CNI Desk: GPA has been working with partners to deliver Smarter Working Live – a conference and awards show celebrating smarter working across the public sector.
Over the last 12 months, the Government Property Agency (GPA) has been working closely with a number of partners to deliver a conference and awards show celebrating smarter working in the public sector.
Though COVID-19 brought with it some of the biggest changes to the ways of working we’ve ever seen, nominations for the awards portion of Smarter Working Live actually closed in February, before it had even reached pandemic status here in the UK.
In the course of this year, it has become clear just how important smarter working is, and the need for its principles of flexibility and resilience to shape our long-term approach to ways of working.
Organised by our partners GovNewsDirect and Pendulum Media, what started off last November as a typical conference and awards show, with physical venues and exhibition stands, quickly had to morph into something new in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s Smarter Working Live was a wholly virtual event and members of GPA’s smarter working team worked with the event organisers to pull together an agenda packed full of expert speakers from across the public and private sectors, as well as virtual workshops, live lounges and exhibitions.
The conference and awards ceremony went ahead on Thursday 26 November and was a great success with 1,000 attendees. A number of GPA colleagues presented at the conference, including our CEO Steven Boyd who spoke about the celebration of places, GPA’s Director of Workplace Services Dominic Brankin who delivered the opening address and chaired the plenary sessions, and GPA’s Smarter Working Programme Director Kate Guthrie, and Head of Business Change Jenny Baynes who both talked about celebrating smarter working.
The plenary sessions were the highlight of the event for many, with close to 300 joining in the sessions.
After the conference ended, we moved into the awards part of the evening with Minister Julia Lopez, Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, delivering the opening remarks.
Throughout the awards ceremony, sponsors of Smarter Working Live announced which organisations had won in each category.
The winners of the evening were:
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