What a milestone moment INE 2026 was for Insights North East.

It was brilliant to welcome over 250 colleagues and partners from across the policymaking system including local authorities, the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, central government, business, the NHS, and the voluntary and community sector.

The day brought together a rich set of conversations:

–  Helen Goulden OBE opened with a powerful keynote on innovation and partnerships

– ‘Behind the Headlines’ challenged us to think more deeply about public opinion, with insights from More in Common UK and Newcastle University

–  An engaging panel on reimagining citizen voice explored what meaningful participation really looks like in practice

–  And a timely discussion on devolution in the North East highlighted both the scale of opportunity and the work ahead as new structures take shape

– We closed with Sam Freedman, offering a compelling perspective on based on his book ‘Failed State’

Across all of this, a few themes stood out:

– The importance of listening to citizens and communities in new and more meaningful ways

– The importance of drawing on what we have at a hyper-local, local and regional level and find new ways to bring together a collective endeavour.

– And the opportunity, right now, to shape systems that are fit for the future of our region.

This conference also marked the start of our next phase at INE, with a renewed strategy and a new prospectus setting out how we want to work with partners going forward. You can read the prospectus here and watch our short film that we premiered at the conference below.

And to close the conference, we were very fortunate to have Lizzie Lovejoy share a poem capturing the impactful day:

Never Alone When Building Our Home
by Lizzie Lovejoy

We are here at Northern Stage
to take a page
from each other’s books,
to take a look
at what could be
and then make it into reality.
Turning thinking into doing
is a goal worth pursuing.

Insights
invites
communication
which ignites
action beyond conversation,
because only when we act
can we create impact.

Direct
is the best way to connect.
Work with not for,
hold open the door
for all to move through;
for him, for her, for you.

We are here
with an appetite
for right.
Ready to make ‘maybe’ and ‘might’
into done
by listening to everyone.
Collaborate.
Co-create.
Flip the script
with partnership
Give the people agency
let them take the stage and see
a new chapter.
Use before and create an after.

We are tasked
to ask,
and there is an art to it,
a heart to it.
Empathy and understanding,
not just leaders commanding
but a power we are handing
to one another,
discover the strength in the many; not us versus other.

Awareness
of fairness.
People centered for collective
Perspective.
You can look at the stars
to find where we are
but there is more than one way to navigate
when we innovate,
appreciate
the voice of everyone,
reading the region,
looking for reasons
we can hold onto,
a tangible kind of value.
Authenticity sparks activity,
an electricity.

Brush the dust
off of trust.
The care
is there.
Make our systems community owned.
We are not alone, never alone
when building our home.
Let go of ego
and let the grass grow
tall and long,
reaching up strong.
Diversity and nutrients,
the key ingredients.

Don’t hold people back
by deciding for them what they lack.
Listen
to Citizens
and feedback,
keep track
for those of us who slip through the cracks
in overwhelm,
taking the helm
of a ship in stormy weather;
we can make it through together.

Our nation
deserves representation
that reflects us,
that respects us.
Who’s got a seat at the table?
Who decides the venue?
Who lays out the plates?
Who is on the menu?
Nana knows – and is ready to natter
because every single person matters.
Makes spaces safe
with faces
familiar to the lives and places
where new policies will be applied.
Yes, it is hard. So try. Try.

We are here and hopeful, optimistic
but still realistic.
Break out of the comparative
and live
for a tomorrow we get to make,
a future ready to take.
Keys in the ignition
of local ambition,
seeking improvement
with a movement.

We are here on stage, on screens, in chairs
to rebuild and repair.
To take new steps ahead,
to actually use what has been said
and do.

We can get trapped in bureaucracy,
but we shape democracy.
What’s coming isn’t set, there is fog, it’s unclear.
It’s up to us which way to steer.

So it is time to decide: where do we go from here?