Hope to Action: ALLIANCE Conference 2026
Pictured above: At Hope to Action: ALLIANCE Conference 2026
The Trust’s Policy Lead, Stephen Caulfield, reflects on Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland’s (‘the ALLIANCE’) annual conference, held in Glasgow in mid-March. Stephen was joined by Services Co-ordinator, Kim Murphy; Speech and Language Therapist, Kirsten Lamb; and our External Training Lead, Kate Grieve.
Some of our most consequential engagement (directly, via forums and events, and indirectly with connections built) as an advocacy charity comes through the ALLIANCE – a sentiment I know is shared by many of us active in Scotland’s third-sector influencing and engagement space. Alongside The Gathering and HRC, the Hope to Action conference highlighted our sector at its best; collaborative, clear on what needs to change in our society (and for whom), and ready to undertake the engagement work that will, in the next Parliament, help ensure this change comes to fruition.
Jenny Miller, of PAMIS, noted in her contribution to the morning session that policy engagement and networks are vital in delivering human rights for what she called Scotland’s ‘invisible communities’; ones whose stories can go unheard or ignored. We know, from our own work, that this is an all-too-common experience for neurodivergent people and families.
Though this parliamentary session has not been without its challenges – including in adult social care, with the Scottish Government’s failure to deliver a National Care Service – the tone of the conference was optimistic. An impactful session, chaired by ALLIANCE Chief Officer Sara Redmond, spoke to the title of the conference with a focus on action – and reflection on what has been achieved in the social care space in recent years.
Looking to the future (while taking some learnings from the recent past), Professor Derek Feeley, author of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, noted that the necessary ‘shift’ in the balance of care – one where the powerless had more of a say over their own social care – required a meaningful shift in the balance of power.
It was clear in the room that, despite political failings on the National Care Service, there is still an appetite for increased national oversight of care in Scotland as the means of ensuring consistency, transparency, and accountability in care delivery.
The Donaldson Trust continues to support a National Care Service for Scotland and, while delivery would require political courage and an element of risk, it is clear that it is necessary to counter the systemic challenges of a broken system. The theme of risk (including the riskiness of the status quo) and the role it plays in making genuine progress was a sentiment expressed well by Eddie Fraser, the Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council, in the morning session.
Finally, measurement (of outcomes) was a recurring theme through the day, expressed best by Anne Hendry – Director of IFIC Scotland:
“… what gets measured gets done.”
Applicable across the board, this resonated with us, for example, in the context of autism and ADHD assessment waiting times, which continue to grow – and for which we have no national data around to understand the full extent of the challenges faced.
As in previous years, we were pleased to have a stand in the exhibition hall, giving us opportunities to start exploring opportunities with partners new and to check-in with partners old. We look forward to returning to ALLIANCE again next year!
Stephen Caulfield
Policy Lead
