Twenty years of the ALLIANCE: Reflecting on progress and renewing our purpose  

As we enter the new year, 2026 is an important milestone for the ALLIANCE; it is our 20 year anniversary.

This year marks 20 years of the ALLIANCE. It is a milestone we want to celebrate; not simply because of the passage of time, but because of what has been achieved collectively over the past two decades, and because of what still lies ahead. 

From the beginning, the ALLIANCE has existed to bring people together. To amplify voices that are too often unheard. To challenge where systems fall short, and to work collaboratively towards change. Over 20 years, that purpose has remained constant, even as the context around us has shifted. This anniversary is an opportunity to recognise the progress made, to celebrate the people and partnerships that have made it possible, and to renew our commitment to the work still to come. 

Longevity alone is not a measure of success in the third sector. Many organisations rightly aspire to a future in which they are no longer needed. Yet the continued existence of the ALLIANCE reflects an enduring truth; that lived experience, community insight and collective action remain essential to shaping health and social care that is fair, rights-based and person-centred.  

Over two decades, the ALLIANCE has grown into its role as a national membership organisation rooted in collaboration and democratic participation. Our purpose has always been unapologetically collective; creating inclusive, meaningful and sometimes challenging conversations; mobilising shared insight and experience; and working alongside members and partners to influence change. Time and again, it has been this collective approach that has helped drive some of the most important developments in health and social care in Scotland. 

One of the most significant shifts during this time has been in how expertise is understood. Lived experience has moved from the margins towards the mainstream of policy-making and service design. While there is still much to do, the change in language, expectations and assumptions matters. The ALLIANCE has consistently made the case that people are not passive recipients of care, but leaders, experts and agents of change in their own lives and communities. 

This belief has shaped our work from the outset. Our early leadership on self management positioned lived experience as a form of leadership, culminating in the development of the national strategy for self management. That commitment continues across our programmes today; from Getting to Know GIRFEC, developed with and by parents of disabled children to raise awareness of rights, to ALISS, which set out to democratise both access to information about community-based health and wellbeing support and who curates that information. Throughout this anniversary year, we will honour and celebrate the impact of our different programmes, highlighting the people, ideas and partnerships that have shaped them. 

Alongside this, the ALLIANCE has played a role in the gradual but significant integration of human rights into Scottish health and social care policy. Working in partnership with members and others, we have focused on empowering people to understand their rights, to recognise power dynamics, and to see their individual and collective capacity to create social change. The challenge now is to move beyond policy frameworks and embed human rights into the everyday culture of our institutions; as a lived practice, not just a principle. At a time when trust in public systems feels fragile, this work feels more important than ever. 

Our anniversary year will include a range of opportunities to come together, including our anniversary conference, ‘Hope to Action’ which will reflect on the last 20 years while looking firmly to the future. Our conference theme this year – exploring how we build on progress, nurture hope and translate this into action – speaks directly to where we are as a sector. Hope is crucial, but on its own it is not enough. But when it is grounded in lived experience, collective effort and a shared commitment to change, it becomes a powerful force. 

Crucially, this anniversary is not only about the ALLIANCE. It is about the wider health, social care and third sector, and about our membership, without whom none of this work would be possible. Our members shape our priorities, strengthen our voice and ensure our work remains grounded in reality. This year, we want to use our anniversary to shine a light on their work, celebrate their achievements, and recognise the vital role the third sector plays in supporting people, influencing systems and holding hope in difficult times. 

As we celebrate, we are also clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. The sector continues to face significant pressure, uncertainty and unmet need. Progress has been made, but it is uneven and fragile. The next phase of our work must focus on sustaining hope while turning it into action that is collaborative, rights-based and rooted in lived experience. 

As we begin our third decade, the future of the ALLIANCE will be shaped as the past has been; through collaboration, courage and a continued commitment to amplifying voices that too often go unheard. This anniversary is a moment to celebrate how far we have come, and to recommit, together, to building the change that still lies ahead. 

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