Qualityworld

Q2002 - the must-be-seen-at event

In October, IQA will host the biggest - and best - world quality congress ever to be held in the UK. With specialist sessions on education, healthcare and society, Q2002 will take a unique look at the wider quality issues which affect us all. Frank Steer, director general of IQA, explains why attending Q2002 is a must for every quality professional.

IQA is the full member organisation (FMO) for the European Organization for Quality (EOQ). This year it falls to the IQA to host the annual EOQ congress. It is held every year in a different member state and the last time it came to the UK was in 1984 in Brighton. With 34 member states in the EOQ all vying with each other to host the event it is unlikely we shall see it back here before 2030. This makes it a once-in-a-working-lifetime opportunity for business professionals in this country to attend a world-class congress on quality without having to travel undue distances.

In developing the concept for Q2002 we were struck by the need to look to the future of quality This meant broadening the spectrum of the congress to include the manufacturing and service sectors and also the public and private sectors. We were determined that the programme should also appeal across the whole depth and breadth of management. In other words that it should be of value and interest to quality professionals, middle managers, executives and CEOs. Also lurking in the back of our minds was the potential for future convergence of the European quality movements in a united congress - this added impetus to the development of a programme to appeal across the spectrum. That part of our vision has already born fruit: the EFQM and the EOQ have agreed that the 2004 congress, to be held in Bulgaria, will be a joint affair.

A new tone for quality

So, what of the programme? The congress will be opened by Lord Sainsbury of Turville. Riccardo Dell'Anna, president of the EOQ will join him on the plenary podium. Together they will address how to maintain customer satisfaction in a climate of continuous change. The session will be facilitated by Radio 4's Today programme presenter and journalist, John Humphrys.

Humphrys will also facilitate a session on Monday 30 September in which Henry Neave of Nottingham Trent University, Richard Wells of E-quality Leadership, Stephen Pratt of British Gas and Derek Whitworth of TRW Aeronautical Systems give very different views on ways of managing at senior level. Over the next two days there will be a whole range of subjects of great interest, focusing on the specific - the Disney way of management and quality in Koeberg Nuclear Power station - to the general - quality policy and SMEs. These are all designed to appeal to those with specific interests while offering delegates the opportunity to broaden their knowledge over a wide range of quality management issues.

There is also an entertaining social programme which will not interfere with delegates' time, but allows for corporate social interaction. The only 'extra' is the congress dinner on the Monday evening. The after dinner speaker is Will Hutton, former editor in chief of the Observer and now CEO of the Industrial Society (currently being relaunched as the Work Foundation).

There will be some significant events during the three days. Before the dinner on Monday evening, the EOQ will cement a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese Union for Science and Engineering. This will add to the one the EOQ already has with the ASQ. They are cementing an 'alliance for quality' which others will be invited to join. IQA is at the forefront in delivering the quality message to the world not simply because of our membership of the EOQ but also because IQA will head the EOQ for the two years immediately following the congress. We will be leading international moves to register the importance of quality and the quality management profession, to bolster the appreciation and understanding of QMSs and to promote their use as widely as possible.

Value for money

We began working on Q2002 knowing we had to plan for between 750 and 1,000 delegates. This determined the capacity we had to have for the venue and also the price, but from the start we were very conscious of overall cost. Not only did we wish to keep it in proportion for IQA members and other UK participants, but also we had to be conscious of the limited budgets of many of those we hope to attract from the smaller emerging European nations. Added to this was the strength of the pound, which makes travel to the UK expensive for so many, regardless of their nation of origin.

We have sought to ensure that the total package costs be kept in proportion, taking into account accommodation and living expenses, including transport to various event sites. We have learned from previous EOQ congresses how much delegates value the opportunity to network, so we wanted to make this as easy as possible.

These factors eliminated London and other options such as Edinburgh or the NEC in Birmingham as venues. But our chosen venue, Harrogate, provides the perfect location. The venue cost arrangements are very competitive, and the remaining support costs are also very reasonable. As a congress venue the Harrogate International Centre is world class, especially with its IT and graphics support for which it is particularly well known. Harrogate has another advantage: nothing is more than a ten-minute walk from anything else, especially the congress centre. Administration, getting about and the all-important networking are all much easier. Further, the programme timings have been adjusted to give people time to enjoy all that the congress has to offer, to meet as many of their peers and colleagues as they wish, and to make new contacts from all over the world.

Brontë and more

In setting the price for Q2002 we have pared fees to the minimum. To help offset costs we have enlisted the help of a number of key sponsors without whose backing we would not have been able to develop the kind of package required for a congress of this magnitude. For those who are concerned about cost I would only say that there is immense training value in the programme and, given the huge wealth of talent from the world of quality it is bringing to the UK, it represents a major opportunity not to be missed. Our supporters clearly believe in what Q2002 is doing and what it is setting out to achieve. For an extremely comprehensive package our programme offers very good value for money

There are unique tourism opportunities in this part of the UK, familiar to potential foreign guests through the writings of the Brontë sisters and, to those based in the UK, television shows such as James Herriot. We hope this will attract delegates to bring partners and friends to enjoy the local area.

03002 is a massive undertaking, and the amount of work that has gone in to make it an event that the IQA can be truly proud of is apparent in the strength of support for the congress and the power of the programme. I hope very much to see as many of you there as possible, together with friends and colleagues, for what is a major event in the life of the IQA and the nation - and really not to be missed.

Frank Steer is director general of IQA, and has recently been elected as president of the EOQ. His term of office will run from Q2002 for the next two years.