A bridge between scholars and practitioners

The Social Outcomes Conference is the annual convening of the world's leading researchers, policymakers and practitioners working to improve social outcomes. As in previous years, the conference will feature discussions on the latest thinking and findings from academic research alongside insights from the emerging practice across different geographies, disciplines and policy areas.

The key to this conference is to bring valuable expertise from the field into the walls of academia and to allow a space for those in the public, private and voluntary sectors to share and build on existing knowledge.

Hybrid conference

We plan to host this event in a hybrid mode, as we did for the previous Social Outcomes Conference (SOC22). The conference will involve both streaming the sessions online, and offering a number of in-person places for those who wish to attend at the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford.

For SOC22, we were able to ensure that both online and offline audiences enjoyed meaningful engagement. As well as receiving Professor Julie Battilana as keynote speaker, we hosted over 115 speakers from 22 countries, and we welcomed over a hundred of additional participants who joined us online and in-person at Oxford. We were blown away by the excellent quality of discussions over the two days. Here are some of the highlights for Day 1 and Day 2.

The SOC23 Vision

Around the world, societies are facing a multidimensional crisis: the aftermath of a global pandemic; continued racial, gender, and social inequalities; increasing wealth gaps; global warming; and the refugee crisis. Cross-sector collaboration is vital for responding to this crisis. At SOC23 we will address these cross-cutting issues as we draw together changemakers, practitioners, and thought-leaders. Join us as we gather around the pursuit of better social outcomes for a better world.

At the conference, we will discuss how new forms of partnership and collaboration can help sectors work together to tackle grand challenges. Why are relationships and trust important? Who has power and who needs it? What innovative new models of partnership are available, and do they support the broader systems change we need? How do we agree what better outcomes look like?

Our ambition is for a vibrant exchange between researchers and practitioners to enhance both research and implementation. Central to this ambition is our commitment to enabling and inspiring more ‘engaged research’ across the field. If you would like to know more about the Social Outcomes Conference, take a look at last year’s summary.

Each year we seek to build on what has been discussed at the previous year’s conference, driving forward the conversation on the use of outcomes and engaging with the latest work.

SOC23's key question

Working together better: how can cross-sector partnerships help to address the multi-dimensional crisis facing societies worldwide?

Conference themes

• Relationships and trust
• Disrupting voices
• Power and ethics
• System change
• Innovations

This year's Keynote Speaker

We are delighted to announce that Professor Mark Considine will deliver the Social Outcomes Conference 2023 keynote speech on Thursday 14 September.

Professor Mark Considine is one of Australia’s most renowned political scientists. Considine is Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. He is best known for prize-winning research on public sector reform, new methods of governance and the street-level delivery of public programs. He has pioneered work on the long-run institutional impacts of different service delivery regimes. Considine has also had a significant career in leadership roles within higher education and as a contributor to policy innovation inside government and in civil society organisations. Considine's most recent book, The Careless State: Reforming Australia’s Social Services, offers a power statement on how to respond to failing social services.

With expertise spanning the academic realm and significant applied work in politics and policy, Considine's experience resonates with the heart of the Social Outcomes Conference: bringing together the best of both research and practice. His pioneering approaches to the world of social outcomes ensure that this will be a Keynote Speech not to be missed!

Read the full conference programme and secure your spot now on the Government Outcomes Lab website.