Title

SOCIAL CARE

Elevating ambitions through co-production

Chief executive officer at IMPOWER Sean Hanson looks forward to the National Children and Adult Services Conference. As gold sponsor, IMPOWER will focus on elevating ambitions and developing effective co-production for better outcomes.

‘Ambition is enthusiasm with purpose' – Frank Tyger

The National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC), the largest gathering of social care leaders, is only a few days away. As gold sponsor, IMPOWER's presence, focused on elevating ambitions and developing effective co-production for better outcomes, is echoed throughout the programming.

Working closely with the Local Government Association, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), and Association of Directors of Children's Services, a key element to our sponsorship is the feedback wall where participants can share their challenges and experiences. Other important parts are the five Big Chats – talks by local areas embarking on co-production – a breakfast fringe workshop about resetting intermediate care, and a plenary about setting and achieving bigger ambitions.

The Big Chats, developed in collaboration with Think Local Act Personal and Social Care Future, will lead conversations about the importance of co-production, through a series of short interviews highlighting local areas and their unique journeys, within the exhibition space.

We look forward to releasing our latest reports at NCASC. The first is Intermediate Care – The Reset, developed in partnership with ADASS. We will also share our new High Hopes for High Needs report, which focuses on creating a more resilient special educational needs and disabilities system.

In our fringe session, we will be discussing approaches to rethinking ambitions in intermediate care. With people at the heart of the conversation, the discussion will draw from individuals' lived experiences to drive how the system can operate and deliver better outcomes.

Our plenary will focus on the possibility of setting bigger ambitions for effective adult and children's services. Outlined in case studies from Derby and Norfolk, the presentations will address how co-production and expanding beyond the controllable system by working together can lead to better results.

We look forward to the conference and believe passionately that by growing our ambitions and working together to co-produce, we can create better outcomes that leave lasting change.

This column is brought to you by www.impower.co.uk

Sean Hanson is chief executive officer, IMPOWER

This article is sponsored content for The MJ

SOCIAL CARE

Windsor and Maidenhead Council: Back from the brink

By Stephen Evans | 08 October 2026

Windsor and Maidenhead Council has changed from a council on the edge to one that is balancing budgets in-year, and delivering real change – while using exce...

SOCIAL CARE

Devolution's next challenge: Building capable places

By Thomas Johnson | 07 October 2026

Thomas Johnson looks at what Greater Manchester’s experience suggests about the next stage of devolution and rewiring the state.

SOCIAL CARE

Why complaints won't wait for reform

By Amerdeep Clarke | 07 October 2026

Amerdeep Clarke sets out four things councils can fix in adult social care today.

SOCIAL CARE

Cracking down on profiteering

By Paul Marinko | 06 October 2026

Following our focus on sector concerns at national efforts to curb the use of unregistered children’s care placements in last week’s edition, this week The M...

Popular articles by Sean Hanson

-->