Big Picture Thinking Seminar Series: what’s coming this year
The Big Picture Thinking Seminar Series is back. This year runs from September 2026 through to May 2027, with nine sessions curated around a set of ideas that keep surfacing in our work.
Registration is now open on Eventbrite — browse the full series here.
What we’re exploring this year
Last year’s series returned again and again to the same questions. How do we do meaningful, long-term work when the systems around us are under short-term pressure? How do relationships hold up when everyone is stretched? And what happens when the outcomes we want don’t match the systems we’re working in?
This year picks up where that left off. The threads running through the series include people, place, identity, social capital, and democracy — and how these connect to the conditions that allow communities to shape their own futures.
The speakers
- 10 September 2026 — Dr Ally Brown, University of Strathclyde. On the language of health inequality and how it can quietly limit the solutions we reach for.
- 22 October 2026 — Diarmaid Lawlor, Scottish Futures Trust. On collaborative approaches to place, and what it takes to make better places to live well locally.
- 12 November 2026 — Dr Kirsten Gow. On how we understand rural and island places, and why one-size-fits-all classifications can mislead us.
- 10 December 2026 — Anne Pordes and Julie Jenson. On the realities of collaborating with communities to improve health and wellbeing — and what tends to get in the way.
- 28 January 2027 — Professor Ottar Ness, NTNU Norway. On mattering, relational welfare, and why feeling valued matters for wellbeing and thriving places.
- 11 February 2027 — Dr Kirsten Gow. On island diaspora and what continued connection to home means for our understanding of community, identity, and belonging.
- 18 March 2027 — Gillian Baxendine. On deliberative democracy, and how bringing diverse voices together can help us find common ground on the trickiest issues we face.
- April 2027 — Coming soon. A speaker we’re excited about — watch this space.
- 13 May 2027 — Dr Torange Khonsari. On community–public partnership and reimagining the role of communities in public life.
Who it’s for
The series is open to everyone with an interest in community wellbeing — whether you work in health, the third sector, local government, or simply care about where you live. Sessions are free to attend and delivered online.
How to join
Register for any or all sessions on Eventbrite.
Looking forward to seeing you there.