decisions clearly, calmly and consistently in high‑profile and often contested spaces.
Designed for senior leaders rather than finance specialists, this session is about financial judgement, narrative and leadership — supporting CEOs to make confident calls in complex environments, while remaining credible with boards, regulators and stakeholders.
Stuart McKay
Angela Murphy
B3 | Delivering the Housing Options Disabled People Need
Good quality housing, in the right place is essential to people’s quality of life. Many disabled people cannot access the housing they need because of countless barriers including a shortage of appropriate housing options and archaic funding rules. But solutions do exist and this session explores how different ways of working are rewriting the rules and freeing up resources to meet disabled people’s needs so they can live the lives they choose.
Paul Smith
C1: Leading Through Critical Incidents
When a serious incident occurs, responsibility quickly narrows—and ultimately rests with the CEO.
This session puts CEOs at the table with the people they most need in the first critical hours: legal, insurance, delivery partners and peers who have lived through it themselves. Through a live scenario and candid, member‑level discussion, we explore the leadership calls that cannot be delegated, the trade‑offs that define outcomes, and the personal judgement required when scrutiny is at its highest.
The panel brings together:
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A senior representative from Delphi Care, reflecting the operational and supplier realities CEOs must confront under pressure
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A legal expert from Trowers, speaking to regulatory exposure, investigations and the risks created by early decisions
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An insurance specialist from Howden, clarifying what insurers need from CEOs in the moment — and what can quietly jeopardise cover
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A member CEO who has experienced a major incident, offering an unfiltered account of what it actually feels like when it’s on you
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A PR and communications expert, focused on trust, narrative control and leadership credibility in the public eye
Rather than rehearsing processes or playbooks, this session focuses on the human and strategic dimension of crisis leadership: what CEOs are personally accountable for, how competing advice collides in real time, and which early choices shape reputational, legal, and financial outcomes long after the incident itself has passed.
Jonathan Taylor
Holly Spiers
C3: Neighbourhood Health | Lessons from Mental Health
Neighbourhood Health is one of the government’s hot topics, but what role can social care play in its delivery and success? Real-world examples from mental health, housing and elsewhere provide helpful insight into how much of the support already being delivered across social care, contributes to neighbourhood health and offers huge potential to address the health inequalities faced by disabled people and their families.
Jane Hughes
Closing Panel: AI at the Heart of Leadership | Shaping the Choices We Face Together
Artificial intelligence is reshaping expectations for organisational leadership at an unprecedented pace. For CEOs, the challenge is no longer simply understanding the technology but navigating the strategic, ethical, and cultural decisions that will determine whether AI strengthens—or undermines—organisational purpose, trust, and performance.
In this high-level panel discussion, leaders from across research, technology, regulation, health and the voluntary sector will explore the real choices facing organisations in 2026. Moving beyond hype, the conversation will examine how AI is influencing governance, productivity, risk management, workforce change, and the relationship between organisations and the people they support.
Bringing together perspectives from cutting-edge innovation, independent analysis and frontline operational experience, this session offers delegates a rare opportunity to hear honest reflections on what’s working, what isn’t, and what leaders must prioritise next. Expect provocation, practical insights, and clarity on the decisions you should make now to future-proof your organisation.
Michelle Corrigan
Helen England
Ian Drew
David Leslie
