AI is already here and every public, private and third sector body in Scotland has to understand what it is going to mean for them. Its impact will be deep and wide ranging, so what do organisations need to do to understand it, react to it and adapt to it?

This conference will take place online.

Effective regulation in the public, private and third sectors is essential in guaranteeing the quality services and products Scottish consumers receive. However, public sector budgets are under threat. Private sector businesses are competing for consumers who have increasingly tight budgets. Third sector organisations face another period of acute funding uncertainty. How can bodies across all three sectors deliver compliance in regulation and scrutiny in challenging circumstances? The challenge is to comply with current expectations, prepare for what is coming next and still deliver what consumers expect. The question is, how?

This conference will take place online.

Employees are critical to every area of work - too few, too inexperienced or insufficiently skilled creates cost, delay and damage to public services and economic competitiveness.  Yet the current labour market shortage is evident across our public, private and third sectors.  Our ability to deliver critical public services is undermined by it.  The need to grow and compete our way out of recession is threatened by it.  The capacity of our third sector to provide essential safety nets in the midst of growing poverty and household financial breakdown is damaged by it.  So how should organisations anticipate, plan and react in order to attract and retain staff, minimise employee turnover and upskill and innovate with their valuable and scarce staff resource?

This conference will take place online.

Scotland's need for capital investment in infrastructure is well researched, documented and signposted.  However, our ability to deliver in core areas such as net zero, transport, housing, digital infrastructure and projects supporting public service delivery is now acutely challenged by the state of our public finances following pandemic, war, recession and budget recklessness.  So, how bad is the picture on our infrastructure prospects and what can be done to prioritise spending, innovate on funding, attract additional investment and find new ways to partner in project delivery?

This conference will take place online.

Scotland’s railways have a critical role to play in supporting the wider economy, our communities and Scotland’s push for Net Zero. However, the impact of the past two years presented a fundamental challenge to the scope, viability and purpose of rail as passenger numbers plummeted and travel patterns altered. What therefore needs to happen next to ensure rail in Scotland’s long-term sustainability?

This conference will take place online.

Everyone wants to be able to be able to motivate, focus and present themselves as effectively as possible in any situation, both in person and online. Being able to do so directly affects how we are perceived at work and is also important for personal relationships. However,  most of us have found ourselves wishing we could just ‘get our act together’ at one time or another. The desire to make yourself seen, clearly heard and understood can often be inhibited. Sometimes that can be due to uncertainty about what you want to say. At other times the challenge is not what you want to say but how to convey it. Therefore, understanding how to unlock your confidence, positivity and self-belief is an essential tool in setting and reaching professional and personal goals.

Online

This webinar will explore the effects and consequences of the COVID pandemic for how we live and work in our city and town centres and our high streets. It will examine the opportunities for transformational change in the centre of our urban spaces and will consider current thinking and initiatives to turn threat into opportunity as dramatic structural changes are already unfolding.

Online

This webinar will discuss the immediate and long term effects of coronavirus upon our cities and city-regions with a focus on the potential of data, the meaning of smart cities post-Covid and approaches to smart city region economic recovery in the key engines of our economy.

Online

Organisations in the public, private and third sectors have all had to cope with new working practices driven by the COVID pandemic. Almost overnight, organisations, teams and individuals have had to move to remote virtual working and to remain that way for most of a year. While trying to continue to fulfil their roles – or learning new ones in response to emergency – staff have been expected to deliver for consumers and customers while also coping with the isolation and disorientation of remote home working.

Online

Huge government deficits are being created in order to fund the vast range of support required to keep the economy afloat. How will this debt be paid for in the short, medium and long term and what is the best way to ensure that the associated expenditure most effectively supports the economy, households and a return to growth?

Online