The Best Practice Showcase 2009 is taking place here in London at the QEII Centre this month on Tuesday 23 June 2009.  It's been running for 7 years, and is billed as the UK's number one event for project, programme and risk managers with over 2800 satisfied delegates to date.



I attended last year and there were many interesting stalls and presenters; the break out sessions I attended were particularly good, although you have to get in early to book a place.  And the best thing is that it's free!



The organisers have added some new things for 2009:
 





     
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  • 20% more "Birds of a Feather" sessions. A large body of research now recognises that a learning environment with real interaction is far more effective than straight lectures. The "Birds of Feather" workshops at Best Practice Showcase have always been the most popular feature of the event so this year there are five rather than four BoF sessions (and still finishing at the reasonable time of 16:30).




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  • Repeated BoF sessions throughout the day. Delegate comments from last year indicated that people were often disappointed because two sessions that they would have liked to have attended were scheduled at the same time. To reduce the likelihood of session clashes the programme has been planned this year so that a number of BoF sessions are repeated throughout the day, ensuring that if you miss the first session you can catch the repeat later on.




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  • Comfortable areas to sit down and eat lunch. In the past they tried to create an easy atmosphere for networking at lunchtime by ensuring that lunch was eaten standing up - but that's impractical, especially once you have your conference bag in hand.  At the event this year there will be ample space at laid tables for sitting down to eat lunch.




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In addition to the BoF sessions this year there will be:

 

 

 

 

 





     
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  • Over 100 different sessions focusing on project, programme and risk management




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  • Over 25 training companies, specialist consultancies and software companies in the project, programme and risk management arena




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  • The opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and share experiences (this is one of the big perks, especially as the event is free)




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