The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is a registered charity that strives to promote and progress civil engineering. They are a qualifying body, a centre for the exchange of specialist knowledge, and a provider of resources to encourage innovation and excellence in the profession worldwide.

Having agreed upon an ambitious long term vision, ICE needed to focus their 2008 senior manager conference on how to 'make that vision a reality'. HarknessKennett provided both consultancy and interim support to the Group Head of Communications to develop a conference that would engage the whole of the senior team in their role in delivering the vision.

Approach

The conference was designed as a highly interactive and involving two days that focused senior managers on tackling practical issues.  Many of the conference sessions were based on discussion, debate and challenges that the managers worked through in groups to reach practical outcomes.

Delegates explored the stakeholders' experience of ICE and were also focused on how to engage the rest of the organisation in understanding and delivering the vision.

Outcomes

Delegates were able to determine how different areas of the organisation could work together more effectively to meet the varied needs of different internal and external audiences. They also agreed actions to take to overcome potential barriers to achieving the ICE vision.

From the conference, each Senior Manager was able to develop their own approach for onward communication of the vision in their area of the business.

"HarknessKennett helped us to deliver a genuinely interactive conference that provided us with some very practical actions and opportunities to network with colleagues. The conference generated a substantial shift in attitudes across the management team, and created a unified platform upon which to establish integrated communications across ICE."

Graham Sibley
Group Head of Communications

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