Attended my first CKO Public Sector Summit, held at the Bath Priory, on 23-25th April 2006. This was the 5th year for the event , organised by TFPL and sponsored this year by Thomson Sweet & Maxwell. There were quite a few ‘old’ hands there who had attended all of the previous events, and a good deal of camaraderie was apparent, though as the ‘new’ boy I was made to feel very welcome. I was most impressed by the many years of knowledge and experience assembled in one place, which provided for some very stimulating discussions across the dinner table (excellent Michelin-star restaurant), which usually got slightly louder and more animated later in the evening as we settled into the brandy and port! However, don’t let me paint a picture of decadence and excess, particularly in view of other ‘public sector’ news hitting the headlines (John "two jags" Prescott is, to quote one tabloid, now referred to as "two sh*gs" Prescott)! No, there was some very serious and thought-provoking presentations, supplemented by a series of group discussions and workshops, covering subjects as diverse as EDRMS, wikis, blogs, social computing, Google and Transformational Government. I don’t think we solved all the problems in the public sector, but I think we all came away with some new perspectives and learnings that might help us when we’re back doing the daily toil. But apart from that, I for one made some new friends and contacts which I hope to nurture in the coming months. I can understand why so many of the delegates keep coming back to these summits – roll on the CKO Summit 2007!
The Dissident
As a fellow “newbie” joining the event for the first time, I agree wholeheartedly with all your remarks. Looking forward to expanding on these conversations although perhaps minus the port and brandy.