News & Views

Inspiring Impact – SCiP Alliance Annual Conference 2024

Bookings for Inspiring Impact: the SCiP Alliance Annual Conference 2024 are now open

At the centre of our 2022-2026 strategy is the co-reinforcing relationship between our growing community and our ever-increasing impact on the lives of children and young people in Armed Forces families: the Community-Impact cycle. As the strategy explains:

“Impact is why the community exists, and the community makes that impact possible.”

So, this year, our annual conference will explore the theme of Inspiring Impact. A central purpose of the Alliance community is to inspire each other to make a difference in Service children’s lives through innovation and new collaborations, but we also want the impact we have together to inspire others to join our community and engage in evidence-led action.

One thing that makes the Alliance community so powerful is the exchange of ideas and practice between diverse stakeholder groups: between practitioners, researchers, policymakers and funders. We want this year’s conference to build on our existing strong foundations to tackle big questions like:

• What counts as impact at individual, project, organisation and system levels?

• How can we know our impact is meaningful in the daily lives of Service children?

• What does it mean to be truly impact-orientated?

• How can we communicate impact, so it inspires sustained action or investment?

Putting the voices of Service children at the heart of all we do is core to our mission, so we are particularly keen to hear about work with a direct demonstrable impact on, for, with and by Service children. As always, our conference will hear from Service children themselves and support and encourage them to share their highs and lows, and to keep us to account for providing support that – in line with our Service child voice principles – is ethical, meaningful and impactful.

I am delighted that in 2024 we will be in Cardiff for our conference. We have secured a great venue a short walk from Cardiff Central train station and with greater capacity. The Alliance is a UK-wide community and visiting Wales provides a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate this diversity and – while we will hear about practice throughout the community – celebrate the unique context yng Nghymru. We are pleased to announce that our 2025 conference will take place in Scotland. Plans are already underway for the subsequent year's event, which will be held in England.

Bookings for Inspiring Impact: The SCiP Alliance Annual Conference 2024 are now open and invitations for research and practice workshops will follow shortly, so start thinking about the best of your work and its contribution to inspiring impact.

To book a conference place, click here.