Eventsforce offers UKHSA agile solution for dynamic event needs
As the nation’s expert health security agency, the UK Health Security Agency brings together a unique blend of world-leading science, data analytics, and operational expertise. Given the all-encompassing nature of its mission to make the nation health secure — when it comes to selecting its event management software — the UKHSA would choose to partner with a platform that offers a comprehensive range of solutions to meet its dynamic event needs. Eventsforce — with a suite of tools to engage with virtual, hybrid, and in-person audiences — is that partner.
The UKHSA was formed in October of 2021 and brought together Public Health England (PHE), NHS Test and Trace, and the Joint Biosecurity Centre. PHE and its predecessor the Health Protection Agency (HPA) were long-standing users of Eventsforce. The UKHSA has been an Eventsforce client since its inception, but — as a new organisation — the agency is still finalising its remit in terms of its onward events strategy. This being the case, the challenge is an on-going one: to offer an agile, scalable solution to meet the UKHSA’s real-time needs even as its blueprint for future events continues to take shape.
Because of changes within the UKHSA’s own in-house event operations and the challenges posed by the pandemic to the events industry at-large, the UKHSA — while it has recently returned to offering some in-person events — has found that it is now offering fewer total events than in 2021. In this sense, though it may be hosting a smaller number of events in comparison with previous years, the agency has implemented a shift towards hybrid content delivery that has enabled it to connect with a much wider audience on a per event basis. With its greater events strategy still taking form, the goal is to fully utilise Eventsforce as a solution in order to seamlessly move between in-person and virtual event content delivery, as and when needed.
Because of the varied format of its events, the UKHSA has been able to make extensive use of the suite of tools offered by Eventsforce. The result of this comprehensive use is that, whether the UKHSA is running a virtual, hybrid, or in-person event, Eventsforce effortlessly and continuously meets the agency’s needs. While the organisation heavily uses the Abstracts and Awards features of the Eventsforce platform across all formats, for Sophie Zincke, UKHSA Senior Conferences and Events Officer, Communications, it’s the system’s contactless features — and especially its personalised app and hands-off kiosk registration system — that have proven to be a particular boon during larger hybrid events, such as at the annual UKHSA conference. While the contactless kiosk reduces check-in time and removes the need to print badges manually, the technology behind it also allows Sophie and her team to verify exactly who has checked into any given event and to monitor peaks and troughs of activity throughout the event’s duration. The UKHSA then uses this data to shape its future programme of events.
While the platform itself is simple and intuitive to use, for Sophie, the capstone of her experience — as a user of Eventsforce — is the fact that the agile technical aspects of the system are reinforced by excellent service. “With the support team being on-hand and able to answer…within a few minutes…if we’re ever stuck on anything, that’s our first port-of-call.” With its seamless, stretch-to-fit capabilities, Eventsforce, she says, is, “Our bible of all our event activities,” enabling the UKHSA to carry on its mission to monitor and protect the health of all.