Link Officers’ Annual Meeting 2026: Thriving as a learning organisation in a time of change
Link Officers’ Annual Meeting 2026 - Hybrid
In a period of change and continuing uncertainty, the ability for social care organisations to adapt and respond to the shifting social context is critical. Services are navigating rising demand, evolving regulatory and policy changes, and a growing recognition of systemic inequities.
These pressures are not separate to practice - they affect how the social care workforce can work effectively alongside people and communities and challenge us to consider what a truly resilient system looks like. Learning and development plays a central role in building and sustaining this resilience.
For learning and development practitioners, this moment calls for thoughtful reflection on how we maintain strong learning cultures at the heart of organisational change - and what can be done to make this possible.
This year’s Link Officers’ Annual Meeting (LOAM) will explore how Link Officers can foster organisational cultures where continuous learning, reflection, and collaboration are embedded in to every day work. LOAM gives colleagues from our Partner network the space to come together to consider key issues, reflect among peers, and share knowledge and good practice.
LOAM will take place on 24 September at The Studio Birmingham and online on Zoom. This will be a hybrid event with the option to attend in-person or virtually. This will be a one-day event.
Online attendance - We are aware that some organisations may have a specific policy on using Zoom. Please ensure that you will be able to access Zoom from wherever you will be on the day of the conference, and consider using a personal email address or device if your organisational settings will restrict your access.
Speakers
Speakers to be confirmed.
Outcomes
As a result of attending this event, participants will be able to:
- Explore the role of learning and development in developing organisational resilience and adapting effectively to system change.
- Identify actions that can be taken across organisations and systems to embed effective learning cultures.
- Explore how co-production and decolonising approaches and methods enhance learning cultures across organisations.
Booking
This year’s LOAM is a one-day event. As a Research in Practice Partner your attendance online and in-person is included in your organisational membership.
- Each children & families membership is allocated up to two in-person places (subject to availability) and two online places.
- Each adults membership is allocated up to two in-person places (subject to availability) and two online places.
To ensure as many members as possible can attend in-person, we are initially releasing one in-person place per membership.
Requests for a second place will be added to a waiting list until 31 March. Following this date and subject to availability, we will review and confirm further places on a first-come, first-served basis.
Requests for online places are open as usual, and members may request their two spots at any time.
For queries and information, please contact our events team.
Designed for
Link Officers, Strategic Champions, Principal Occupational Therapists and Principal Social Workers from across the Research in Practice network
This event is a conference.
Our conferences are designed to bring participants together from across the Research in Practice Partner network to share knowledge, build connections, and promote learning across an identified topic.
If the above event (or occurrence of an event) is displaying as 'Event Full' and you would like to be added to a waiting list, please email events@researchinpractice.org.uk detailing the required event title, event time and date.
We will contact you should places become available.
Audience Types
Strategic leads
Principal Social Worker (PSW)