Nesta and the Centre for Young Lives hosted a private roundtable at the Labour Party Conference 2025.

With the Labour government being one year into delivering its mission-led agenda for public service reform, this roundtable explored how new types of partnerships — including with philanthropists, social investors, and alternative finance providers — can support progress on improving outcomes for children and families.

Building on the Government’s Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy, this session focused on how cross-sector collaboration can unlock funding and innovation in early years services. It showcased early years as a live case study for broader public service reform and mission delivery.

The discussion centred on:

• How government can work with the impact economy and civil society to scale innovative approaches;
• Funding mechanisms that can accelerate impact and delivery;
• Lessons from current partnerships and models that could be expanded.

This roundtable reflected on what’s working, what’s needed next, and how government can build lasting partnerships beyond the state to transform services. With early years as a testbed, the insights from this roundtable informed thinking about unlocking similar innovations across other mission areas.