Workshop bids
The National Children and Adult Services Conference (NCASC) is the key annual conference for leaders in social care, health, and education, focusing on policy, best practice sharing, and innovation. Thank you for your interest in hosting a workshop at NCASC, they are a key component of the programme.
For NCASC 2026, the workshop bidding process and timescales have been revised to ensure workshop themes remain timely and relevant and meet clear criteria. The conference will deliver 15 workshops in total, running on Wednesday and Thursday, comprising six adult focussed workshops, six children’s focussed workshops, and three all age workshops.
Applicants are asked to ensure submissions are complete and received by the stated deadline below. Clear timescales and defined criteria are highlighted to ensure transparency and consistent expectations for all applications. Bids will only be considered if each of the following criteria and future deadlines are met.
What we are looking for:
- Adult services: bids which focus on and share innovation on key issues across care and health, coproducing content with people who draw upon adult social care and support in both design and delivery.
- Children’s services: bids focusing on children, young people and families, with a spotlight on sharing innovation, best practice and learning that can be shared with the sector.
- All age: we are also keen to see bids on cross-cutting, all age issues such as transitions, mental health and wellbeing, holistic family focus, community safety, community-based services, asylum and resettlement.
- Bids that reflect the breadth of key issues and priorities within children’s and adult services at a strategic level, ideally with participation from senior leadership in councils, and that allow sufficient time for discussion and interaction with conference delegates.
- Equality, diversity and inclusion is central to NCASC, and we expect both the content of workshops and the composition of speakers to be reflective of the diversity of the communities we support.
What we expect to receive in the initial application
- One chair and a maximum of three speakers for each workshop to allow plenty of time for question and answers with workshop attendees. Please name these speakers in the initial application. For adult bids, lived experience speakers need to be identified at this stage.
- The application form is straightforward but will require more detail than previous years. It will cover; contact details, session title, session outline in as much detail as possible, proposed speakers and work area.
- A clear outline of how your bid will meet the equality, diversity and inclusion commitments of the event.
Timescales
Workshop bids open: 18 May 2026
Workshop bids close: 3 July 2026
Bidders to be informed of outcome: w/c 20 July 2026
All additional forms subission date: 4 September 2026
Workshop presentations submission deadline: 23 October 2026
Application form
The application form will be posted here in early May. Please check back for more details.
