The Partners' Conference is an annual event for people who live and work in South Gloucestershire to come together to discuss key topics affecting the area.  The event is hosted by the South Gloucestershire Partnership and this year delegates were welcomed to the conference by South Gloucestershire Council's Chief Executive, Amanda Deeks. 

It was chaired by the Partnership's Chair Cllr. John Godwin with Tony Travers Director of the Greater London Group as guest speaker. The workshops were facilitated by

 - Helen Black, Chief Executive of the Council for Voluntary Services South Glos. and Robert Walsh Head of Safer and Stronger Communties SGC (Community)

 - Paul Rainger Forum for the Future and Jane Antrobus Sustainability Co-ordinator SGC (Sustainability)

 - Melanie Gibbs Chair of NHS South Glos. Trust Board, Jon Edwards Centre Manager The Mall at Cribbs Causeway and Guy Stenson Community Care & Housing Service Manager SGC (Health)

- David Draycott Chair of Skills and Competitiveness Board West of England Partnership and Antony Merritt Economic Development Co-ordinator SGC.

Many thanks to all of them for their contribution to making the event so successful.

This year's Partners' Conference was held at UWE's Exhibition and Conference Centre - a prestigious, flexible and well-managed venue -

thanks to John Rusforth and UWE's generosity in supporting the event.

A big thank you also to all the staff involved for their professionalism and help in making the day run smoothly. 
 
                                            

The keynote speech was given by Tony Travers. Tony is a director of the Greater London Group, a cross disciplinary research centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science studying the development, economy and social aspects of urban areas in Britain and overseas.

The title of Tony’s speech was Opportunities in a time of radical change.

He outlined the government’s policies in relation to deficit reduction and public sector reform and gave his considered views on the impacts on local communities.  He finished by stressing the need for partnerships to continue work together to deliver the best possible services at a challenging time.

 A Q & A session followed giving the audience the opportunity to benefit from Tony's local and central government knowledge.

His speech raised awareness among the 110 plus delegates - some of whom knew some of the story but few knew it all - and broadened their understanding of the whole picture.  It provided a very useful foundation for the workshops which followed his speech which looked at

* how to promote the civil/big society and encourage community leadership,

* how to mainstream sustainability into all areas of our work,

* how joined up early intervention and prevention work could continue to make a real impact

and

* how economic priorities will continue to be delivered in the changed landscape. 

                    The notes from the workshops are available at the following links:

                                       Workshop A: Community

                                            Workshop B: Sustainability

                                                 Workshop C: Health

                                                      Workshop D: Economy

The conference wound up with a plenary session to summarise key points from the discussions in the workshops with the general consensus being that the event had been a "useful networking and learning event." and delegates were motivated to put some of the practical ideas into practice (see individual workshop notes above).

Feedback from the delegates about the event highlighted the excellent facilities and catering - "Great location with good public transport access" - the content and delivery of the keynote speech - "Excellent, accessible, high-level clarification of the shifting economic landscape and the implications for S Glos. and UK"  - and the usefulness of the discussions in the workshops - "Meeting a wide range of partners with very different attitudes was beneficial to broaden understanding of experiences".

If you would like any more information please contact Stephanie Kruse, Strategic Partnership Officer on 01454 863868 or at stephanie.kruse@southglos.gov.uk.