Earlier this week, I was brimming with excitement over last week’s DfT Special Recognition Apprentice Awards at the LCRIG Innovation and Learning Festival, and now my focus shifts to reflecting on two unforgettable days at the Festival. The energy, the momentum, and the sheer scale of participation – it’s been nothing short of phenomenal. Just look at the numbers: over 800 people registered to attend, £220,000 worth of funded delegate places, 100 exhibiting companies, 29 technical training sessions, 5 live demonstrations, 6 powerful sessions in the Think Pavilion, and 600 attendees at the DfT Special Recognition Awards and Networking Evening. If you’ve heard or read these before, I’ll happily say them again – because they matter.
We enabled almost 400 fully funded delegates from across 83 English Authorities, 5 London Boroughs, 2 Combined Authorities, 5 Scottish Authorities, and 2 Welsh Authorities, with representation from major bodies like the DfT, National Highways, Transport for London, the Ministry of Defence, Welsh Government, and the Department for Infrastructure. We also funded 61 apprentices and 8 start-ups. That level of inclusion, reach, and commitment to learning speaks volumes.
I made it a point to personally welcome as many public sector delegates as I could at the registration desk, and I took every opportunity to speak with exhibitors and attendees across sectors. Staying connected to our membership isn’t just important to me, it fuels everything I do. Listening to their stories, understanding the challenges they face, and uncovering the real-world impact of innovation – it’s what drives me.
That same curiosity led the sessions I ran in the Innovation Think Pavilion, where we tackled trust in AI and its legal implications in safety. These weren’t just panel talks; they were interactive, grounded conversations designed to cut through the noise. We captured insights directly from participants, because if we’re serious about helping councils move beyond the hype, we need to get to the heart of what really enables innovation to stick. Someone told me, “People listen to the story but not the outcome,” and that’s exactly the disconnect we’re trying to bridge between what sounds good and what genuinely works.
Every conversation at the festival reaffirmed how critical it is to understand why innovation or some services does or doesn’t take hold in the sector. And yes, there will be changes for next year’s festival – we believe in continuous improvement, but what we’ve built is far more than an event. It’s about the organisations, the relationships, the intelligence that power our sector forward.
In just a couple of weeks, we’ll be launching our first-ever Innovation Report, an incredibly important milestone for us, especially as we prepare to mark five years as a Community Interest Company next month. Our journey has been bold, our insights are deep, and what we’re about to share will reflect that and importantly what we’ll be doing to support the sector.
Bookings for next year’s Festival are now open, and believe me, we’re not slowing down. Our ambition to connect, challenge, and champion this sector is only gaining pace.
Paula Claytonsmith
CEO, LCRIG