1. In partnership with:
CASE STUDY
Location,
location,
location
1 | CASE STUDY: Location, location, location

2. In partnership with:
Heart of Industry
With an inexorable rise in the popularity of association events,
organisers are going to greater lengths to provide delegates
with unique, memorable and professionally fruitful experiences.
Immersive experience has gone from an outlying concept to a
central tenet, and traditional networking and conference venues
are increasingly having to adapt to the changing needs of their
audiences, sometimes without much success.
And beyond the walls of the conference centre, delegates are
seeking a plethora of attractions that can only be found at their
specific location. A good nightlife is always an important fixture,
for example, but tired, generic and soulless bars are declining in
popularity. Uniqueness of experience is crucial, and imagination
and innovation are key to designing a great event. But even the
best ideas can be limited by venue capability.
Practical considerations cannot be ignored and will usually take
precedent over the more colourful concerns for an organiser.
Costs must be kept down, yet quality kept high. Delegates need to
feel that their peers are going to be well-worth connecting with.
Keynote speakers need to pack a powerful punch. And all of these
need to be represented physically and metaphorically by the
choice of location.
And all of this is becoming more and more frequent. The
C&IT State of the Industry Report 2015 reported that 59% of
corporates expect to see an increase in the amount of events
they organise in the year ahead, and with costs rocketing in the
more predictable locations (such as capital cities), it’s time for the
new players to take centre stage.
Enter Sheffield, famous steel city, university and research facility,
and one-third of the captivating Peak District National Park.
The C&IT State of the Industry
Report 2015 reported that
59% of corporates expect to
see an increase in the amount
of events they organise in
the year ahead
59%
2 | CASE STUDY: Location, location, location

3. In partnership with:
SHEFFIELD
AT A GLANCE
Sheffield’s association with metalwork and innovation is ancient. Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales reference the city in relation to knife production, and due to the
abundant production of steel in the locality, several metalwork methods have been
developed there – taking the name Sheffield with them. Who knew that stainless
steel owes its existence to this South Yorkshire city?
For centuries, Sheffield-made cutlery has been a sign of quality and endurance;
words that could not be more apt for a city that has weathered global depressions,
Blitzkriegs, natural disasters and the UK’s fickle relationship with industry.
In fact, Sheffield has only ever grown in strength despite a myriad of setbacks. The
city’s GVA increased by 60% between 1997 and 2007, and the £130m Heart of the
City Project has seen staggering renovations in the city centre. With two industry-
leading regional theatres, an O2 Academy, a stunning neo-gothic town hall set in the
aptly named Peace Gardens and modern design mixed with architectural legacy, the
city is a beautiful place to be.
And all of that in less than a mile across.
SHEFFIELDSheffield has the highest ratio
of trees to people of any city
in Europe. 2.5 million trees
http://www.godsowncounty.co.uk/yorkshire/facts-aabout-sheffield/
2.5 m
A city breaking the boundaries of innovation from as early as
the fourteenth century, when it was mentioned in Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales for its production of knives
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4. In partnership with:
That’s without taking into account the proximity of the country’s most
stunning National Park, which is easily accessible and offers delegates an
experience of bucolic England that is, simply put, unavailable elsewhere.
And although the city has enviable transport links, its location is relatively
isolated as it is naturally bordered by hills. This provides a sense of
purpose and community among delegates, who can feel that their focus
is on the matter in hand, rather than the distant pull of their desk.
Arguably, the city’s most prized asset is the University of Sheffield. With
the campus bordering the city centre in the west and bringing thousands
of students in each year, the University of Sheffield is an economic
powerhouse.
But more importantly, it is an industry-leading research centre in
engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, comprising the campus and
several brand new, state-of-the-art research facilities with another on its
way. Let’s take a look at what this offers delegates.
SHEFFIELD
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5. In partnership with:
UNIVERSITY OF
SHEFFIELD: Innovation
Beyond Compare
In conjunction with Boeing, Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research
Centre (AMRC) has brought diverse, highly specialised and international
commerce to the city. With ten years’ history and a not-so-little-sister on the way,
the AMRC has provided business to everyone from giants of the
aerospace industry to local SMEs.
It’s a key driver in the growth of the UK’s advanced manufacturing industry
and is now backing plans to turn Sheffield into the UK’s first Advanced
Manufacturing Innovation District, following the approval of a newly built
AMRC2. The development will hold about 860,000 sq ft of advanced
manufacturing and research space, 468,000 sq ft for a residential training
centre and conferencing and 16,000 sq ft for outdoor and indoor recreation.
And the locals can look forward to a projected £74.2m annual boost to their
economy, as well as the provision of around 1,800 jobs. For a city with a proud
working-class heritage, these are important concerns. However the biggest boon
will perhaps be the international reputation built upon and further enhanced by
the building of yet another industry-leading research centre.
With facilities like this, international delegates can justly feel like they’re front
and centre of the Advanced Manufacturing show, with a personal stake in the
development of a burgeoning industry.
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6. In partnership with:
The Diamond Building
Those organising a conference or event for these industries, or even other industries, cannot
ignore another of Sheffield’s new additions.
Architectural novelty seems to be another of Sheffield’s fortés, with Europe’s largest urban
greenhouse hosting global botanical marvels on Surrey Street, the Grade 1-listed Town Hall
and the modern Millennium Galleries all within a stone’s throw of each other. The Diamond
Building is a bold addition to this forward-looking legacy and visually represents the best of
Sheffield: sophisticated but not pretentious, imposing but not brash, confident of its place in
the future.
Having been officially open for only a short space of time, delegates enjoying the
multifarious elements of this incredible building will be able to smell the fresh paint.
The Diamond Building fulfils several roles: it is a research facility, an educational
centre and – most attractive of all – a conference centre second to none in its
capabilities. Its innovative design offers event organisers carte blanche to create
delegate experiences limited only by their imaginations and across an
unprecedented range of industries and disciplines.
Dedicated to engineering and high-value manufacturing
(and related subjects), and standing at a mighty six
stories, the building conveys the city’s commitment
to its economic future through innovation in
engineering. There are no fewer than 19
laboratories, a clean room, a virtual reality
suite, an aerospace simulation lab and
a chemical engineering pilot plant.
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7. In partnership with:
That’s not including the many gigantic spaces for exhibitions and conferences, the nine
lecture theatres, the spacious and engrossing atriums and unparalleled event capabilities.
Students, delegates and event organisers who become involved with this building are getting
the very best that is on offer. And, built at a cost of £81m, that should be no surprise.
The university’s track record of providing high-quality event spaces is well known; every
year the university hosts over a thousand events across various venues, welcoming 40,000
delegates, and the Diamond Building is yet another feather in the cap of this astonishing city.
The appeal is international. As a centre for excellence in engineering and manufacturing,
Sheffield has a large resident population of experts, researchers and engineering students.
Indeed, the city is
The Diamond Building is capable of hosting a variety of events,
from Association Events to product launches, team-building
events to parties and industry presentations.
Association events
Incentive travel
Networking events
VIP events
Conferences
Press conferences
Seminars
Team-building events
Trade shows
Exhibitions
Award ceremonies
Business to business forums
Presentations
Brand activations and product launches
Opening/closing ceremonies
Private events and parties
Receptions
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8. In partnership with:
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sheffield is arguably the UK’s best example of industry in conjunction
with globalised business. Starting life as a small town in the West
Riding, it is now an internationally recognised centre for excellence
with a rapidly growing reputation.
And it hasn’t escaped the notice of the government, who have
placed Sheffield in a crucial position in their development of the
‘Northern Powerhouse’. Since the Scottish Referendum in 2014,
greater fiscal devolution is being awarded to cities such as Sheffield,
which provides greater autonomy to direct their own futures. And
with their current track-record, there is simply no telling how far
Sheffield can go.
The era of ‘London or bust’ is over. In recent memory, anywhere
outside the M25 was consigned to smoggy snobbery, floundering in
a landscape of motorways and badly-written soap operas. The image
of Sheffield as a city of billowing smoke stacks and ashen faced
workers in overalls is long gone, and on its own merit it has ushered
in an era of international delegations of experts. Less dirty coveralls,
more pristine lab coats. Less clanging mills, more highly-polished
aerospace. Association event organisers will be hard pushed to
ignore the growing prestige of Sheffield as it leads the pack for
UK industry.
There’s culture in the art galleries and Theatreland of Sheffield,
bucolic ramblings in the unspoiled stretches of the Peak District,
ancient pubs, great restaurants and stunning architecture. There’s
also a focus on engineering that no other city in the UK can boast, as
well as Association Event spaces more than up to the task of hosting
whatever event one can conceive of.
It is, almost, as though it were built for purpose.
8 | CASE STUDY: Location, location, location