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Celebrating 40 years of the IED
To view images from our recent 40th anniversary celebrations at the House of Lords where over 100 IED members past and present came together, please scroll through the image carousel below.
It was in September 1982 that a group of industrial/economic development practitioners in the North West first came together to assess the support for establishing a professional body to support their career development. Just 12 months later, what is now known as the Institute of Economic Development (IED), was officially incorporated.
To mark our 40th anniversary there will be a programme of events and activities throughout our 2023-24 business year (beginning on 1st July) to celebrate this significant milestone. As well as taking a journey through time and recalling key IED people and projects from our proud history dating back to 1983, we will use this as an opportunity to celebrate the power of economic development and outline our future mission.
As part of our ’40 years of the IED’ flagship events, our Annual Conference and special 40th Anniversary Awards dinner will be held at the Park Regis Hotel Birmingham on 7th November 2023. For more information, visit our booking page here.
We will also hold a summer Westminster reception, a series of regional policy events, and a new IED podcast will see us launch an ‘in conversation with’ series with key economic development influencers from the UK and beyond as we step up our priorities around representation, advocacy and influencing policy.
Celebrating success in our profession is something we should all be proud of, no matter how big or small a project may be. So, as part of our 40th, we will highlight initiatives which encapsulate the full spectrum and contribution of economic development. We will use this momentous year as a platform to feature more member-generated content than ever before, including thought leadership articles, best practice case studies and intel/knowledge share from across the full range of professionals who impact on economic development. Do get in touch with philsmith@ied.co.uk to discuss your ideas!
Finally, we are pleased to launch a 40th anniversary ‘refer a friend’ scheme whereby existing members will receive a £40 discount for our online CPD programmes in the event of a successful new individual membership or new organisational membership being taken out with the IED following their recommendation. Having started out with under 150 members in 1983 we now have over 1,000 members, both individuals and organisations, and we aspire to double in size as part of our growth plans which will allow us to invest further in high-quality membership services that impact on the effectiveness of our members’ work and their organisations, and provide excellent value for money.
Keep an eye on the IED website, and our social media feeds, for more announcements about our 40th anniversary (and all-important diary dates)!