Workshops

Morning workshops – 12:00

Reimaging the future zone

1. AI into Action: Empowering the sector

This workshop will consider the necessary steps for health and social care organisations at every stage of their AI journey.

Together, we will examine how AI can be implemented to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and strengthen organisational impact. We will also highlight how AI can enhance storytelling—helping services communicate their value, demonstrate outcomes, and connect meaningfully with the communities they serve.

Throughout the session, the emphasis will remain on aligning AI practices with national policy priorities and the core values of the health and social care sector, ensuring that innovation supports both organisational goals and the wider mission of delivering compassionate, person‑centred care.

Hope to action zone

2. Reframing for a better future: Positive communications in the third sector

Effective communication is central to how third sector organisations inspire action, build trust, and create change. Too often, messaging can unintentionally emphasise despair or crisis, leaving audiences feeling overwhelmed rather than motivated. This workshop will explore how framing and communications can shift towards a more hopeful, constructive narrative—one that highlights solutions, resilience, and the possibility of progress.

Designed for charities, community groups, and non-profits seeking to strengthen their communications approach, the session will introduce participants to practical tools and examples of positive framing.

Participants will:

• Understand the power of framing and how it shapes public perception and engagement
• Learn approaches to highlight hope and possibility without minimising challenges.
• Gain practical techniques to reframe narratives so that communications inspire action rather than fatigue.

Creative zone

3. Reclaiming the narrative: Creative methods as an intersectional approach to challenging stigma

Creative arts-based approaches can help communicate experiences, stories and complex issues in visual and creative ways. It can build confidence, empower people and provide an accessible way to share experiences.

Join the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) and See Me for a participative workshop to explore how people can use creative methods to challenge stigma and help reclaim their narrative. 

You’ll hear how creative methods can be used to reframe mental health, wellbeing and life stories, and get the chance to try it out yourself through zine making.

Zine making involves creating small, self published booklets that often feature a mix of text and images. Zines serve as a medium for personal expression, grassroots activism, allowing creators to explore individual topics, share unique perspectives, and reach diverse audiences. This session offers a chance to:

• Learn more about tackling different forms of stigma through creative methods
• Be inspired by projects where creative approaches have been used to challenge stigma
• Get hands-on experience and try out zine making activities

No prior experience of zine making required!

Prevention zone

4. Delivering on prevention

In September 2025, a partnership of national and local third and community sector intermediaries and organisations came together in the spirit of collaboration to issue a joint statement on prevention. This statement from the ALLIANCE, the ECHF, SCDC: CHEX, and VHS was also accompanied by examples of prevention work being delivered by our members and networks.

We wrote the statement as a call for urgent action by decision makers at local and national level to put ambitious commitments into practice. We think that three key things are needed:  

• a clear, specific, and consistently applied definition of prevention,
• an intentional approach to achieve the ‘hard to do’ elements of implementation, and
• a sustainably resourced third and community sector that is treated as an equal partner in decision making, alongside a public sector committed to working in, and with, communities.

We’d love it if you could join us at this workshop to hear more about our statement and take part in a discussion about what’s needed now to put ambitious prevention commitments into action. 

Rights and equality zone

5. Challenging toxic narratives around people in the asylum system

Narratives around asylum in the UK are becoming increasingly toxic and Home Office proposals could make the immigration system even more hostile. Dehumanising language is used to discuss people seeking safety and sanctuary, while housing scarcity is weaponised to spread disinformation. This dangerous rhetoric threatens to divide communities and puts men, women and children who have fled war and persecution at risk. But these negative forces can and must be challenged through united action. Join us to explore how we can:

• Tell stories that highlight fairness and the positive contributions people coming to Scotland are making
• Expose false claims being made about refugees and people seeking asylum, and focus on the positive
• Build cross-sector alliances that can amplify voices, foster collective resilience – and change the narrative

Integration zone

6. My Home, My Community: Housing and integration

Housing is more than bricks and mortar – it’s a foundation for health, wellbeing, and community.

This session will explore housing as a critical social determinant of health and why stronger integration between housing, health and social care, and the third sector is essential to tackling inequalities. We’ll look beyond the walls of the house to the importance of home and community in supporting wellbeing for everyone.

Join a diverse panel discussion and Q&A to unpack what housing really means in this context and how we can move from conversation to action.

Members zone

7. Priorities in Action: Shaping health and social care

At the ALLIANCE, our members sit at the centre of our priorities, and this workshop will support you to get your voice heard.

By discussing with fellow ALLIANCE members and conference delegates, groups are asked to produce their own top priorities for the year, and present these back to the workshop.

We hope this session will spark conversation, contribute to future thinking, and strengthen the ALLIANCE’s collective voice

This workshop is for people interested in contributing to the ALLIANCE’s work through sharing their priorities, and integrating these into the ALLIANCE’s future work.

Afternoon workshops – 1:40pm

Reimaging the future zone

1 Democracy in Practice: How citizens shape the future

In an era of rapid social, political, and technological change, the role of citizens and civil society has never been more critical. This workshop will explore how communities – particularly young people and other voices too often overlooked – can participate meaningfully in democratic processes and influence decision-makers.

Drawing on insights from civil society leaders, youth advocates, and individuals with lived experience, the session will examine practical strategies for strengthening participation, building trust, and creating inclusive spaces for policy dialogue.

The workshop will also showcase real-world examples and case studies that address barriers to democratic engagement. Participants will consider how organisations can empower citizens, amplify their voices, and ensure they are heard in shaping policy and driving change.

Hope to action zone

2 Our Collective Voice: Setting the agenda for the next Scottish Parliament

The 2026 Scottish Parliament election takes place in the context of serious, overlapping challenges. Half of adults in Scotland now live with a long term condition and the number of unpaid carers continue to rise. Ongoing pressure on public finance negatively impacts on the delivery of essential public services and the third sector is stretched to breaking point. At the same time, our everyday rights are under increasing threat. 

However, the challenges Scotland faces are not insurmountable if we collectively rise to meet them. The ALLIANCE have a vision of Scotland as a human rights leader, with fair finances and an equitable economy. A Scotland where in equal partnership with the third sector, we renew social care and deliver public services for everyone, rooted in effective prevention, early intervention, and lifelong support. 

At this session we’ll set out the calls for action in the ALLIANCE’s 2026 election manifesto. We’ll also hear from members and partners about their own priorities, and how we can collectively work together to deliver change in the next parliament.  

This workshop is for people interested in:  

• The ALLIANCE’s priorities for the 2026-31 Scottish Parliament 
• Influencing the next Scottish Parliament and Government 
• Building connections across the third sector to deliver change 

Creative zone

3. Changing the rules through legislative theatre

How do the “invisible rules” shaping health and social care get made, and how can we change them? This practical, participatory workshop led by Active Inquiry introduces Legislative Theatre, an interactive drama method that brings hidden policies, power dynamics and everyday barriers to the surface. Through engaging drama games and simple image exercises, participants will collectively map the formal and informal rules that limit equity in their professional contexts.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with renewed insight into how drama can be used to identify and change unhelpful rules.

Participants will gain:

• Practical techniques for surfacing and examining hidden rules in health and social care.
• Creative strategies for re-shaping unhelpful rules into more equitable and effective alternatives.
• Tools to facilitate participatory, arts-based policy conversations within their own teams, organisations, or communities.

Prevention zone

4. Prevention through self management: Taking charge of your health

Prevention is at the heart of good health and preventing illness, and Self management is key to making it happen. By actively managing our wellbeing, we can prevent illness, manage and slow the progression of existing conditions , and live fuller lives.  

Join us as we celebrate the power of self management and we hear from past winners, nominees and judges of the Self Management Awards. Together, we will explore practical ways of preventing health challenges before they arise, and ways of maintaining and improving health, and ensuring our lives are our own. We’ll be discussing what good self management can look like, how we can do it for ourselves, and how we can support others’ self management. 

Plus, get a first look at our 2026 Self Management Awards as we share the new award categories and what makes a strong award nomination! 

Participants will gain:  

• Knowledge of practical prevention strategies and how self management can stop illness before it starts or worsens 
• Listen to real world stories from award winners and nominees who have used self management approaches to transform their health  
• Insider guidance on crafting impactful nominations for the 2026 Self Management Awards 

Rights and equality zone

5. Inclusion Health: What this means for people and communities

Inclusion health is an approach that seeks to reduce health inequalities experienced by marginalised and socially excluded groups. It aims to improve access to healthcare and strengthen overall health outcomes for those who often face barriers to support. This workshop will bring together experienced professionals who have worked across primary care and community settings to champion inclusion health. They will share practical insights, case studies, and strategies that have helped prevent worsening health outcomes for people with the greatest needs, while also proactively engaging those who are often ‘missing’ from the system but require support to manage their health and social circumstances.

By attending this workshop, participants will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of inclusion health principles and how they can be applied to reduce inequalities in healthcare delivery.
• Learn practical strategies for identifying and engaging excluded populations, including those who may not currently access services but are at risk of poor health outcomes.
• Develop skills to integrate inclusion health approaches into everyday practice, ensuring that healthcare systems are more responsive, equitable, and person-centred.

Integration zone

6. Scotland’s Health and Social Care Reform Journey: The role of the third sector in the Service Renewal Framework and the Population Health Framework

The Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework provides a high‑level guide for change, setting out ambitions to ensure the sustainability, efficiency, quality, and accessibility of services in Scotland. This workshop will introduce participants to the themes and priorities of the framework, creating space to reflect on what renewal means in practice for organisations across health, social care, and the third sector.

The session will be shaped around discussion of the framework’s vision for recovery and transformation. Participants will explore how renewal can be embedded into everyday practice, and how collaborative approaches can strengthen outcomes for communities. The emphasis will be on understanding the framework as a tool for guiding change, while leaving room for different perspectives and applications depending on organisational context.

Members zone

7. ALLIANCE Connect: Member Networking Session

ALLIANCE Connect is the ALLIANCE’s networking session, supporting connection across the third sector and health and social care, with people with lived experience of disability, long term conditions or unpaid carers, to discuss, connect and highlight innovation approaches to health and social care across Scotland.

Join us to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and learn more about best practice for working in the third sector.

This workshop is for people interested in learning more about the work taking place in the third sector, connecting with like-minded individuals, and sharing best learning from their own work or experiences.

Register for a place at our conference and submit your workshop choices.