Booking Opens for 2023 Institute of Economic Development Annual Conference and Awards Dinner

The Institute of Economic Development (IED) has opened bookings for its highly anticipated Annual Conference and Awards Dinner, as the organization kicks off its 40th anniversary celebrations in full swing.

Scheduled for November 7th at the Park Regis Birmingham, the IED Annual Conference revolves around the theme “Grow for Good? Reappraising the UK’s Growth Objectives.” The event will feature workshops and presentations focused on various related topics, including Town Centres, Inclusive Growth, Skills and Fair Employment, Housing, Economic Regeneration, and Health & Wellbeing.

The conference boasts an impressive lineup of keynote speakers, including IED Patron Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds CBE, and Greg Clark MP.

Additional guest speakers include Tom Stannard, Chair of the IED and Chief Executive of Salford City Council; Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES); Dr. Julian Dobson, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University; Jo Bibby, Director of Health at The Health Foundation; David Wilkes, Director – Innovation Ecosystem at Innovate UK; Tamsin Hart-Jones, Head of Cities and Major Conurbations at Homes England; and David Marlow, Founder of Third Life Economics.

Following the one-day conference, the IED Awards Dinner will take place in the Sky Gallery at the Park Regis Hotel. The awards ceremony aims to recognize outstanding achievements in the public and private sectors through a range of individual, team, and organizational categories. Currently, eight categories are open for entry, while the ninth category, “Outstanding Contribution to Economic Development,” will be selected by the IED Board and an expert judging panel.

The categories open for entry are as follows:

1. Leader of the Year: Recognizing economic development professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills, motivating and inspiring their teams to achieve success through effective leadership.

2. Team of the Year: Celebrating exceptional economic development teams that have gone above and beyond to ensure the smooth operation and effective delivery of economic development functions within their organizations.

3. Rising Star of the Year: Acknowledging outstanding achievements by younger economic development team members aged 30 or under (as of June 1st, 2023), who have demonstrated excellence, commitment, and exceptional contributions to their early careers.

4. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Champion of the Year: Honoring individuals who have actively promoted, celebrated, and raised awareness of EDI, fostering greater involvement and representation in economic development within their organizations and beyond.

5. Social Value Champion of the Year: Recognizing individuals who have championed and made significant contributions to social value creation, developing best practices in their field and making positive impacts within their communities.

6. Most Innovative Project of the Year: Commending innovative economic development projects that have pushed the boundaries beyond traditional approaches, resulting in additional beneficial outcomes through their innovative nature.

7. Collaborative Initiative of the Year: Highlighting outstanding cross-sector collaborations between local authorities, private sector entities, third sector organizations, businesses, and academia, resulting in significant economic development achievements.

8. Outstanding Impact: Celebrating projects that have been successfully delivered within the past five years and demonstrate benchmarked evidence of their impact compared to similar initiatives. Impacts may include environmental, social, business support (from start-up to growth and scale), rural development, and regeneration.

To enter the awards, individuals or teams must develop a 500-word entry explaining why they should win, along with an optional one-page submission of additional evidence. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. on September 1st, 2023