Connecting data to improve public service delivery
Date: 23rd February 2026
Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester
09:30 – 10:00 Arrival and Registration
10:00 – 10:20 Welcome
Professor Mark Mon-Williams, Child of the North Leadership Group
Growing Up Well in the North of England
Speakers:
- Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, Executive Chair & Founder, Centre for Young Lives
- Haroon Chowdry, Chief Executive, Centre for Young Lives
10:20 – 10:50 Keynote Speech
How connected data reveals the impact of SEND across the lifespan and across services
Speaker:
- Professor Marianne van den Bree, Professor of Psychological Medicine, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, and the Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University
10:50 – 11:20 Refreshment Break and Networking
11:20 – 11:50 Data Infrastructure in the North of England
Speakers:
- Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs)
- NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs)
- ESRC Vulnerabilities & Policing Futures Research Centre
11:50 – 12:30 Data Assets in the North of England
Speakers:
- #BeeWell
- Born in Bradford and Connected Bradford
- Born and Bred In Network (BaBi)
- Civic Health Innovation Labs / Children Growing Up in Liverpool (C-GULL)
12:30 – 13:30 LUNCH
13:30 – 14:30 Case Studies
Speakers:
- Representatives of SEND and data projects from across the North of England
14:30 – 15:00 HMG Policy Priorities
15:00 – 15:50 Panel Discussion: Next Steps for Collaboration
Speakers:
- Policy officials and representatives of the research community
- Chaired by Haroon Chowdry, Centre for Young Lives
15:50 – 16:00 Concluding Plenary
Speakers:
- Baroness Anne Longfield CBE and Haroon Chowdry, Centre for Young Lives
- Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research, University of Manchester
16:00 Event Ends
16:00 – 17:30 Networking Session
Refreshments are available on the ground floor