Health and care explained (virtual conference)

High-quality, up-to-date content is delivered to you via an online platform that is open for three weeks. During the first week, you will have the opportunity to log in, test your connection and become familiar with the set-up. The live sessions will take place over four half-days in the second week, giving you the option to catch up on demand until the end of week three.

Virtual conferences mean you can digest content at your own pace and work around a busy schedule. You can pause and rewind presentations and put your questions to our expert speakers. There are facilitated chat rooms on specific topics, a news feed and the option of one-to-one networking. Virtual exhibition stands enable you to interact with a range of organisations who will share resources and information – all at a time that suits you.

The online platform will be open for three weeks in total:

Week one: test your connection

• On 21 September, you will receive an email asking you to log in and test your connection. 
• Once you are logged in, you will have access to the news feed where you can introduce yourself and join conversations.
• The exhibition will also be open if you would like to explore the stands and download free resources.

Week two: attend the event

• On 28 September-2 October, we will email you each morning to remind you of the day’s sessions.
• You will have the opportunity to submit your questions and watch live or catch up later on demand. 
• Join the facilitated chat rooms to discuss specific topics in more detail and to share learning and experiences with other delegates.

Week three: catch up and complete

• In the third week, we will email you to ask for your feedback and to send your certificate of attendance.
• We will remind you to watch any presentations you were unable to join live and after this week, the online platform will close.
• PDFs of the presentation slides will be available to download at any time after the event. 

• Before the event, tell your colleagues that you are taking part and block out the time in your diary. 
• In week one, introduce yourself on the news feed. This is an easy way of ‘getting your voice in the room’, starting conversations and establishing new relationships with colleagues in health and care. 
• Avoid as many distractions as possible so you can immerse yourself in the sessions as you would at a physical conference. Treat each session as a meeting, put your phone on silent and close down your emails.
• If you know you won’t be able to watch certain sessions live, you can submit your questions in advance and put aside time in the second or third week to catch up on demand.
• Each session is approximately one hour long and there is always at least a half-an-hour break between sessions so you can take a screen break or catch up on emails.
• Make the most of the online community by taking part in the live Q&As, joining facilitated chat rooms and opting in to one-to-one networking. 
• Make sure you secure time in your diary at some point over the three weeks to visit the exhibition stands, where you will find free resources and can have conversations with experts from across the health and care system.

We are using a trusted third-party technical supplier that already produces our high-quality online events, so hopefully there shouldn’t be any technical issues. It’s worth using the extra time before the first session to log in and test your connection, just in case. 

When the event is taking place, there will be technical support available at all times. 

The King's Fund is an independent charitable organisation working to improve health and care in England. Our events are a key source of income, and this income enables us to continue with our charitable objectives. 

The cost of running a virtual conference is similar to that of a physical event. Although a virtual conference has fewer room hire and catering costs, in order to produce a high-quality event, we still need to pay the costs for the technical supplier, support and developing the platform. With some sessions taking place in our building, we do have to cover some venue costs. We also have a team of dedicated events professionals, content experts, digital, marketing and finance support that work on these events.  

Any profit that is made from these events goes directly towards achieving our strategic priorities. You can find out more about how we are funded here. 

We offer a number of free bursary places for patients and carers. These places are limited to maintain a balance of voices in the room between patients, service users, carers, and health and care professionals.  To apply for a bursary place please email us a short paragraph explaining why you wish to attend.