IFIC Scotland Conference: From Innovation to Impact

IFIC Scotland and partners invite you to join them for their second annual conference focusing on impact and innovation.

This one-day collaborative learning event shares local, national and international experience of implementing integrated care and support. Participants will consider the innovation and improvement required for Health and Social Care Service Renewal and to implement key priorities from the Care Reform (Scotland) Act.  

Thanks to generous support from IMPACT – UK Centre to Improve Adult Social Care and from our Knowledge Partners, we are pleased to offer this full day event at a delegate rate of £50. 

Themed sessions and breakouts will include:

• Preventative, proactive and place-based care and support  
• Digital innovation for health, social care, housing and wellbeing
• Collaborative workforce solutions and inter-professional education 
• Embedding lived experience in learning ecosystems
• Investing for value and outcomes

Reserve your place at our booking page and select either in-person or online participation.

Please note that online delegates will attend breakout sessions 2A and 3A, so will not have a choice of sessions when registering.

Online delegates will receive a link to join the hybrid sessions live or watch on demand.  

For more information, contact Emma Nieminen: IFICScotland@integratedcarefoundation.org

Agenda

Speakers

This event will feature a wide range of speakers:

Connie is a senior leader with extensive experience leading workforce transformation, organisational development and system improvement across Scottish Government and the wider public sector. She is recognised for her collaborative, values-based leadership style, with a strong focus on empowering people, building inclusive cultures and leading organisations through complex change.  Connie has a particular interest in organisational culture and leadership research, and has contributed to national research with the University of the West of Scotland exploring the cultural and leadership conditions required for successful integration and system reform across health and social care. She previously led on Future Workforce policy for the National Care Service Programme.

Billy oversees the design and delivery of services for people in Renfrewshire including adults, older people, mental health and learning disabilities; responsible for a budget over £400 million. He previously served as Head of Community Health and Care Services at South Ayrshire HSCP. An internationally respected leader in health and social care, Billy is known for radical place leadership, commitment to community-led models that put people first and a focus on a whole system approach to prevention. A passionate advocate for equity and community engagement, he is committed to strengthening the role of third sector organisations in improving health and wellbeing outcomes, shifting power closer to communities and organising service delivery to focus on the support people really need.

With over 20 years’ experience across the Scottish Government and NHS Fife, Margaret  brings strong expertise in strategic leadership and large-scale transformation. Since 2024, she has led national collaboration to advance digital innovation in social care, social work and housing including development of the Digital Care Collaborative Scotland. Margaret also leads Digital Lifelines Scotland, reducing harm among people who use drugs through digital inclusion. Previously, she headed the national Technology Enabled Care Programme. She champions integrated, technology-enabled care and is Chair of Hanover Housing Association.

A qualified Social Worker, Gordon has worked in Social Work and Adult Social Care for over thirty years.  For much of his career he worked in Local Authority Social Work Services as a practitioner, trainer, commissioner, service provider and manager.  He has since worked as a Policy Manager in the Scottish Government; as Chief Inspector (Adult Services) in the Care Inspectorate; and as a Chief Officer of a Health and Social Care Partnership. PSD Scotland was established on 1 April 2026 by bringing together NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). Concentrating expertise in one national organisation aims to achieve improved outcomes for people accessing services, by supporting health and social care delivery; workforce planning and development; digital delivery and transformation; national programmes and infrastructure.

Richard was appointed Chief Executive of SFHA in September 2025, representing Scotland’s housing associations and co-operatives, supporting them to deliver safe, warm and affordable homes for over 500,000 people.  He has more than 20 years of experience of working in the third sector, having previously served as Director of Devolved Nations at Carers UK and as Head of Policy & Public Affairs at Marie Curie. He has a strong track record in policy and public-affairs and senior leadership, which has resulted in significant public policy change in Scotland.  Richard is a member of the Institute of Leadership, has a Master of Public Health, alongside an MSc in Policy studies, and a degree in History and Politics. He has contributed to a range of research during his career including on public health, palliative care, and unpaid care.

With Jennifer Wallace, Richard is co-lead for the  Reframing Public Perceptions of Social Care project that aims to advance the vison for adult social care and support in Scotland.  Richard is also Research Fellow at the Centre for Disability Research at University of Glasgow where he conducts collaborative research about the barriers to independent living experienced by disabled people, particularly in relation to social care.

Professor Louise McCabe, Dementia and Ageing Division, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling; Head of Evidence and Evaluation and Scotland Lead at IMPACT (Improving Adult Care Together)

Louise has worked in the field of dementia studies in both practice and academia for over twenty years, starting her career as a care worker in residential homes for older people.  She was part of the team that developed the first online MSc in Dementia Studies programme, launched in 2003.  Louise’s research interests lie within the fields of dementia studies and gerontology. Her research mainly utilises participatory, qualitative methods to engage with the experiences and views of older people, people with dementia and their carers as well as realist evaluation methods to explore service delivery and outcomes. Research outputs include user-focused evaluations and cross-national studies of care services for older people in Europe and Asia. 

Rhiann has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Glasgow and started her career in social care as a community support assistant before progressing to boundary-spanning roles across research, evaluation, public engagement, and co-production. She has a specialist interest in co-production with marginalised groups including people with learning disabilities, autistic people, disabled women who have faced gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ disabled people and care experienced people. Rhiann is passionate about raising the profile of evidence in social care.

Kerry is an Applied Health Services Researcher and trained Social Worker who earned her PhD in Health Services and Policy Research from the University of Toronto and completed a Postdoctoral Visiting Fellowship at the University of Oxford.  She supervises graduate students and serves as Course Director for a graduate-level course she developed on Patient and Caregiver Engagement in Research. Kerry leads a program of research focused on the experiences of individuals with chronic health conditions and their family caregivers, with the aim of improving care quality and health system performance through meaningful partnerships with patients, caregivers, and providers.  She is Associate Editor for the international, peer-reviewed journal Health Expectations. 

Sara is responsible for leading and continuing to shape the vision and strategic direction of the organisation, and overseeing the ALLIANCE’s portfolio of programmes. Central to this is ensuring a strong voice for disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers and opportunity to influence change based on their lived experiences.  Sara’s works closely with ALLIANCE members, developing innovative partnerships that show how change can be achieved, and promoting the role of the third sector as a key innovator and partner in realising Scotland’s national health and wellbeing outcomes.

Gareth Marr, Chief Officer, Dumfries and Galloway HSPC

Gareth is a passionate and experienced healthcare leader who’s spent over 15 years working across the UK and Australia, always with a focus on improving services and supporting people’s wellbeing. He’s currently the Chief Officer at Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership, where he’s helping to shape the future of integrated health and social care in the region. Gareth previously led major improvement work in mental health and learning disabilities at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, combining strategic programme leadership with hands-on operational management roles. He has a reputation for being thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply committed to making services better for the people who rely on them and brings a grounded, compassionate approach to everything he does.

Joanna has over 35 years’ experience in social care, social work and health spanning various roles including as Chief Officer of two Integration Joint Boards.  At the heart of Joanna’s work is a strong commitment to people – the individuals, families and communities served by social work, and the workforce who support them. She is known for leading with compassion, integrity and respect, and for championing social work as a profession, a calling, rooted in purpose, values and positive change. Joanna is proud to serve as Scotland’s first Chief Executive of the National Social Work Agency and to champion a profession that changes lives.

Eddie was the first Social Worker to become a local authority Chief Executive in Scotland in 2020, having been East Ayrshire Head of Community Care/Chief Social Work Officer then Director of Health and Social Care from 2014.  He is the Council’s Chief Adviser on policy matters and responsible for ensuring the efficient, effective and equitable implementation of the Council’s vision and strategic priorities, as set out within the Community Plan.  His goals are to lead an organisation that is community focussed and works across wellbeing, economy and skills, and safer communities in an integrated way for the benefit of local residents. Eddie has a strong commitment to supporting people achieve their personal outcomes and has been engaged in partnerships at a national and local level to promote person centred, integrated and cross sector working.

Passionate about improving outcomes that truly matter to people, Anne is working across systems, services and teams to embed outcome‑driven, person‑centred approaches that reshape how care is designed and delivered. Alongside this, she works as Lead Pharmacist for Clinical Services in primary care, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with a grounding in medicines optimisation and interdisciplinary working. Having a dual role enables her to bridge clinical practice with system‑level transformation, ensuring that innovation remains practical, feasible, and aligned with frontline realities. She has recently completed the Scottish Quality and Safety Fellowship, enhancing her skills to lead system improvement with a current focus on reducing overprescribing.

Alice provides strategic leadership for the cross-sector development and delivery of the Primary Care and Community Health Route Map, shaping policy direction and driving collaboration across health and care partners. Her work focuses on delivering key system outcomes, including improving access, shifting the balance of care into communities, strengthening quality and continuity, and advancing more person-centred, connected services. She has a strong track record in leading complex, high-profile government strategies and programmes. Her previous roles include work on the National Mission on Drugs, supporting Redress Scotland in response to historical child abuse, and playing a leading role in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.

Anne is a retired geriatrician who held national clinical lead roles in Scotland for policy and improvement programmes on Long Term Conditions; Healthcare Quality; Reshaping Care for Older People; and Integrated health and social care. Through IFICs Academy and Solutions teams she supports integrated care education and system coaching in the UK and beyond.  She was Honorary Secretary, British Geriatrics Society 2021 – 2023, is Chair of Kilbryde Hospice and a Trustee director of Compassionate Inverclyde.

Ann Marie Penman, IMPACT Co production Advisory Group

Ann Marie is an unpaid carer. Too often, the voices and views of lived experience are not listened to. Ann Marie sees IMPACT as an opportunity to share her lived experiences, as a carer, in a place where they will be heard, and can contribute to positive change within adult social care.

Event sponsor

IMPACT is the UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, working to promote positive change that improves the lives of people who draw on care and support and their carers.

Knowledge partners

With thanks to the lead partners:

IFIC Scotland brings together a national network of partners to support people‑centred integrated care, with a shared mission of co‑creating a healthier future by developing compassionate leaders and translating evidence into policy and practice.

Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) is the national third sector membership body for health and social care in Scotland, bringing together people, organisations and lived experience to shape services and improve wellbeing across communities.

University of the West of Scotland is a founding partner of IFIC Scotland, bringing its expertise in education, research and leadership development to support the design and delivery of people‑centred integrated care. Through its work with IFIC and partners, UWS plays a key role in developing the knowledge, skills and evidence needed to transform practice and improve outcomes.

Health and Social Care Scotland is a national collaboration of leaders from across health and social care partnerships, working collectively to deliver sustainable, integrated services and better outcomes for people and communities.

Don’t miss out. Book your place here.

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