Katie and I have been working hard with members of the community to build on the feedback from last year’s event. We want to create a day that will spark interest, engage enthusiasm, allow you to share experiences and develop skills through discussions and workshops. Your input has helped to shape the event and given us clear guidance on what is important to you.

We want to create a day that will spark interest, engage enthusiasm, allow you to share experiences and develop skills

Some of the key themes from your feedback about last year’s event included the session content and speakers, the venue, and sustainability of the event. We’ve taken this on board and have made a few changes. For example, this year’s event is aiming to be paper free. We will be using an app for delegates to book sessions, connect with each other and view the agenda, available for download now. We have also changed the format of the sessions with a varied mix of session types and speakers to help you get the most out of the day.

Last year Q Exchange was a huge part of the event. This year the Q Exchange projects will be campaigning online from Friday 20 September. Voting for Q Exchange will take place online through the Q website and will be open to the whole community from Monday 7 October. Voting closes on 21 October and the winners of the funding will be announced in the closing plenary at the event. This announcement will also be livestreamed and available to watch following the event.

During the event, we will be livestreaming some sessions from the main hall. Details of these sessions, and how to register to watch them, will be shared in the coming weeks. Livestreamed sessions will also be available to watch online following the event.

We’ve been working on some other exciting elements of the event: keep reading to find out what we’ve been working on!

Lightning talks

Last year, you told us that the lightning talks were great but there wasn’t enough space for all those who wanted to attend.

This year, the lightning talks have a whole hour to themselves! There will be nine different 15 minute sessions taking place during the hour, with time built in for you to move between them around the venue. These sessions will be taking place in the biggest rooms, so that if everyone wants to attend one specific session then they can! Details of all the different talks taking place will be shared towards the end of September, so watch this space.

Structured networking

Last year you highlighted how you’d like more structured networking opportunities to get to know the other delegates and have more opportunities to connect before you arrive.

This year we are going to have a structured networking session running at the same time as the lightning talks. This is still taking shape, but the session will offer opportunities for members to make new connections with others in the community. We are also using the Bizzabo app which will display who is coming to the event and allow you to connect with each other before the event. We’re keen to try out things that we haven’t tried before and are considering ways that we can encourage conversations that connect people and make a difference. If you’ve got an idea, then please share it with us!

Practical tools

We had lots of feedback last year that you really valued the practical takeaways. Your highlights included practical tools with a focus on the real world, methods that could help overcome barriers and practical applications to QI. We also had some comments that sessions would have benefited from more practical tools to help put learning into action.

This year we have a wide range of sessions, including more which focus on developing skills. We’re working closely with the speakers to ensure that you have something that you can take with you to engage your team in QI, focus your work and solve problems effectively.

I’m really looking forward to the event and hope that it provides you with the space to have lots of productive and energising conversations, the opportunity to learn new techniques and give you tools to take back to your organisations. If you’re interested in getting more involved in the planning of the event, we will be using the group space to ask questions that we’d like your help with. Do check in with the group to have your say, or drop us an email!