BEST LONGSTANDING ASSOCIATION EVENT (up to 800 attendees)
Association for Project Management – APM Women in Project Management Conference, featuring The Think Differently Summit
The Women in Project Management Conference has grown to become the largest conference in APM’s events portfolio. The purpose of the event is to provide a forum for women in the profession to network, share ideas and learn from each other. It aims to support women working in project management, growing the profile of women in the profession and giving them confidence to thrive in their chosen career. It also provides APM a platform to share any opportunities available to them within the industry.
The Think Differently Summit also ran in parallel, focusing on the opportunities provided by a more diverse and inclusive workforce. The purpose of this summit was to raise awareness of the opportunities – and challenges – of creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce and explore its links to project success. It also provided the opportunity to invite a broader, more diverse audience into the APM conference programme. With 567 registered attendees, an impressive 513 members were in attendance, proving how keen our members were to hear from our speakers and to network once again with industry professionals.
Association of University Directors of Estates – AUDE Annual Conference
AUDE is the Association for University Directors of Estates. AUDE’s 2023 Conference (University of Liverpool, April 2023) was themed ‘Our place in the world.’ The association provided content that reflected on the role of university estates/facilities departments in facing up to massive international challenges, including climate change. An important part of our remit is to innovate in supporting a growing number of members (at a high of 185 UK universities in 2023), to identify ways to help individual members in their specialisms (such as energy management, capital project management and more), and to steer them in understanding themes beyond the technical, able to deal with changing student/staff expectations in areas such as EDI, and mental health/wellbeing. We provided a range of content that addressed a wide breadth of subjects. A record total of 385 delegates, and a record figure of 108 total sponsor packages sold, were achieved across all categories. As a not-for-profit organisation with a tiny staff headcount of 4.1 FTE, this income is vital in covering association operating costs and providing re-investable project funding. In feedback, 91% of sponsors/exhibitors wish to attend next year. Member feedback saw scores of over 90% satisfaction in a wide range of categories.
British Security Industry Association – British Security Awards
The BSIA’s flagship event, the British Security Awards has grown in stature since its rebrand in 2018. Attendance has grown by over 50%, posting an increasing surplus from ticket sales and sponsorship year on year, attracting non members who subsequently join and representing the growing and diverse industry though new categories.
British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology – BSACI Annual Conference
The British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI) is the UK’s leading allergy membership society for healthcare professionals caring for patients with allergy. Our aim is to improve the management of allergies and related diseases of the immune system in the United Kingdom, through education, training and research.
Our long-standing event is the BSACI Annual Conference which has gathered momentum since the early 1990s. It provides a platform to allergy experts of international calibre to present high-quality data and the latest research on allergy and clinical immunology. The Conference is considered to be one of the most influential allergy conferences in Europe along with the EAACI Congress. In 2010 the BSACI won a bid to host a European meeting in London attracting over 8,000 delegates making this one of the largest and most successful European allergy conferences ever.
Building on the success of the 2010 conference, BSACI won a bid to host the World Allergy Conference in Edinburgh in 2022 and following this we hosted a spin off online ‘Global Allergy Symposium’ in 2023.
Our Conference has enabled us to bring together and share ground-breaking worldwide research which over the years has continued to advance our understanding of allergies.
European Institute of Golf Course Architects – Annual Meeting
The challenge was to deliver the third Annual Meeting in eighteen months, within budget, while being distinguishable from the nineteen held before.
The solution was to host 97 people, flying in from 15 countries, for five days in April 2023 in Belek, Turkey.
The EIGCA community consists of 97 members, 36 partners and 10 patrons This five-day flagship event (golf tournament, conference, AGM and two official dinners) is the primary opportunity for the community to meet, learn, share, and play fabulous golf courses It is when business relationships are formed and strengthened, opportunities discussed, business rivalries set aside, all while having fun.
Due to how hotels in Belek operate, the firsts began from day one of planning as there was no option but to have all-inclusive pricing and work with a travel agency – both new for the Institute. The organisation went fully digital with firsts of a dedicated events website, online booking forms and a mobile app.
Targets were set and beaten, including 8% more delegates to target and 20% below budget. Feedback was amazing with 100% saying the event was excellent or very good To have a delegate say the worst thing about the event was saying goodbye
Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation – IAAF Annual Conference & Dinner
The IAAF Annual Conference & Dinner is the automotive aftermarket’s best networking event with 250 conference delegates and 600 dinner guests.
In 2022, the event was aimed at celebrating the very best the automotive aftermarket offers and the dinner was billed as the AFTERmarket party of the year! The daytime conference included high profile speakers ex-SAS soldier Robin Horsfall and economist Vicky Pryce. For the dinner, the event featured award-winning comedian Omid Djalili.
Railway Industry Association – RIA Innovation Conference
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the trade association for UK rail suppliers. In the 13 years since RIA first ran an innovation seminar day, the RIA Innovation Conference (RIC) has grown from 80 attendees to a two-day conference for over 300 delegates and 46 exhibitors, generating overwhelmingly positive feedback from those attending. In 2023 we saw a 225% increase in Early Bird ticket sales for the event, and secured four Platinum Sponsors, our highest sponsorship category. We secured an overall surplus more than 2.5x our target, which can be used to support other activities both RIA’s members and the wider UK railway supply sector. The scale, complexity and creativity of RIC23 has increased significantly since the first innovation day in 2009. Today’s event included a conference with nationally-recognised keynote speakers, bespoke TechTalks, a large exhibition including mobile ‘Spotlight’ presentations, Train Operating Company ‘Pitches’, Network Rail ‘R&D Showcases’, and an Evening Networking Reception & Dinner including a mock casino and industry quiz! Given the progress of this event over the years, all conducted from in-house resources and team personnel, we believe the RIA Innovation Conference is a credible candidate to win the ‘AEA Best Long-Lasting Association Event’ Award for 2023.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners – STEP Private Client Awards
The STEP Private Client Awards (PCAs) are renowned for honouring excellence in the global private client industry. After two virtual editions due to COVID-19, the goal was to revive the in-person event, aiming to engage members worldwide, enhance STEP’s reputation, raise funds for charity, and generate a profit for reinvestment.
The PCAs distinguish themselves through their independent and truly global judging process, involving experts from various countries to ensure fairness and impartiality. The event’s global reach provides STEP and its members with an opportunity to contribute to charitable causes.
Despite significant challenges, ranging from competitors ‘borrowing’ our branding to having to reschedule due to the passing of the Queen and hit by train strikes and snow on the rescheduled date, the 2022 Awards achieved success. The event attracted international delegates, saw an increase in entries and showcased diverse participants from different regions. Attendees highly rated the Awards, acknowledging their significance in the industry. The event also raised substantial funds for the World Literacy Foundation and generated a profit for reinvestment.
