Prof Donna Hall CBE was Chief Executive of Wigan Council for eight years and with her team developed The Wigan Deal – a new relationship with residents. She created another social contract with citizens whilst Chief Executive at Chorley Council – The Chorley Smile.

She was awarded a CBE for innovation in public service for her role in the national “Tell Us Once” bereavement project with DWP and was awarded “Transformational Leader” in the first Northern Powerwomen awards for her leadership of gender equality and the “Believe in Her” campaign.  

She was appointed Hon Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester and is an integrated care system advisor to NHS England working with 42 health and care systems. She is also a non-executive advisor to Carnall Farrar, CIPFA CCo and Mutual Ventures Limited and Chair of innovative social care enterprise PossAbilities supporting people with learning disabilities live their best lives.

Adopted as a child, she is passionate about high quality, person-centred public services and shifting power to communities and now lives on a working croft in Aultbea on the west coast of Scotland.

HOSTS

Sheena Ramsey

Sheena Ramsey is Chief Executive of Gateshead Council. She joined Gateshead in February 2017 having previously headed up Worcester City and Knowsley councils. There she led initiatives to increase employment and bring about the transformation of town centres through private investment.

In Gateshead, Sheena is currently overseeing the delivery of the next phase of regeneration of Gateshead Quays. This includes the multi-million pound development of The Sage, arena and International Conference Centre, which sits at the heart of the wider River Tyne Renaissance.

Sheena is committed to making Gateshead a place where everyone thrives and has embedded this at the heart of the council’s decision-making process.  This is transforming the way the council works, reforming services which protect the borough’s most vulnerable people and delivering housing and regeneration that is future-proof with a strong focus on climate change.

Sheena is the lead Chief Executive for transport in the North East and a member of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative board and Chair of the Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership.

Sheena steps down as Chief Executive at the end of May 2024, but remains committed to continuing to support public services in the North East.

Mark Smith

Mark Smith is the Director for Public Service Reform at Gateshead Council and the Senior Responsible Officer for Changing Futures Northumbria. His focus is upon moving from a standardised, one size fits few approach to a bespoke-by-default model.

His work on holistically supporting those with debt, who are homeless, are substance dependant, regularly offending or who are generally going through tough times goes hand in hand with developing a more flexible and purpose driven workforce.

He has previously worked in policing, health and the charity sector to develop his approach to saving money by doing the right thing. 

This approach, the ‘Liberated Method’ is currently being piloted in the North East of England as part of the Government funded Changing Futures programme. Empowered case workers with a low caseload are able to build relationships with people who need support and focus on what really matters to people.

Mark’s hope is that all public services are conducted in this way – by moving from transactional to relational working, people are able to access the help they really need which, in turn, leads to a reduction in demand on key services. 

Francis Donnelly

Francis Donnelly is a Programme Lead for Changing Futures Northumbria. He works with the CFN team to develop, iterate and implement the Liberated Method. He is interested in how individuals access their own capacity for change and to what extent public services can help or hinder this process.

Francis has worked in both the public and voluntary sector in frontline and management roles, specialising in drug and alcohol services but also working in complex needs contexts focussing on housing, criminal justice and mental health. He has supported organisations around systems change and run learning programmes such as Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead.

The Changing Futures Northumbria programme has asked how radical change occurs for an individual who is without hope, and to what extent public services can be part of that change. Francis’ aspiration is to help enable organisations understand how they can create the capacity and capability to be a part of radical change for people.

Ron Charlton

Ron Charlton is the Data and Information Lead for Changing Futures Northumbria. He looks at different ways of using data through a relational lens to inform relational practice. He is also developing evaluation measures that can provide agile responsive data to inform leadership of what works to iterate relational practice in real time. He is currently working on 2 projects, the burning platform and the development of a digital platform with Northumbria University.

Ron has had a varied career, he served in the army as an aircraft engineer, a national maintenance manager for a well known ophthalmic company and served 23 years as a police officer and has a sound understanding of multiple public services responses to peoples presenting issues that experience complex needs. Also being a main carer for a family member with complex needs he has firsthand experience of system responses to trying to get needs met in complexity.

The Changing Futures Northumbria programme places people at the centre of everything we do rather than the system itself, using the liberated method. By evidencing that the liberated method works and that services are unsustainable as they are, his ambition is to persuade the need for change across services.

Prof Hannah Hesselgreaves

Hannah Hesselgreaves is a Professor of Organisational Development at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. Her research explores how people learn collectively to innovate in public services. Following a 15-year career in medical education, she now supports public services develop learning strategies through an engaged scholarship lens. Evaluative practices are key to this agenda, and Hannah focuses her efforts on innovating in evaluation to develop its strategic and operational value for the public sector.

Hannah has recently established a research centre for Relational Public Policy and Public Management at Northumbria University, comprising of 25 scholars from across social science, engineering and digital disciplines. She now supports Changing Futures Northumbria with the evaluation and proliferation of bespoke by default public service, encouraging senior leadership to use data to iterate practice and establish organisational and systemic conditions for learning. 

Robert Webb

Robert is a dedicated social entrepreneur and founding director of SIGNAL, a Northeast-based social enterprise with a national impact. Fueled by a strong conviction that society can be fair, just, and resilient, he envisions communities where individuals can truly realise their potential. Robert recognises the significant gap between aspiration and reality, as the voices of those in communities are often overlooked by policymakers and service-providers.

SIGNAL's transformative methodology, which Robert encountered in a life-changing moment, plays a pivotal role in bridging this gap. It ensures the identification of real needs a

nd a profound understanding of their underlying causes. This approach resonated deeply with Robert, especially as an unpaid carer sometimes facing overwhelming responsibilities. SIGNAL's ability to "untangle the knot" provided him with space for reflection and planning, further fuelling his commitment to offering the methodology as an instrument to create positive change.

Andy Cox

Andy Cox, BSc MBA, brings a wealth of experience to addressing social challenges and implementing the SIGNAL methodology to eliminate poverty, enhance well-being, and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities across the UK.

As a co-director of Transmit Enterprise Consulting, Andy is dedicated to tackling complex societal issues. He has also served as a visiting lecturer on Enterprise and EU Sustainable Health Systems at Deusto University in Bilbao, Spain. Andy's background includes roles as a former Director of Business for a prominent UK Mental Health Provider, a Social Enterprise Consultant with Economic Partnerships Ltd, and a former Public sector manager in human resources.

With his diverse expertise, Andy contributes to a comprehensive understanding of social insight, impact, and sustainable solutions.

Toby Lowe

Toby spent 15 years working across the public and voluntary sectors in the UK, working in both policy and delivery roles. He is currently on secondment to the Centre for Public Impact from Newcastle Business School, where he has been working alongside public and voluntary sector organisations to develop an alternative paradigm for public management - one which enables public service to work more effectively in complex, dynamic environments.