Emma Hilditch

The latest Impact of Generative AI in Government report is now available for download! This comprehensive analysis dives deep into how generative AI is transforming the public sector, from enhancing citizen services to streamlining government operations. 📊 Key insights include: - The potential for AI to revolutionise data-driven decision-making - Real-world case studies showcasing early adoption - Challenges around governance, security, and ethics - Steps governments can take to unlock the full potential of AI This report is a must-read for public sector leaders looking to leverage AI to drive meaningful change.

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I’ve published more of my unsolicited opinions online. In this blog 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCrnD-vC 👈 I share some thoughts on experiential, its deeper significance and how to approach it. Thanks also to Andy Sexton and Andrew Walker for some interesting reads. And to Grant Dudson for consistently high quality shares! #experientialmarketing #immersiveexperience #eventmarketing #eventprofs

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Step one ✅ Shout about what you believe in and, constructively, hold people to account when they need it. In the last few minutes, Innovate UK has released the below. We asked them to: 💸 Commit to allocating the remaining £2+ million to female-founded and female-led businesses, by awarding the remaining 25 awards to the top-scoring applicants - ✅ This is happening and I am DELIGHTED! 🗣️ Engage in a collaborative dialogue to address the current issues with the funding process and implement necessary improvements, taking into consideration female funding needs and application experiences - ✅ in their statement, they have said they will "Further develop our strategic engagement with business leaders and advocates in this area. We have already been speaking with people who have been engaging on behalf of communities." 📖 Acknowledge the shortcomings in the current process and commit to preventing similar outcomes in the future by conducting a collaborative review of the assessment process - ✔️ They have stated they will "Continue to work collaboratively to improve our processes and co-create new opportunities." 🚀 Launch a redesigned Women in Innovation Award in 2025 based on lessons learned, with a transparent funding allocation and scoring process that restores confidence in Innovate UK Now just for a redesigned WII Award... but three out of four (in 72hrs) isn't bad at all. 🙌🏽 What a team effort, and what an incredible community of women - hundreds of women who made this happen! Becky Lodge Zandra Moore Emmie Faust Emma Jarvis et al!

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A great night spent at the #OnclusiveOnTheRoad 'Communicating to a World of Change' event last night discussing the importance of data and data literacy in PR. Some fabulous insights and examples shared from my fellow panellists Adam Mack, Rachel Rix, Megan Thompson and Sinthu Satchi on: — Common challenges and misconceptions surrounding the use of data in PR — How digital platforms and social media have transformed the role of PR in brand building — And the emerging trends we’re most excited about (which was AI obvs.) It’s a massive generalisation but PR is an industry full of people who are great with words but rubbish with numbers (and maths). That doesn’t mean we need to be intimidated by data. As modern PR professionals we don’t need to be data scientists, but we should be comfortable reading, analysing and interpreting PR metrics and be capable of translating raw data into actionable insights that can shape PR strategy and campaigns. It's not enough to gather data; you need to connect it to trends, human behaviour, and business outcomes. It was particularly fascinating and eye opening to hear AirBnB's Sarah Roy talk about her otherworldly challenge gathering, structuring, managing and interpreting insights from over 2 million global pieces of media coverage 🤯 Thanks to Jack R. and Clémence Geay for inviting Wildfire/me to participate. #techpr #dataliteracy (sorry for the cliche image but yet again I forgot to take actual photos 🤦‍♂️)

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Did you know that 90 percent of all decision making is based on emotions? Thank you to consumer and marketing expert @KateHardcastle MBE for reminding me of that today. We may be moving towards a future where AI will play a much bigger role - but we shouldn't forget that as humans, we will still be guided by our emotions, our feelings and our instincts. As businesses and organisations look to the future, it's important we don't lose that human touch. If we can tap into it in an authentic way, we can move forward with greater success. #amcis24 #EmotionalIntelligence #HumanTouch #FutureOfBusiness #Authenticity #MarketingInsights #EduMarketing #CommunicationStrategy #EducationIndustry #MarketingExpert #BrandStrategy

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💥 Nominations for The BD100 are now open! 💥 We're delighted to officially kick off this year’s BD100, providing well deserved recognition for the exceptional talent shaping the UK’s agency business development community. The theme for this year is “Agency BD is Evolving - Who’s Leading the Way?”, which reflects the challenges and opportunities that have redefined how agencies operate. In a landscape where clients are more informed and selective than ever, successful business developers are leading with creativity, strategy, and adaptability – and The BD100 is here to recognise those making a real impact. This is your chance to shine a light on the colleagues and peers who inspire you every day. The qualities we’re looking for are more varied and essential than ever before. Today’s business development leaders are embracing five key areas that are shaping our industry: ✨ Personality – Building authentic, long-term relationships. 📊 Results – Delivering measurable growth and creative wins. 🎯 Strategic Approach – Proactive, purposeful, and data-driven strategies. 💡 Creative Thinking – Bringing innovation to every pitch and interaction. 🌍 Industry Contribution – Sharing insights, mentoring others, and driving inclusivity. How to Get Involved Nominations are open until Friday, 31st January 2025. Click the link below to recognise the rising stars, seasoned leaders, and game-changing teams that you believe should be part of The BD100: 👉 Nominate here - https://lnkd.in/djtPhPf A huge thank you to our longstanding partners – DNA Recruit, jfdi, Propeller Group, Kulea MA and ALF Insight – for their continued support of this incredible community. Let make 2024 a year to remember. Nominate someone today and celebrate those who inspire us all to think bigger, innovate boldly, and lead the way in agency business development. https://lnkd.in/eXByWJgJ #BD100 #BusinessDevelopment #Growth #Leadership #AgencyLife

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Ever wondered how to turn your media interview into a powerful PR tool? On Tuesday I attended a Women in Exhibitions webinar on Media Training delivered by Eithne Treanor, Media Trainer and Communications Expert 💻 Here are my key takeaways: 🎤 Preparing a concise media message that can engage, inform, educate and inspire 🎤 Aligning your story with broader industry trends and the bigger picture 🎤 Remember to prepare with the crucial questions in the back of your mind: "So what?" and "Who cares?" 🎤 If you don't tell your story - someone else will... 🎤 Stick to relevant facts and examples that can turn media interviews and sound bites into quotable and memorable opportunities for brand visibility and credibility #MediaTraining #PublicRelations #WomenInExhibitions #LeadershipSkills #eventprofs #eventindustry

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The government’s National AI Strategy and a £1.1 billion investment in AI education are positioning the UK as an 'AI superpower. But which cities are best prepared to lead this revolution? Manchester has emerged as the UK’s most AI-ready city, fostering innovation with 350+ AI job openings and initiatives like the Manchester Prize for AI solutions. Birmingham, Salford, and even smaller cities like Southend and Winchester are also making significant strides. AI readiness is shaping our economy, but we must bridge regional gaps to ensure inclusivity. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/euaAmY-h

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Looking forward to participating in this crisis webinar today. If you are considering a crisis management or comms exercise and want to learn how to make it realistic and effective then you may want to register for this one…

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Another great session in place for tomorrow's Think Data for Government conference. LESSONS LEARNED FROM CROSS-GOVERNMENT AND CROSS SECTOR-SECTOR COLLABORATION, with some brilliant insight coming from Craig Campbell from the Greater London Authority, Andrew Newman from the Open Data Institute and Simeon Souttar from Hippo. https://lnkd.in/es37nP2C #data #government #collaboration #thinkdata

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Resounding conclusion that relationships are becoming even more important in every aspect of comms, PR and marketing to break through the noise and clutter. Our Bristol Tech Festival panel on ‘decoding the tech industry: comms and creativity in an ever-changing world’ all had different takes on this… Evelina Jankauskyte, Head of Marketing, Open Bionics talked about the detail, care and attention that goes into customer communication and how this creates a hype squad for their products Daniel S, PR Manager, Pax8 believes the introduction of AI is making human connection more important and shifting the focus back on relationships in PR Tom Burns, Senior Marketing Manager, Techmodal Ltd discussed the fact that data can only tell you so much - get out and meet customers to understand their pain points. #techspark #bristolbusiness #bristoltech

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Protecting every asset in responding to an incident 👇 More thoughts from me as my series on dealing with a crisis continues as I explore the importance of looking after assets that are both tangible and intangible. (Oh, and if you're wondering whether I've deliberately used words beginning with each letter of the PEAR acronym in the article heading, I have 🤓 )

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A few days ago, I published the post below here on LinkedIn and on other social networks about my blog being in Vuelio's listing of the Top 10 UK PR blogs 2024. Some nice reactions here (thanks!) and there. On LinkedIn, though, within a few hours, I'd received email pitches and DMs from people wanting me to publish guest posts, with the promise that they'd promote the posts and "amplify my SEO presence," to quote one. All in exchange for "just a few carefully selected links," to quote another. It’s clear that LinkedIn is fast becoming a breeding ground for inauthentic, spammy, approaches. But the real question is: How do we maintain trust and authenticity in a space that’s increasingly being exploited?

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After the solstice last week, and with Glastonbury and Wimbledon on the horizon, we can finally say British summer has arrived. What should you be mindful of this week? 🎟 Nothing says British summer like broken promises, normally these relate to the weather, but this time around we have the treat of a UK general election, which is now fewer than 2 weeks away. Labour's strategy of 'say absolutely nothing at all' seems to be working, while the Tories look like a less safe bet with each gambling-using-insider-info revelation. The manifestos of all parties are worth analysing for possible comment. 🎸 It's #Glastonbury weekend (no I'm not going, yes I'm bitter about that, thanks for asking). The festival has made a concerted effort to get a better gender balance across the stages, which is one of the interesting festival trends of the past few years. Are they doing enough? 🎙 Two local CIPR Channel Islands events coming up next week. 3 July in Guernsey we'll be unpacking Specsavers "The Misheard Version" campaign with Lisa Hale; 4 July in Jersey Visit Jersey will be updating on the new #Bergerac TV show and how they will use it in promotional efforts (tickets here: https://lnkd.in/dRJZfzQq and here: https://lnkd.in/dRJZfzQq respectively) 📰 Finally, your response to last week's poll on news consumption: more than half of you actively seek out the daily headlines, perhaps representative of my diligent comms-heavy network 👏

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Why going straight for a product sale does not work in education.

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Thanks to the ScaleUp Institute for hosting such a super event at the Tate Modern this week. Innovation, internationalisation and business opportunities for UK scaleups were all key topics.   It was great to see so many familiar faces and hear from so many good speakers and panellists, including a video speech from the Chancellor, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves.   The ScaleUp Institute’s CEO, Irene Graham OBE, shared their new Annual State of the Decade report, which identifies key barriers facing startups – many of which were raised by the Private Business Commission which I chaired earlier this year. The key barriers are as follows:   Talent and Skills Gap: It is challenging to find employees with the necessary skills, particularly advanced technical and broad operational business skill sets. Access to Markets: Scaleups face difficulties in accessing both domestic and international markets, with complex procurement processes and the time taken to win contracts being major barriers. Finance and Growth Capital: Access to the right combinations of finance is a top priority, with many scaleups feeling they lack sufficient capital to meet their growth ambitions. There is a need for more domestic capital to support scaling businesses. Leadership Development: Building leadership capacity is crucial, with scaleups needing to develop the skills of their senior and middle management teams to support ongoing growth.   The UK is home to great talent. If we can get measures in place to help address these and other challenges, and if the government is able to get its industrial strategy in good shape, then I am optimistic about what the UK can achieve.

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Thanks to Microsoft for covering our new Scared So What™ Ltd PRO Personal Change Management system launch! Read the story here: https://lnkd.in/ee4zz5FU Want a demo or would like to have this at your organization? Reach out and let’s share together! Gary Brian Doherty Change Management #personalchangemanagement #scaredsowhat

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