INE 2026: Powering Policy for Long-Term Transformation

INE 2026: Powering Policy for Long-Term Transformation

Join us for Insights North East’s fourth annual conference on 10 June.

About the conference

INE 2026 will explore how to ignite cross-system partnerships that can sustain the longer-term, evidence-based approaches that we know are necessary to tackle entrenched policy challenges and deliver transformation.

Who You’ll Meet

INE conferences bring together a diverse mix of people shaping inclusive growth and innovation across places and sectors.

You’ll be joined by people working in:

Local, regional and national government
Universities and applied research organisations
Health, wellbeing and social care
Voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations
Housing, regeneration and place‑based partnerships
Businesses, employers and representative bodies
Innovation, enterprise and business support organisations
Skills, education and workforce development
Culture, creative and heritage organisations

Our conferences are designed for cross‑sector conversation, practical learning and collaboration – bringing policymakers, practitioners, researchers and community leaders into the same room.

INE 2026 will feature keynotes from:

Helen Goulden OBE

Innovation & Partnerships Lead at Lloyds Banking Group

Sam Freedman

Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and Author of the Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How to Fix It.

Programme:

Registration (9:00 – 10:00am:)

Welcome (10:00-10:15am)
Professor Nigel Harkness, Deputy Vice-Chancellor · Newcastle University

Opening Keynote (10:15am – 11:15am)
Helen Goulden OBE, Innovation & Partnerships Lead at Lloyds Banking Group

Behind the Headlines: Making Sense of Public Opinion (11:15am-12pm)
What does the public actually think – and how should policymakers respond? Andrew Fowler of More in Common UK joins Dr Michael Richardson of Newcastle University to explore the complexities behind public opinion in the UK today. The conversation will draw on key findings from More in Common’s post-election research to consider how policymakers can engage with public attitudes to build sustainable long-term change.

Lunch (12:00-1:00pm)

Reimagining the Role of the Citizen Voice: New Approaches to Shaping Policy (1:00-2:15pm)
This panel discussion highlights new approaches to foregrounding the voice and views of citizens in policymaking. Drawing on innovative models, including citizens’ assemblies and community organising, the panel explores what genuinely participatory policymaking looks like in practice, and what it really takes to put citizens at the centre of policy.

Panel:
Chair: Professor Liz Todd OBE, Newcastle University
Lyn Horton, Northumberland Community & Voluntary Action
Vicky McDermott, Newcastle City Council
Rachel Oliver, Sortition Foundation
Gemma Rowe & Ali Turner, Horden Together

Break (2:15 –2:30pm)

Devolution and the Future of Local Government in the North East (2:30-3:45pm)
Co-hosted by CURDS, this panel discussion takes stock of a defining moment for the North East, as new structures, new powers, and new relationships reshape how the region is governed. Drawing on the LGIU’s Looking to 2050: The future of local government in England report, the panel asks what the North East needs from devolution, what it will really take to build a system fit for 2050, and how we can collaborate to achieve it.

Panel:
Chair: Peter Hetherington, Journalist
Mirte Boot, IPPR North
Jon Gleek, LGiU
Rob Hamilton, North East Mayoral Strategic Authority
Dr Emma Ormerod, Newcastle University

Closing Keynote (3:45-4:45pm)
Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and Author of “Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How to Fix It”

Closing remarks (4:45-5:00pm)

Professor Jo Fox, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Humanities and Social Sciences, Newcastle University

Poem by Lizzie Lovejoy

Drinks reception (5:00-6:00pm)

Register today to secure your place for INE 2026.

REGISTRATION

Meet the INE 2026 Speakers

Click here to learn more about them

INE’s previous conferences have brought together over 200 attendees each year including policymakers, academics, experts, and individuals from a wide range of organisations. We were fortunate to have keynotes such as Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, John Austin, visiting fellow at the Academy of International Affairs NRW, Fiona Hill, foreign affairs specialist and Chancellor of Durham University, and Matthew Taylor CBE, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation.