The IMA Conference Blackpool 2008
We would like to thank everyone for supporting us by attending our 3rd conference as the IMA. We hope that the delegates enjoyed it and found it useful. To those who were not able to attend - we will soon be publishing details of our next conference so that you might be able to plan ahead and book for next year.
The conference offered a packed programme, providing proficient speakers and lectures in a formal setting, information and learning workshops and social networking both in the formal exhibition area and informally between and after sessions. There was also time for relaxing after a busy day and enjoying the company of colleagues in the partly subsidised bar.
As part of our commitment to continue to improve, we carried out a post conference survey to find out which aspects of the conference were most successful and which we may need to develop. Those who completed the survey were entered into a prize draw for a £50 CPAG voucher; the lucky winner for this was Julia, from Morecambe CAB.
Who attended our Conference?
Around 200 people attended conference this year, and 35% of these responded to our survey, the feedback below relates to those who responded.
- 78% of these were IMA members
- over half of those responding had not attended an IMA Conference before
- 76% of respondents are NfP Money Advisers or Managers whilst the remainder were from other agencies.
The Venue
The setting was the Hilton Hotel on Blackpool seafront. The hotel provided all of the accommodation, meals and refreshments to a high standard. The hotel staff were professional and helpful and made us all very welcome. Almost as reliable as the hotel staff was the British weather which was typical for our summer time - bracing!
Feedback about the Hotel
The overwhelming opinion from our survey was that the hotel was a good choice.
| Satisfied | Not satisfied | Neither |
|---|---|---|
| 92% | 5% | 3% |
Travelling to the venue
The conference was attended by delegates from all over the UK. Many of the delegates had a long way to travel only 16% were within 50 miles of the venue, 65% had to travel more than 100 miles, and 26.5% travelled over 200 miles. It is always difficult to decide where to host an event so that it is easily accessible for everyone.
Many events are held in the capital city which means that for those in the North travel expenses and time for travelling is always an extra burden. Holding our Conference in the Northwest aimed to redress the balance slightly. Of those who responded to our survey 39% who attended were from the North, 31% from the Midlands, 6% from Wales and 24% from the South. Despite the distance that many of the delegates had to travel 54.4% did find it easy to access the venue whilst only 26.5% found it difficult.
| Midlands | Wales | South | North |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31% | 6% | 24% | 39% |
IMA Conference Staff
95.5% found the Conference staff friendly and helpful, the remaining 4.5% did not specify. In addition 3% found that Conference staff were not available when needed and 6% found that staff were not able to rectify problems where they occurred. Something we will have to improve on in the future.
Training and Fringe Sessions
Of those who attended sessions, there were only 10 negative responses out of a total of 191 responses. Negative responses were limited to 4 sessions (see summary table).
| Session | Responses | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 74 Mortgage Possessions Per Day | 28 | 93% | 0% |
| A2 Tellytubbyland – insolvency options | 28 | 85% | 10.7% |
| A3 Working with the Courts | 25 | 100% | 0% |
| A4 Unenforceable CCA | 13 | 92% | 0% |
| A5 IVAs a specialist approach | 14 | 64% | 28.5% |
| A6 Networking for Financial Inclusion in Europe | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| F1 Accreditation and Professional Development | 11 | 91% | 0% |
| F2 McCambridge Duffy Technical Helpline | 5 | 60% | 40% |
| F3 QA Quiz | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| F4 Cit A Specialist Support | 4 | 100% | 0% |
| F5 Trading Standards | 5 | 100% | 0% |
| F6 Should we charge clients? | 13 | 100% | 0% |
| C1 DROs | 21 | 100% | 0% |
| C2 Making Fixed Fees work for you | 3 | 100% | 0% |
| C4 Round up of new case law | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| C5 IVAs | 5 | 80% | 20% |
IMA AGM
One of the re-occurring comments was that the AGM should be with the Conference especially for cost and convenience. Since then the AGM in September, considered a motion proposing that the conference and AGM should be held together, this was carried and will be put into practice as soon as possible.
| Yes | No | Undecided |
|---|---|---|
| 22% | 46% | 32% |
The Overall Experience
- 89% enjoyed the conference
- 85% of delegates responding found the conference informative and enjoyable, only 3% did not think so, the others were non-committal.
- 52.3% thought it was value for money, 12.3% thought that it was not, the others were non-committal
- 92% think that it is an event which people connected to Money Advice should attend
- 75% would like to attend next year
We believe that the comments we received after the event sum up the experience.
I found all of the sessions I attended to be very interesting, and didn't realise until I got back to work quite how useful some of the information was going to be in practice.
Well done who ever had the idea of having it in the Northwest you did us proud.
Just to say that I enjoyed the conference last year, but I enjoyed it even more this year so it must be improving.
I'll definitely have to fight for my place next year.
Excellent networking and learning opportunity
Well worth attending the conference. Lots of discussion and training opportunities as well as meeting with others in the advice sector.
I thought the food and accommodation at the Hilton was excellent, and enjoyed the evening entertainment!
Some of the respondents raised comments and suggestions which we will be working on for next year. Many thanks to everyone who fed back to us about our conference, without your feedback we cannot improve our service to you.
