Book now to attend Future of Consultancy launch event

An industry launch event next week will unveil some important initial findings from a campaign which is set to change the way that consultancy firms operate in an ever-evolving business and political landscape.

To determine the future role of consultancy, ACE (the Association for Consultancy and Engineering) has undertaken an intensive period of research throughout 2019 on behalf of its 400+ members as part of its Future of Consultancy campaign. The initial findings from this research will be launched at an industry event in London next week and one particular theme has come through consistently and repeatedly – value.

Or rather; how the consultancy sector values itself; how consultancy is valued by others; and what consultants and engineers can bring to a post-Brexit Britain.  ACE’s research has identified three key drivers of change that will allow this wider value to be better understood and communicated, allowing positive transformation to take shape. 

The first driver is data, which could deliver annual benefits of £15bn across the UK’s entire infrastructure sector if it is effectively harnessed by UK consultancies. The second driver of change is demand, as in society’s expectations from the built environment and thirdly, devolution, of both spending and decision-making powers, which is set to bring a new type of client with a closer alignment between customers and users of the built environment.  Consultancy must therefore adapt to meet the expectations of this changing political structure.  

The outputs of the first phase of the Future of Consultancy campaign will be launched at an industry breakfast event on Tuesday 15 October 2019. The event will unveil the ‘Domestic Opportunities’ strategy, which recommends how consultants can modernise their existing service offerings to support clients as well as identifying and introducing new services. Also being launched is the ‘Export Opportunities’ strategy, which examines where in the world UK consultancy expertise can be added to give most value and sets out the most productive and expedient route in these markets.

Speaking ahead of the launch event, ACE chief executive Hannah Vickers said: “The work of our industry is hugely influential - we directly impact the lives of everyone in the UK on a daily basis and underpin the productivity of over 30% of the UKs economy through our work on the built environment. But we’re facing a critical moment for consultancy and there is a renewed urgency to fully embrace change and evolve.  

“With emerging fast-paced technologies and the opportunity to create cyber-physical systems, alongside a growing population and 2050 net zero targets for carbon emissions, now is the time for consultancy businesses to diversify, establish a new role and demonstrate their true value. 

“Working with our members, we’ve set out a bold vision for the industry’s future direction and sought to identify the key drivers of change that our profession must embrace over the coming years and decades. We look forward to presenting our initial recommendations and sharing a strategy for the sector which focuses on the future role of consultancy, the domestic and export opportunities this opens up, and future business models.”    

The launch event, which takes place on Tuesday 15 October 2019 at 9am at Kings Place in London, is free to attend but all attendees need to register.

Click here to book your place for the Future of Consultancy breakfast launch event.