The Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG)’s annual conference, Strictly Highways, has been moved to October 2021.
At the same time the Group has announced the launch of a series of
webinars designed to facilitate fresh thinking in the sector.
Strictly Highways was due to take place in Blackpool this month, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic the decision was taken to postpone this year’s event.
The event will now take place at Winter Gardens, Blackpool from 5-7 October next year. The event brings together the whole highways community, including local councils, the Department for Transport (DfT), academia and industry associations.
Strictly Highways is unique in that it takes place over three days and is completely free of charge to the public sector. The DfT Special Recognition Awards, which were established in 2018, will take place on 6 October next year.
Susanne Ingham, Secretariat & Executive Officer of LCRIG, said she and the event team are excited about the prospect of delivering next year’s show, which she said will offer a ‘fantastic experience’ for delegates and exhibitors.
She said: “As the Covid-19 pandemic hit earlier this year we had to make the tough decision to postpone this year’s event. Obviously, the safety of all our delegates and exhibitors will always be our number one priority and I’m looking forward to welcoming them back to the Winter Gardens next year.
“A number of people who were booked to attend this month have told me that not running the event this year has been a bit like cancelling Christmas. Whilst it is sad that we aren’t able to bring everyone together physically this year I’m delighted to announce that the team have been working on ways to bring the highways community together virtually. This will ensure that we continue to play a vital role in facilitating fresh
thinking in innovation and collaboration and to act as a conduit between the ‘highways community’. We are really looking forward to providing a fantastic experience for everyone at next year’s Strictly and can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the Winter Gardens.”
LCRIG continues to closely monitor the Covid-19 pandemic and relevant government guidance on large-scale events.
More details about Strictly Highways 2021 will be published soon.
Meanwhile, LCRIG has teamed up with the Transport Technology Forum (TTF) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to deliver a webinar entitled ‘Delivering innovation through collaborative procurement’ on 1 October 2020.
The webinar, which is the first of a series, will examine a number of topics including:
*Procurement challenges faced by local authorities
*How to make contracts more accessible to SMEs
*Procurement in other sectors
*Funding challenges
*How to share best practice and harness innovation
*What the future of procurement might look like.
The panel is made up of Will Britain, President of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG); Martin Duffy, Chief Executive of LCRIG; Darren Capes, ITS Policy Lead, Traffic and Technology Division, Department for Transport; Andrea Fitzgerald, Regional Head Business Management London & South East, Crown Commercial Service.
