News

CEO Frank Lee was recently invited by the REAS Group to share his top lessons in collaboration and invaluable insights on fostering effective collaboration in any organisation.

Watch the video on the ICW YouTube Channel

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We are delighted to announce that the ICW Nuclear Forum held an inaugural plenary on Monday. The Forum is chaired by Eirini Etoimou, Head of Corporate Sustainability and Supply Chain Development, at Sellafield Ltd in Warrington, who kindly hosted the event.

The Nuclear Forum provides an arena for ICW Executive Network members in the nuclear sector to explore opportunities for collaboration, around a common purpose - for the benefit of the partners, their sector and its stakeholders, and the wider community.

Members at the plenary agreed that the Forum should focus upon ‘sustainability through collaboration’ in all its facets. They will now proceed to define and prioritise their objectives ahead of a follow-up meeting which it is expected will be used to develop action programmes.

The Forum was attended by senior representatives from Cavendish Nuclear, Edwin James Group, Gleeds, Morgan Sindall, Mott MacDonald, Sellafield Ltd, Tetra Tech and Yokogawa.

We are excited to announce that ICW has received special recognition from BSI, acknowledging our contribution to 120 years of the BSI Kitemark and highlighting our integral role in upholding industry standards in business collaboration.

For more than 120 years the BSI Kitemark has stood as a beacon of trust and quality, recognised by millions across the globe for its unwavering commitment to setting high standards and ensuring customer confidence. To be acknowledged by BSI as contributing in some part to this incredible legacy makes us immensely proud and we graciously thank them for this recognition.

This marks a fantastic start to the year, as we embark on our ongoing mission to promote and encourage structured collaboration and its advantages, and how it can address the challenges facing all types of organisations, people & communities. We express our gratitude to our members and community for being part of our ongoing commitment to collaborative excellence.

We are thrilled to share the success of our recent collaborative AI event hosted in partnership with Globant - our esteemed Executive Network Member - and with the valuable support of BSI. The event, held at the dynamic Globant offices, centred around the compelling theme: 'Dispelling the Myths of AI and Recognising Its Opportunities: Why a Collaborative Approach is Key to Harnessing and Implementing an AI Strategy'.

This unique collaborative event provided an excellent opportunity to raise awareness, improve knowledge-sharing, promote better understanding, along with sharing thoughts, challenges and possibilities. Enabled and guided by expert speakers from Globant and BSI, exploring how we can all adopt a positive perspective on AI and leverage it to benefit our organisations, especially through collaboration with trusted partners. We were delighted to welcome Globant guests and members of the ICW network, including representatives from the Cabinet Office, Dept of Business & Trade, FCDO and MOD.

At its core, collaboration emerges as one of the cornerstones for developing responsible AI solutions through trust-based relationships with expert partners, guiding us toward a better future.

A sincere thank you to all contributors who played a pivotal role in making this event a resounding success, and a special acknowledgement to our excellent speakers:

Lord David Evans of Watford, ICW Chairman
Juan Jose Lopez, Head of Data Science & AI, Globant
Isa Goksu, CTO UKI & DE, Globant
Craig Civil, Director of Data Science and AI, BSI
Anna Popova, VP Delivery, Globant

We would like to congratulate and welcome our newest members after passing the ICW Leaders Course held at Warwick University last week.

Seen here with tutor Leigh Lawry and course examiner Dr Paul Connor: Natalie Simpson, Bechtel Ltd, Judith Griffiths, Bechtel Ltd, Martin Davies, Bechtel Ltd, Michael Hallett, Dalkia UK, David Hodges, CGI IT UK Limited, Erin Monczak, CGI IT UK Limited, Reham Alkhammash, Saudi Ministry of Energy, Rebecca Ballantyne, Sellafield Ltd, Juan Martín Bulacios Keena, Indra, Anthony Hopker, MBDA, Peter Takacs, Crown Commercial, Wil Payne, Crown Commercial, David Livingston, Crown Commercial. They can now use the postnominal letters MICW after their name.

If you would like to take the course or find out more information about it, please visit our Training page or contact the ICW office.

Frank said, "I had the great pleasure of spending some time with our Ambassador member Graham Group this week, providing me with the opportunity to meet their senior leadership team at their head office in Hillsborough. I also got to see the Nelson Street student accommodation development in Belfast, where I met many of the team working on the site and gained an overview of how Graham Group are using a collaborative approach as main contractor for the Loft Lines, one of Europe's largest urban waterfront regeneration projects.

"Many thanks to Andrew Bill, John McDonald, Gary Holmes, Tracey O'Hagan and Denis Leonard for such a memorable, interesting and enjoyable visit."

Facilitating networking and direct engagement for our members has long been one of the key aims and successes of the ICW. So, it was with great pleasure we were able to host a great afternoon to welcome a number of our new ICW members to our Executive Network (EN), with an excellent luncheon at the House of Lords yesterday.

A warm welcome by our Chairman, Lord David Evans of Watford, and insightful speeches from representatives from two of our valued Ambassador members: Victoria Brennan from BSI and Jonathan Gawthrop from EMCOR UK, were well received, along with some lively, topical and enjoyable conversations across the tables.

We'd like to express our thanks to all our new ICW executive network members and guests for joining us and making this a truly special occasion and allowing us to bring them into our network. We know that our strength as an Institute comes from the quality and capability of our members, so this was an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded organisations and we are looking forward to more such opportunities for engagement and networking in the future.

We are delighted to announce that BT's Major Government unit has joined the ICW Executive Network.

BT is a vital part of the UK's national infrastructure, relied upon by millions of people, over a million businesses and over 1,200 public sector organisations. They've been at the forefront of change for more than 175 years providing connectivity and communication across not only the UK, but globally.

ICW CEO, Frank Lee FICW, said "It gives me real pleasure to welcome BT to the Institute for Collaborative Working and our Executive Network. Their purpose to 'connect for good' really resonates with us, as we seek to support our members working with their partners and stakeholders, to make good things happen through collaboration. I am really looking forward to establishing a long-term and fruitful relationship with the BT Major Government team."

BT's Director of Central Government, Andy Rowe, said "In an increasingly complex and fast-paced environment, effective collaboration has never been more important in order to deliver meaningful outcomes. I'm therefore delighted that BT has joined the ICW as Executive Members and look forward to working closely with customers, partners and peers across industry to continue to deliver for the UK."

We are pleased to announce that Globant has joined our Executive Network, and we look forward to working with Anna Popova, Globant's Vice President for Strategy and Growth, and 'Be Kind' ambassador, along with the rest of Globant's team.

A digitally native company focused on reinventing businesses through innovative technology solutions, Globant supports clients by finding disruptive solutions that will secure their place in an ever-changing market.

Anna Popova said "Technology has an incredible power to drive positive change in all aspects of our lives, from the way we work to our interactions with peers and the wider ecosystem of clients and partners. To ensure that it is used as a force for good and to foster that across the value chain, it is essential for everyone to come together with a collaborative mindset, be willing to share ideas, and open to jointly developing sustainable solutions. We're thrilled to become a member of ICW, and look forward to sharing our thought leadership in digital reinvention, whilst engaging with the community as part of our collaborative journey."

Paul Connor and Leigh Lawry congratulate Saeed and Sultan and becoming ICW's First Saudi MICWs.

Saeed Maashi Alenezi and Sultan Aldhuwaihi seen here being presented with their Course certificates by Leigh Lawry on Thursday as they became the ICW's first Middle-Eastern MICWs when they passed the ICW Leaders course.

Both Saeed (2nd photo), who works for the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, and Sultan (3rd photo), who works for the Ministry of Energy, made the trip from Saudi to Warwick to do the course.

ICW congratulates them both and we look forward to supporting them in their Collaborative Journey.