Open Tech Calendar

A 90-minute panel discussion to provoke debate and optimism. This event is free for Chamber members.

2020 was a modern year like no other. The Covid-19 pandemic will continue for some time yet, but recovery must start now. We are learning to live with this virus. Jobs and livelihoods depend on getting our economy back up and running in full.

In the last 12 months our response to the pandemic has been both global and local. A worldwide event has involved individuals and businesses focussing on issues closer to home. It is natural in the face of a new threat to look inwards and to protect what you have.

As the country begins to emerge from the worst of the pandemic, now is the time to lift our gaze and scan the horizon. To spot new opportunities. To consider new innovations. A lot of what we do next as a country will be driven at a local level and within individual businesses, but more so than ever, we need to come together.

The British Chambers of Commerce are a network of 53 accredited Chambers who span the entirety of the UK. We represent tens of thousands of businesses of all shapes and sizes, which employ almost six million people. Sheffield Chamber have joined up with Devon and Plymouth Chamber to explore how businesses, wherever they are based, can help shape the national recovery effort.

There is a risk that levelling up becomes levelling down. That the North Vs the South becomes the dominant theme of the next few years. Businesses have an opportunity to lead the way. They have an opportunity to say that, wherever we are based, our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic will stem from our ability to work together.

To focus the discussion, we will explore four key themes:

Environment: Businesses role in net zero
Transport: Regional and global connectivity supporting economic growth
Skills: Shaping the workforce of the future
Technology: Embracing new and emerging technologies

You are invited and you can engage. The event will assume a ‘Question Time’ style format providing you the opportunity to submit a question in advance for our expert panel to consider. Focusing on the environment, transport, skills, and technology where do you see the opportunities for business? Equally, what support is required from Government to act as a stimulus for growth and what are the challenges?