Event organised by ICE
Infrastructure, more than any other industry, is in the business of planning for the long term. Much of the infrastructure we create today will serve generations to come throughout this century and well into the next.
But to deliver the resilient, effective infrastructure that is fit for purpose into the 22nd century, the young people embarking on this fulfilling challenge will need visionary thinking and genuine innovation. Two challenges to this exist:
- Through all its workshops since 2019, the SWIP community has repeatedly identified the challenges around a lack of stable, joined-up, policy and action. This reduces risk-taking, stymies investment, and erodes innovative thinking.
- Since 2022, the political, regulatory, economic, and social backdrops to infrastructure development have been evolving fast – and show no signs of slowing down.
Refreshing our vision
Infrastructure needs a vision that frames long-term stability and guides effective policy and collaboration as needs, conditions, knowledge, and delivery actors change.
Using all our evidence, we want to refresh and focus our SWIP Vision to ensure it reflects local needs against the national policy context and supports the SWIP community in delivering ‘better infrastructure for less’ into the 22nd century.
The workshop
This practical, interactive workshop will review the national picture, before diving into a series of insight and enquiry workshops to explore some core themes that have emerged from conversations with the SWIP community about priorities for our industry:
- Connecting with communities: Building public understanding, engagement and buy-in to infrastructure delivery in the South West to enable transparent, two-way conversations that genuinely inform and shape infrastructure based on user needs.
- Building resilient connectivity that meets user needs: Maximising opportunities for education, skills and jobs through sustainable connectivity across the region
- Collaboration to drive innovation and investment: Leveraging the abundant opportunities in the South West by working together cross-sector
- Achieving balance between natural, community and economic needs
Your views will then be fed into the refreshed SWIP vision, mission, purpose, and programme to be launched in 2026.
Please join us to contribute your voice.
For more information please contact Kate Messham kate.messham@ice.org.uk.
You will find the detailed programme on the ICE website.