Unlock!: The Cranfield BGP Response Programme Un-conference
It’s clear that many of you now feel that we are through the initial phase of the Coronavirus crisis, which lasted from March to early May. Systems were changed, safety measures adopted, financial help sought, new cash-flow forecasts produced, and people moved in and out of furlough. Some businesses have been put into temporary hibernation.
We have mostly settled to a new way of being, and to use the BGP model, many of us have adjusted and now we are coping.
It’s also clear from more recent conversations that the minds of business leaders and owner-managers are now turning to the future. There’s no doubt that the government will attempt to move the country back towards “normal” over the summer months. However, what does that mean? How will we run our businesses? What constraints will we be under? What demand will there be for what we sell? Why go back to “normal” anyway, why not try to go back to something better?
Nobody has all the answers. Nobody can – we’ve never been here before. To address these questions in a meaningful way, we need a different type of event. One that allows us to work together to frame the questions we need to ask, and to try to work out the toolset we will need to work out possible answers, and to guide our businesses through an unprecedented time.
So, we’ve announced Unlock!: The Un-conference, to take place on 7 July 2020, online.
What is an Un-conference?
An Un-conference is a participant-driven event, where the sessions are based on the stated interests of those participating. This format should enable us to create lots of relevant and useful content for everybody involved.
Delegates are able to suggest in advance which topics they would like to see covered at the conference. Some of those topics may be covered in a presentation led style, and some will be a moderated discussion. Delegates can offer to present or lead a session. The beauty is that by making the subject matter delegate led, we get to have an un-conference that should be relevant to the attendees.
Attending Unlock!
The intention is that you will be able to join two sessions on the day. We will collect the key takeaways from the different group sessions, and we will share this information with all attendees after the sessions.
We are also considering some kind of online networking event at the end. We will have several breakout rooms available, where you can have a virtual drink with other conference participants. We’d be interested to know if this idea would be of interest to delegates.
|
Time |
Topic |
Description |
|
13:00 – 13:15 |
Welcome and how it will work |
|
|
13:15 – 13:30 |
Registration and finding your groups for first slot |
Decide which topic to go to by editing |
|
13:30 – 14:30 |
Sessions – First Slot |
|
|
14:30 – 15:00 |
Sharing back from the rooms |
Get the key takeaways from the sessions |
|
15:00 – 15:15 |
Coffee break and finding groups for second slot |
Decide which topic to go to by editing your |
|
15:15 – 16:15 |
Session – Second Slot |
|
|
16:15 – 16:45 |
Sharing back from the rooms |
Get the key takeaways from the sessions |
|
16:45 – 17:00 |
Closure and feedback |
|
|
From 17:00 |
Virtual networking drinks |
Bring your own beer/wine/gin and we will |
Pricing
The price for a standard ticket to participate in Unlock! is £25. For every ticket we sell, we will invite a participant from the charity sector to join us for free on the day. We also have company tickets at £100 which are valid for up to eight participants. These participants can be from your own company, customers or suppliers. If you wish to participate with more than eight people, please get in touch via email at s.sommer@cranfield.ac.uk.
Summary
Unlock!: The Un-conference truly will be what you make of it. We know that in the BGP universe, we have many great thinkers and problem solvers, and we know that everybody running a business has questions right now. At the university, we have some outstanding academic staff, and we will ask them to join the event and bring their expertise if that’s what people request. So, tell us what you want to discuss, come along on 7 July, and let’s help each other get our businesses ready for the future.
