OVERVIEW

The government has made clear its priority of eliminating the structural budget deficit within five years, with the Comprehensive Spending Review outlining funding priorities and emphasising the need for greater efficiency and productivity. At the same time, an agenda of reforms across the public sector – in education, welfare, health and social care, to name just a few – heralds a fundamental change in the way public services are delivered. This conference aims to provide delegates with insight into how change can happen, and how it can be successful.

Managing this period of change is a great challenge for public sector leaders; ensuring projects and programmes are viable, and making sure they come in on time and within budget, are now absolutely essential. Business change is very complex, and requires strong leadership and excellent programme and project management (PPM) skills. Mitigating resistance to change – through robust risk management, effective measurement and management of benefits, and clear communication and interaction – is vital if progress is to be made.

The value from investment in change must be clearly demonstrated, especially at a time of relatively stringent budgets. It is very important to maximise value for money, and to do this as efficiently as possible, and so public sector managers must understand how to get the best out of PPM. In order to gain real value from change, one must understand change, resistance to it, and how to effectively lead through it.

At Managing Change: delivering public sector reform, delegates will gain a better understanding of strategies for planning and implementing change. With a diverse programme of outstanding speakers, sharing lessons learned from experience with change programmes, the conference will offer practical advice on how to manage the reforms, examining various methodologies and initiatives that can deliver benefits to public sector managers.