The Herald Society Ideas Exchange

The Herald Society Awards & Ideas Exchange 2011 in partnership with Big Lottery Fund is a unique one day event that providesanyone working in the public or third sector with the opportunity to engage with leading thinkers in an exchange of ideas with panel members and attendees.

The agenda of change in the public sector requires many organisations to operate in a new way and will often require expertise that they do not have. New models of service delivery can be a key means of achieving this, bringing in the expertise of the private sector and social enterprises.

This event presents the opportunity to learn about the latest innovative strategies and best practice solutions. We will share success stories, highlight great work from across the country and showcase creative approaches which have
proved successful elsewhere.

This is a great opportunity to engage with your peers and embrace new ideas and ways of working. The exchange will culminate with the presentation of The Herald Society Awards and provide an opportunity to celebrate the great work taking place in Scotland.

This must attend event is for anyone involved in the public or third sector in Scotland.

09.30	Arrival, registration and refreshments
09.45	Introductions Shereen Nanjiani, Event Host Welcome address Jackie Kileen, Director, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Warm-up – Thinktastic
10.15	Thinking as One This section will examine successful policies which have achieved positive outcomes and explore the ways they can be applied in the public and third sectors. The format is keynote speaker, panel discussion and audience Q & A. Keynote address Colin Mair, Chief Executive, Improvement Service Panel members Jennifer davidson, Director, Celis Stephen Naysmith, Editor, Herald Society Andy Wightman, Land Reform
11.15	Refreshment break

11.35	Best Practice – What does it mean to you? What is best practice and what does it mean to you? This session will look back at three case studies from previous winners of The Herald Society Awards and examine how they succeeded into putting best practice into action. Delegates will then be split into groups and challenged to explore their definitions and asked to share their experiences. This interactive session will be led by Thinktastic.
13.00	Lunch
14.00	People Power The changing financial climate has brought new pressures and rapid demands for changes in the way services are delivered in the public, private and voluntary sectors. But while lip service is paid to empowering communities, very often this doesn’t translate into a real sense that ordinary people can become involved in changing their circumstances.People have lost their sense of being citizens, and public services have increasingly treated them as consumers, following models from the private sector. This has big implications for community and democratic engagement. Seattle and other parts of the world following the Neighbour Power model are tipping the balance back towards the citizen. Examples of community organising techniques and how to develop an inclusive bottom-up neighbourhood plan. Is it true that really effective change can only happen when it is driven by communities themselves? What barriers, such as cynicism and lack of confidence prevent this? What are the other barriers to community engagement – such as vested interests, and how can they be overcome? For neighbourhood action to be possible, public authorities have to hand over real power – but can the authorities be persuaded to change? A paradigm shift is needed, breaking away from silos of need such as homelessness, elderly care, vulnerable children and health. This means huge challenges for statutory services and the voluntary sector alike. Scotland has a strong tradition of community action, but what can it learn from the concept of Neighbour Power, and how can these lessons be applied in times of austerity? How do we encourage people to think big and share their knowledge and skills? Keynote address Jim Diers
15.00	Review of the day
15.15	Refresh ment break
15.45	Award ceremony
16.45	Drinks and canapes

Follow my live tweets tomorrow via #ideaexchange11