APM North West Risk conference 2016

The North-West Branch Conference for 2016 was held on 10th October at the Alderley Park Conference Centre in Cheshire. The size and scope of this full-day event has been building over the last few years and this year was no exception as it was the first to host over 100 delegates for the day. The theme for the event was based around the Risk, Opportunity and Issue management competencies as set out in the revised APM Competence Framework.

As the branch looks to develop further contacts with the SIG community, the event was also successful in being a co-operative exercise with the APM Risk Management SIG and was also organised with the involvement of the Institute for Risk Management.

Dr. Ruth Murray-Webster, now a Director of Associated British Ports, opened the day’s presentations with a wide ranging assessment from the viewpoint that all projects constitute a change of some kind and all carry risks [ and perhaps opportunities ].  Change and Risk are therefore inextricably linked.

The plenary session at the start of the day was completed by a short address from the CEO of the APM, Sara Drake, which highlighted a continuing demand for project management skills through all sectors of the UK economy.

Most of the day’s events consisted of several parallel streams from which delegates could select and attend their preferred topics. There was a choice of presentations, workshops and round-table sessions to offer varying formats for engagement. The total of 15 speakers from both the private and public sectors were also on hand during the day to answer individual questions. The day also provided plenty of opportunity for networking between delegates from a wide range of industries and organisations associated with the APM and IRM.

At the end of the day the delegates were asked to take away perhaps only one or two key points or techniques from all the discussions and try to implement these on their own projects. The true success of the day will be seen when improved performances result from the application of these in many individual situations.

Phil Hardy
APM North West branch Chair

Advanced stream slides
Practitioner stream slides