1. “ TechCentral is vital for promoting integration between government and technology.”
Chuka Umunna MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
“ Technology is hugely important to every single government department.”
Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
™

2. What is TechCentral?
Established in 2014 by the teams behind MessageSpace and Big Brother
Watch, the vision for TechCentral was to bring technology policy to the
heart of the political party conferences. Our hope was to create a space
where industry and delegates could discuss transformative, technological
innovation in the context of public policy.
At the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat 2014 party
conferences, we explored the new ideas presented in a number of
industry and NGO manifestos, discussed innovative ways of solving
complex policy problems and heard from speakers passionate about
what technology has to offer the development of the United Kingdom.
The TechCentral 2014 events ranged from social media drop-in sessions
to panels featuring leaders in technology and politics, from evening
receptions to coding training.
Why is TechCentral necessary?
New technologies can fundamentally improve the way that our country,
and indeed the world, functions. From specific policies like education and
transport, to the development of our critical national infrastructure and how
it is governed, the digital revolution means we are living through the most
significant developments to how our country functions since the industrial
revolution.
Keeping that innovation at the forefront of the political agenda is our
mission. Building on the success of TechCentral 2014, we are looking
ahead to building an even bigger and better agenda for the 2015 party
conference season. More information about what is in store and how you
can be involved can be found on pages 9 and 10.
About TechCentral 2014
‘New technologies can
fundamentally improve
the way that our
country, and indeed the
world, functions
’
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3. The Lab
TechCentral 2014 teamed up with Facebook to creat a Geni-bar: a
focused space for delegates to attend one on one and group social media
demonstrations to learn about the latest tools available to communicate
campaigns to the public.
Highlights included:
• Ministers and party chairmen dropping in for one on one social
media training
• NGOs and charities learning more about how to use ads to promote
their campaigns
• Group training, including a QA session with a senior member of
Facebook’s Politics and Government team
The Hub
While fringe panel sessions are important, and TechCentral 2014
certainly saw its fair share, the space was so much more. Throughout the
Labour and Conservative conferences, the hub was a bustle of activity.
Highlights included:
• Social media training sessions from both Facebook and Twitter
• The bloggers lounge a dedicated space attracting bloggers and delegates.
The space featured free EE WiFi, refreshments, a charging station, and live
conference feed.
• Twitter analytics provided by Blurrt, highlighting the live public reaction
to the leaders’ party conference speech
• A live performance from an X-Factor star as part of TalkTalk’s
evening reception
The Space
bynumbers
Birmingham
Manchester
Glasgow
FIVEpartners
49 hours of action
9
DAYS
19 featured MPs
92Speakers
1000
MORE THAN
attendees
3cities
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4. Headline Partners:
Lab Partner:
Partners and Sponsors:
Media Partner:
Organisers:
Techcentral2014Partners
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5. The events held at TechCentral 2014 attracted high calibre speakers, the
best and brightest in the technology industry and politics. Those speakers
included:
Alex Birtles Head of External Communications, TalkTalk Group
David Blunkett MP former Home Secretary
Thomas Borwick CEO, Kanto Systems
Conor Burns MP Member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
Stella Creasy MP Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills
Stephen Deadman Group Privacy Officer, Vodafone
Tim Estes CEO, Digital Reasoning
Dominic Grieve MP Former Attorney General
Meg Hillier MP Labour Party Member of Parliament
Toby Hughes CEO, MoneyHub
Julian Huppert MP Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament
Jonathan Isaby Chief Executive, TaxPayers’Alliance
Sajid Javid MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Chris Leslie MP Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Guy Levin Executive Director, Coadec
Mark Littlewood Director General, Institute of Economic Affairs
Chi Onwurah MP Shadow Cabinet Office Minister
Dominic Raab MP Conservative Member of Parliament
Steve Reed MP Shadow Home Affairs
Clare Riley Group Manager Education Relations, Microsoft
Prof Simon-Peyton Jones Chair of Computing at School and
Principal Researcher Microsoft Research Cambridge
Jag Singh Co-Founder, MessageSpace
Chloe Smith MP Conservative Member of Parliament
Chuka Umunna MP Shadow Business Secretary
Ed Vaizey MP Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
JohnWhittingdale MP Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Iain Wright MP Shadow Minister for Industry
TechCentral 2014 Speakers
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6. Highlights
Manifesto launches:
• COADEC launched its ‘Start-up Manifesto,’featuring a panel
including Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister;
George Bevis, Co-Founder, Labour Digital; and Guy Levin,
Executive Director, COADEC.
• Labour Digital announced its ‘number one in Digital’ report,
featuring presentations from Iain Wright MP, Shadow Minister for Industry;
Lord Jim Knight, Labour Digital; Maggie Philbin, Chair,
UK Digital Skills Taskforce; Helen Milner, Staff Board Director,
Tinder Foundation; Theo Blackwell, Campaign Manager, UKIE;
Alex Birtles, Head of External Communications, TalkTalk.
Evening receptions:
• The TechCentral evening reception featured speeches from the Shadow
Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP and the Shadow Cabinet Office
Minister, Chi Onwurah MP.
• The DigiFactor, hosted by TalkTalk, was an exciting event featuring
charities pitching their local digital projects to a panel of judges for the
chance to win funding, mentoring and X Factor tickets. The evening event
included a special performance from Hannah Barrett,
a former X Factor contestant.
Fringes:
• ‘Cut the C£$P: getting a better deal for customers’ hosted
by TransferWise, a company which allows people to send money abroad
at the lowers possible true cost, featured Chris Leslie MP, Shadow Chief
Secretary to the Treasury; and Taavet Hinrikus,
Co-founder, TransferWise.
• ‘Could voting on mobile phones swing future elections for Labour?’ hosted
by EE featured Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent, Sky News; and Michael
Sani, founder, Bite the Ballot.
Events:
• TechCentral welcomed more than 70 delegates, including Think Tankers,
journalists and delegates to our live screening of the Leaders speech.
TechCentral at Labour
Party Conference
CHRISLE
SLIE MP
STEV
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MEG HI
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7. Highlights
Evening Receptions:
• The TechCentral evening reception featured the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport, Sajid Javid MP, who spoke about his early love
for technology and its every growing importance today.
• The techUK evening reception featured the Minister for Culture,
Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey MP.
Fringes:
• Technology: giving the financial reigns to the individual. A positive step?
Or are there dangers ahead?’ hosted by MoneyHub featured Toby Hughes,
CEO, MoneyHub; Mark Littlewood, Director General, IEA; and Matthew
Elliott, Chief Executive, Business for Britain.
• ‘Surveillance: Where do you draw the line?’ hosted by the Don’t Spy on Us
coalition featured Dominic Grieve, MP, (former Attorney General); Thomas
Hughes, Director, Article19; Emma Carr, Director, Big Brother Watch; and
Mark Wallace, Executive Editor, ConservativeHome.
• ‘How can technology drive election campaigns and what can we learn
from the United States?’ was hosted by TechCentral and featured Tim
Estes, CEO, Digital Reasoning; Thomas Borwick, CEO, Kanto Systems; Jag
Singh, Founder, MessageSpace; and Andrew Whitehurst, Co-Founder, Wess
Digital.
Events:
• The lab space provided the idea location for politicians and delegates to
join Facebook for social media training, to hear more about how to reach
their campaign goals.
TechCentral at Conservative
Party Conference
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8. TechCentral at Liberal
Democrats Party Conference
Highlights
• ‘Kids and Coding, what’s all the fuss about?’was hosted by Microsoft and
focused on delegates taking an interactive approach to learning about
teaching children to code. Speakers included Bill Mitchell, Director of BCS
Academy of Computing, and Kate Farrell, Chair of CAS Scotland.
• A drop in session hosted by COADEC to provide delegates with the
opportunity to review the‘Start-up Manifesto’and discuss how the next
government should support digital start-ups.
• ‘Civil liberties in a digital age’ hosted by Big Brother Watch which featured
Norman Baker, MP, Home Office Minister; Julian Huppert MP; Stephen
Deadman, Group Privacy Officer, Vodafone; and Emma Carr, Director, Big
Brother Watch.
• ‘The Big Technology Debate’ hosted by TalkTalk featured Mike Crockart,
MP; Guy Levin, Executive Director, COADEC; and Iain Wood, Public Affairs
Manager, TalkTalk.
JULIA
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9. Why TechCentral
In 2014 TechCentral provided the opportunity to explore new ideas,
discuss innovate ways to solve complex public policy problems and hear
from speakers that are passionate about what technology has to offer the
development of the United Kingdom.
However there is still more to do. As technology fundamentally changes the
way we live our lives, it will become increasingly intertwined with politics,
making collaboration paramount.
What’s Next?
TechCentral will have an even greater voice in the 2015 political party
conferences, from education, to critical national infrastructure and to
governance; the internet revolution now means we are living through
the greatest changes to how this country functions since the digital
revolution and keeping the parties accountable to embracing technology
changes continues to be our mission. That is why TechCentral’s 2015
participations in the party conferences are so critical.
TechCentral believes that new techniques in how technology and data
are used can fundamentally improve the way that our country, and indeed
the world, functions. We believe that far more can be done to ensure that
technology policy-making is better informed and this lies at the heart of
TechCentral.
2015 TechCentral
Local 6th form students attend a panel on electronic voting at the Conservative Party Conference
The 2015 Political Party Conference Schedule
Labour:
Brighton, 27th-30th September
Conservative:
Manchester, 4th-7th October
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10. There are a number of opportunities for companies and NGOs to join
TechCentral 2015. We want you to help us to lead the discussion on
technology and politics and providing an insight in how to harness the digital
revolution.
Partnerships
The following will be available at the Labour and Conservative party
conferences:
• A dedicated space in the TechCentral space for demonstrations.
• The opportunity to network with decision makers and industry colleagues,
including private round table discussions.
• A full description of fringe events in the TechCentral booklet.
• The inclusion of the key partners’ logos on the TechCentral website and on
our social media platforms.
Fringe Holders
Host a fringe event or evening reception in TechCentral. Fringe holders
will benefit from:
• Marketing and advertising packages
• Promotion of the fringe event at the party conference
• Catering available during your fringe session
Digital friend of TechCentral
For the first time, TechCentral 2015 will provide the opportunity for
companies and organisations to become a digital friend of TechCentral.
Benefits will include:
• Brand promotion on social media platforms and an advertisement on
the TechCentral website.
• Logo on digital platforms within TechCentral at the party conferences.
2015 TechCentral
Partnerships
Join TechCentral 2015, the dedicated technology space
at the party conferences.
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11. Contact us
If you are interested in joining TechCentral 2015, or would just like to learn
more, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Director, Andrew Barrett, will
be able to speak with you about different packages and offerings that will
help meet your conference goals.
0
20 7490
3110
inf
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twitter.c
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entral15
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chcentral.
org.uk
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12. WWW.TECHCENTRAL.ORG.UK
™