The annual edition of the Social Outcomes Conference 2024 recently took place, held on September 5-6, both online and in person at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford. The event gathered some of the world’s leading researchers, policymakers, and professionals to share cutting-edge insights and practical strategies for building partnerships that not only generate social good but do so with integrity and effectiveness.

Among the speakers was Mario Calderini, Full Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan’s School of Management and spokesperson for Torino Social Impact. Calderini participated in the keynote panel of the Social Outcomes Conference 2024, addressing social and technological innovation and the need for a new governance model.

A bridge connecting experts and practitioners

The prestigious conference is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, engaging a broad intersection of voices and backgrounds. It encourages the participation of individuals and organizations representing a wide array of ethnic, cultural, geographical, age, and income differences.

With this goal in mind, the latest edition involved top experts, researchers, policymakers, academics, and professionals to collectively reflect on how to build partnerships, share leading-edge insights, and develop strategies and practices that generate social good with integrity and efficiency.

Responsibility, transparency, and trust toward social change

The mission of this year’s edition is to understand how we can foster collaboration and partnership work in an increasingly uncertain world. In the face of adversity, responsibility, transparency, and trust become more crucial than ever, forming the foundation of cross-sector partnerships aimed at social change.

From this reflection, several questions are raised by the 2024 edition: how can innovative contracting practices contribute to long-term trust-based relationships? How can we use data not only to measure impact but actively promote improvement and empower partners? How can we ensure that marginalized communities are meaningfully engaged, rather than merely consulted, in the design and implementation of solutions?

The conference’s title, “Responsibility, Transparency, and Trust in Cross-Sector Partnerships,” points to the fundamental values needed to bring about social change. In a world grappling with unprecedented challenges and near-constant crises, collaboration proves not to be a luxury but a real necessity.