Hertfordshire Forward Annual Conference 2009
The 2009 Hertfordshire Forward conference, From Recession to Recovery, focused on the economy. This year the invitation to the annual conference was extended to Hertfordshire businesses, via our partners, East of England International and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference was fully booked – and as a result, seating was more economy than club class! Despite this, delegates praised the Fielder Centre as a venue.
Feedback on the content of the day was predominantly very positive – though a couple of people said they would have appreciated the opportunity to ask more questions of the speakers. Those who filled in feedback forms were particularly interested to hear from Dr Jackie Hunter about GlaxoSmithKline’s new BiosciencePark project in Stevenage, and from David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce about his predictions for the future of the British economy. Nat Wakely from John Lewis PLC also made a big impression with his inspirational views on vibrant town centres.
In the morning, delegates had a choice of workshop from
1. Sustaining success in social enterprise: business skills for difficult times.
2. Increasing investment in Hertfordshire.
3. Valuing Hertfordshire’s businesses.
4. Place making: how important are creative industries to your local economy?
5. Hertfordshire’s rural economy – exploring solutions.
And in the afternoon, delegates were split into five groups who were each tasked with feeding back on one of the five key objectives of the draft Economic Development Strategy. These were:
1. Creating a vibrant, low carbon economy
2. Stimulating enterprise, innovation and inward investment
3. Developing a well skilled workforce
4. Providing quality locations and infrastructure
5. Creating vibrant towns and vibrant Communities
Feedback on the workshops was generally positive though some said that they had difficulty engaging with them.
Many remarked on the buzzing atmosphere, and all who responded said that they found the conference provided a great opportunity to network. Please see documents below:-
Speakers' presentations: Robert Gordon, Brian King, Jackie Hunter, James Ayling, Nat Wakely
Draft Hertfordshire Economic Strategy