Active Wellbeing Leadership Network #11

The state is being rewired, and while that is exciting and needed, a key word here is ‘how’…

Since we gathered under the sun at WX Wakefield Exchange, “rewiring the state” has moved from idea to agenda – devolution, a new PM in Andy Burnham, No.10 in the North and real talk of power shifting to local communities. On paper, this is the moment our network exists for.

But we’ve been here before. Plans get rebadged. Funding gets announced and doesn’t always reach the people doing the work, or the people needing the support. Power “devolves” and somehow still answers upward.

So this session isn’t about taking the aspirations at face value, it’s about bringing together the widest possible range of views and aspirations from across the network, and weaving them into something we can offer with honesty and hope.

Wednesday 7 October, 9.45am–4.30pm, Riverside Studios, London

This is a space to bring your thoughts, ideas, hopes, your fears, and your frustrations.  It’s about uncertainty and complexity, about whether funding will genuinely reach the heart of communities, about duplication, relevance, and what it will really take to make this work in practice, not just on paper.

We’ll open by creating space for genuine listening and reflection, and surfacing ideas grounded in the realism of how things actually work on the ground, not just how they’re described from the centre. We’ll then run the day in deep-democracy style: surfacing not just where we agree, but where we genuinely differ, and why.  We trust there’s real wisdom in the “no”, and that understanding our disagreements is as valuable as finding consensus. This is where change and innovation live…

Sport England colleagues will be attending with Simon Hayes (Chief Executive, Sport England) joining us for part of the day to be part of the network conversation, debate and dialogue.

Please book by the 25th September by completing the registration form below.

Ahead of the day: Karen Creavin is hosting a short online preparation session for anyone who wants to help shape the day with a theme, tension or question they think needs airing. Date and more details to follow.

Can’t make it live? A short survey will also let you feed in.

A fuller agenda follows ten days out.

See you there.

Register your attendance here: