Key aims of the forum include:

• Providing evidence of policy initiatives that have and haven’t worked in the past, providing a corrective to sweeping assumptions in the media;

• Challenging stereotypes around men and women’s ’natural’ or historical roles in the family;

• Exploring why certain developments in policy and individual behaviour have taken place;

• Reacting to issues raised by forum members working in policy and practice;

• Testing out and sharing new models for engagement with publics and policy, on a national and local level.