Best Practice
Exchange 2022
Shaping the future economy
Thursday 23rd June 2022 @ County Hall, London
Countdown to BPEx 2022
Best Practice Exchange is back!
The UK's leading conference for trade associations
Join 200 professionals from across the trade association sector to hear from expert speakers, share knowledge and network at TAF’s one-day conference at the prestigious County Hall in Central London.
Attending will equip your team with skills and knowledge to drive your association forward and deliver more value to your members.
Jump to:
The programme
09:30 - 10:00
Arrivals, Coffees & Networking
10:00
Morning Sessions
BEIS Hub
Trade Association Forum AGM
Annual General Meeting for TAF members including the review of annual accounts and votes on new Board members.
The Annual General Meeting of the Trade Association Forum is a formal requirement of our Articles of Association and allows for the election of new members of the Board, hear a report of the work of TAF and provide accountability of our accounts.
Members are encouraged to submit any questions for the Board and executive team in advance. If a member can’t make the meeting, proxy forms are available and will be sent out to the lead contact at each member association.
FUTURE Hub
TAF Awards Winner Showcase - Member Engagement
Certass discuss their approach to member engagement that was recognised at the 2022 TAF Best Practice Awards.
These sessions have been designed to showcase award winning best practice of TAF members, and to facilitate discussion and knowledge sharing.
Membership Engagement: Using facebook to drive member engagement
Certass represents local SME glazing installation companies across the UK. Certass launched their Members Facebook Forum at the beginning of the pandemic. Within 48 hours of launch, there were 150+ members, by the end of March 2020 they had 400. Today it remains a lively, engaging community with 850 members who regularly attend Certass Facebook Live events, ask questions of other members and engage with the team.
Contributors:
- Jon Vanstone – Certass
- Balls to Marketing
innovation Hub
TAF Awards Winner Showcase - Delivering events with impact
BPCA talk through their award-winning events programme and how they dealt with the challenges of the pandemic.
These sessions have been designed to showcase award winning best practice of TAF members, and to facilitate discussion and knowledge sharing.
PestExtra 2021 was a 3-day online event attended by almost 1,800 people from all over the world. The judges were impressed by the scale of the ambition shown by BCPA, bringing their sector together during a difficult time and delivering an event of impressive size and scope.
The event managed to maintain strong revenue streams and sponsor support despite the move to online, and delivered lots of innovations that they will take forward to future iterations of the event.
Join the team at BPCA for a discussion about how the pandemic has reshaped the way that they use events engage and support members in the future
Contributors
- Scott Johnstone – British Pest Control Association
Knowledge exchange
TAF Awards Winner Showcase - Campaign of the year
Hear from the Bingo Association about their lobbying campaign that won them the 2022 TAF Award – TBC
These sessions have been designed to showcase award winning best practice of TAF members, and to facilitate discussion and knowledge sharing.
The ‘Save Scottish Bingo’ Campaign was launched in 2020 to help bingo clubs in Scotland impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The judges were very impressed by the real-world impact of the campaign, notably the release of £2.3m of direct Government funding that helped 47 businesses survive the impact of lockdown as well as securing an earlier reopening date for bingo halls.
Given the lack of pre-existing relationships in the Scottish Government, the judges praised this as a remarkable result and particularly liked the use of consumer voices in the campaign to bring it to life.
Join the team that delivered the campaign to hear how they achieved such a significant result for members, and what lessons they learnt along the way.
Contributors
- Paul Swindon – Bingo Association
- Daniel Baynes – PLMR
10:35 - 10:55
Coffees & Networking
10:55
Welcome speech
- Gaynor Pates – Chair, Trade Association Forum
11:00
Keynote Speech and Q&A
- Paul Scully MP – Minister for Small Business, Labour Markets & Consumers, BEIS
11:25
Panel - The UK economy in 2022: challenges and opportunities for business
Our first panel session will provide an overview of the challenges facing the UK economy, providing associations with a way to contextualise the issues being faced in their sectors and an opportunity to put questions to the speakers.
Martin McTague
National Chair, Federation of Small Businesses
Emily Wallace
Interim CEO, Trade Association Forum
Henry Aldridge
Head of Trade Associations, CBI
12:20
Breakouts
BEIS Hub
How can Trade Associations better support UK SMEs to grow?
- Phil Bennett – Trade Association Liaison, BEIS
- Carlo Gibbs – Head of SME Insights and Engagement, BEIS
- Paloma Sackman – Head of Small Business Partnerships, Be The Business
Small businesses make up three fifths of the employment and around half of turnover in the UK private sector, and ensuring they are well represented and supported to grow is key to delivering UK economic growth. This discussions will explore how trade associations can support SMEs in their sector to grow, with advice from TAF’s government sponsor BEIS.
FUTURE Hub
The Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities
- Becky Wright –Executive Director, Unions 21
- Jane Sartin – CEO, Flexible Space Association
- Kate Shoesmith – Deputy CEO, Recruitment & Employment Confederation
- Dennis Howes – Founder, Membership Bespoke
- Daniel Goddard – Membership Bespoke
What does the future of work look like for Trade Associations? This session will look at how associations are dealing with post-pandemic working and the current challenges of recruiting and retaining staff.
innovation Hub
Using data
to supercharge
your growth
- Lisa Collins – Head of Member Engagement, IABM
- Charbel Abi-Maroun – Director, Mnovate
- Zarina Shakir – Director of Operations and Stakeholder Relations, SBAI
Ensuring that your association is build on a foundation of good quality data is key for supporting its growth and development. In this session the speakers will share real examples of how they have effectively built and used their data, sharing tips and taking questions from the audience.
Knowledge exchange
Using monitoring, surveys, and polling effectively
- Richard Lambert – CEO, NHBF
- Chris Curtis – Head of Political Polling, Opinium
- Kelly Scott – Vuelio
Surveys, polling and focus groups are tools that allow trade associations to better understand and represent their members. Hear from contributors about how to effectively use your own polling and external experts to deliver the most impact.
13:00 - 13:45
Lunch
13:30
Keynote Speech
- Seema Malhotra MP – Shadow Minister for Small Business, Labour Markets & Consumers, Labour Party
14:10
Panel - Role and effectiveness of trade associations in dealing with Government
A key part of the role of a Trade Association is in representing its members to Government, policymakers and regulators. This session will explore the relationship between Government and trade associations and how to build long term impactful relationships and be the most effective representatives for your members
Alex Thomas
Programme Director, Institute for Government and former Civil Servant
Nikki Da Costa
Specialist Partner at Flint Gobal and Former Director Of Legislative Affairs at 10 Downing Street
Alistair McCapra
Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Tom Bowtell
CEO,
British Coatings Federation
15:10
Breakouts
BEIS Hub
Sustainability matters: Working with member businesess to meet Net Zero targets
- Amy Jenkins – Head of Clean Growth, BEIS
Trade associations have a key role to play in supporting the transition to a greener cleaner economy. This session will explore how Trade Associations can support businesses in their sector to meet their Net Zero targets.
FUTURE Hub
Trade Associations in a new Global Britain - What has changed and what is next?
- Linda Middleton-Jones – Founder and MD, International Trade Matters
- Jill Rutter – Senior Research Fellow, UK in a Changing Europe
- Claire Brodie – TRA General Council, Trade Remedies
The panel aims to explore the UK’s changing relationship with the world, especially the EU, in the wake of Brexit and the focus on ‘Global Britain’. Trade associations have historically played an important role in helping their member businesses understand, engage and lobby the EU and worldwide (often via the UK gov) and many are now trying to refine their purpose in this space, especially as many have withdrawn from their EU trade associations or closed offices in Brussels.
innovation Hub
Tech that
can drive your association
forward
- Joel Trotman – Oomi
Making decisions about investment in technology to support the growth and development of your association, help to deliver better services and support to your members. This session will explore the latest development in tech that are supporting UK Associations, and provide top tips for how to make sure your investment delivers long term value.
Knowledge exchange
Revenue diversification for the post-pandemic trade association
- Mike Andrews – CEO, NAPIT
- Phil Barton – CEO, Partners&
- Harry Shackleton – Commercial Director, TAF
This session will examine ways that Trade Associations have successfully diversified income streams. Thes session will include a case study of how NAPIT and Partners& have developed new income streams from the development of sector specific products.
15:50 - 16:10
Coffee & Networking
16:10
Breakouts
BEIS Hub
Why focusing on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is good for business
- Isabella Lawson – Senior Policy Officer, RIA
- Jessica Levy – Director of Communications, Federation of Master Builders
- Mandy Rico – Head of Advisory and Inclusion, INvolve
This session will explore how Associations can drive improvements in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in their sectors. We will hear examples of how trade associations have delivered real impact and discuss the role of trade associations in promoting EDI.
FUTURE Hub
Lobbying on a shoestring. Can it be done?
- Jon Gerlis – CIPR
This session will present the findings of a new survey, looking at trends in professional membership communications. Conducted by Think Publishing, it is the largest survey of its kind and has been segmented specifically by trade associations. This data hasn’t been released anywhere before so this is exclusive new content to this event. provides really in depth insights and knowledge so that organisations can benchmark their own strategy against their peers
innovation Hub
Good
Governance in
the digital age
- Ellen Daniels – CEO, BCGA
- Augustus Della Porta – Partner, Bates Wells
- Gaynor Pates – Membership & Business Admin Director, RIA
This session will explore how new ways of working pose challenges and opportunities for the governance of trade associations and why governance must remain a priority of any trade association leader.
Knowledge exchange
Membership B2B Marketing 101
- Ben Massey – Director of Marketing & Comms, NAJ
- Jackie Scully – Executive Director, Think
- Scott Johnstone – Marketing & Communications Manager, BPCA
Top Trade Association Marketing Professionals will give their top tips for membership marketing. Join us for a discussion about how to get the basics right and ask your question to the experts.
17:00 - 18:30
Networking Reception
After a busy day at the conference, a chance to unwind and network with attendees over a glass of wine. We will also be drawing the winner of our raffle and closing off the conference with short speeches to thank attendees.
Jon Vanstone
Vice-Chair, Trade Association Forum
Alastair McCapra
CEO, CIPR
18:30
Conference ends
Tickets
Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis with discounts offered for earlybird reservations and for groups.
TAF members also benefit from discounted tickets to the conference, if you work for a UK trade association but are not yet a member of TAF then you can find our more about joining our association of associations here.
You can see the breakdown or costs and deadlines below, tickets are available to purchase on the TAF shop or via invoice.
All prices are exclusive of VAT
Hear from leading figures in the trade assocation world
our speakers
Paul Scully MP
BEIS
Seema Malhotra MP
and Consumers
Lisa Collins
IABM
Martin McTague
Federation of Small Businesses
Nikki da Costa
Flint Gobal
Carlo Gibbs
Emily Wallace
Trade Association Forum
Charbel Abi-Maroun
Mnovate
Kate Shoesmith
REC
Gaynor Pates
RIA
Dennis Howes
Membership Bespoke
Ellen Daniels
BCGA
Jackie Scully
Think
Paloma Sackman
Becky Wright
Unions 21
Kelly Scott
Amy Jenkins
BEIS
Jane Sartin
Flexible Space Association
Chris Curtis
Opinium
Ben Massey
National Association of Jewellers
Headline Sponsors
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK. With over 10,000 members involved in all aspects of public relations, it is the largest body of its type in Europe. The CIPR advances the public relations profession in the UK by making its members accountable through a code of conduct, developing policies, representing its members and raising standards through education and training.
Find out more – https://www.cipr.co.uk
Partners& is the next generation of insurance advisory – specialists in working with trade associations and developing tailored insurance products for association members. Partners& offer expert advice that really makes the difference – across business insurance, risk management and employee benefits.
Find out more – https://www.partnersand.com/
Vuelio helps organisations make their story matter by providing monitoring, insight, engagement and evaluation tools for politics, editorial and social media in one place. Our technology is used by more 3,000 organisations across the world, from large enterprises and communications agencies to public sector bodies and not-for-profits.
Find out more: https://www.vuelio.com/uk/
oomi – CRM for any NFP anywhere A new approach to CRM – freedom to change, engage and grow. A fully integrated Engagement Management System for the NFP sector – combining CRM, Website, Collaboration, Engagement & Social Media. oomi is available anytime, on any device and truly agile for your changing organisational needs.
Find out more – https://www.oomi.co.uk
Think is the UK’s leading membership agency, creating effective communications on behalf of our 48 clients. We create content that delivers engagement and drives loyalty for membership bodies and consumer brands. Our teams create award-winning emails, SEO-driven content, podcasts, magazines, books, interactive content, downloadable resources, virtual events, webinars and conferences. We also generate revenue by pairing content with effective sponsorship, partnerships and advertising sales.
Find out more – https://thinkpublishing.co.uk/
Exhibitors & sponsors
RD Mobile’s industry-leading Eventsential & Engagefully platforms power in-person, hybrid/blended & virtual events as well as year-round member engagement – on both mobile & desktop devices.
Bates Wells is a truly purpose & impact driven law firm with decades of experience of working with associations with an understanding of the complex structures, governance, management and commercial issues and challenges you face.
Pixl8 is the go-to technical creative agency for associations, membership organisations, charities, and more. From beautifully-designed, integrated websites, to fully bespoke software – we specialise in delivering award-winning digital solutions.
mnovate is a specialist in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solutions for Membership and Charities. Our significant sector experience combined with our pre-built modules for membership, will help you to keep costs down and time to implement to a minimum.
Quest Cover is a specialist membership services provider which aims to provide tailor-made HR, H&S, legal, tax and insurance services to our partner organisations.
The membership bespoke group remains the only specialist recruitment organisation in the UK, which offers a dedicated service tailored to the needs of Trade Associations, Unions, Professional and Regulatory Bodies.
The Brick Development Association represents the United Kingdom’s clay brick and paver manufacturers. Our role is to communicate the collective interests of our members and to ensure their products remain the material of choice in the UK’s built environment.
Watch this space for more announcements!
Interested in Sponsoring BPEx 2022?
The Venue
County Hall
The TAF Best Practice Exchange 2022 will be held at County Hall on the banks of the River Thames. County
Hall is a prestigious central London venue, just across the bridge from the Houses of Parliament and formerly
the headquarters of London County Council.
Getting there
County Hall is a short walk from Waterloo or Westmister stations in Central London. BPEx is being held at the etc Venue in the building, the entrace is on Belvedere Road.