PPMA Annual Conference 2018

Welcome to our Conference 2018 page.  You’ll find everything you need to know about our event next year here.  We will be updating the pages between now and April 2018, so we recommend that you check back regularly to see what is new.

I’m absolutely delighted we are bringing our PPMA conference to the North East.  It’s the first time in our history that we’ve been here and it’s a very welcome return to the North following the great success of the recent Northern HR Forum hosted by our PPMA colleagues at Leeds City Council.  We have many members, sponsors and friends across the entire country of course, but this event is a very welcome opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends both old and new in the vibrant North East.

Those of you who attended our very successful Bristol conference will know that we are following the same main stage themes next year.  They are still relevant but we want to get a real sense of what will be different by April 2018 and more importantly, what contribution will PPMA (and we as HR & OD professionals) have made to our organisations.  There are some changes to our fringe events – we’ve decided to explore some newer emerging themes and we’re excited about that.  For example we will be looking at what impact HR & OD has on the use of AI & Robotics in public service workplaces.

Whilst keeping the continuity that Caroline and I committed to when we became Joint Vice Presidents, we are going to do a few things differently.  We’re changing the way we do our pre-conference dinner event. Thanks to our Sponsors, we will be hosting an evening event on Wednesday 18^th April for all of our delegates at Lanes7 in Newcastle.  Essentially we want to give all of you an opportunity to have some relaxed time with colleagues, sponsors and PPMA Board members before conference starts.  Times continue to be tough across Public Services but with the help of our sponsors we can offer you some fun and we feel strongly that you all deserve that.

Additionally, conference this year is a multi-site experience.  One of the opportunities of coming to a new location is that there is lots to explore.  So in selecting our venues, we canvassed the views of Policy Board members, Past PPMA Presidents, Sponsors and previous delegates and they chose a multi-site option.  A multi-site experience gives you more change to explore and I strongly enough you to do so.  You can find out more information about our venues elsewhere in this page.  Having spent 3 happy years at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne studying Psychology, I have a very personal connection to the North East.  It’s an amazing place so please explore everything on offer – you’ll quickly realise it’s easily accessible by a range of transport options.

Putting together an event in a new place is always a challenge.  We have been blessed by the support of a number of organisations and individuals.  Our events team at Sage Gateshead have been an incredible source of ideas and enthusiasm and I know they are going to do us proud.   Our wonderful advisors at the Newcastle-Gateshead Initiative (NGI) have helped us make many connections and will be providing welcoming arrangements during conference.  And finally a personal thanks to Mick Brodie and his team at North East Regional Employers (NEREO).  Mick, a PPMA member himself, has been a strong supporter of our coming to Newcastle Gateshead and has been very generous with his ideas and offers of help.

On behalf of PPMA Policy Board, I extend a very warm invite to all HR & OD Professionals across Public Service to come and join us in 2018.  Whilst we cannot put on an event like this without the generous support of sponsors and speakers, fundamentally this event is about you and for you.  I am so  looking forward to being energised, inspired and humbled by all of you and I am very grateful to be a part of this fantastic community of public service professionals.

If you have any questions about conference 2018 and you can’t find the answer elsewhere in this page, please email us on [email protected].