Enhanced networking to feature at members' meeting

Those attending next week's GIRI members' meeting will be able to communicate directly with other participants and chat 'face-to-face' in breakout rooms in the coffee break and post-meeting sessions of the event. 

Settings for the online session are to be opened up for the meeting, in an attempt to replicate as closely as possible the networking opportunities that arise at in-person meetings. 

GIRI had initially planned to host the July members' meeting at the Institution of Civil Engineers, with proceedings also being streamed live, but the extension of current restrictions led to it being moved back to a fully online format. 

Executive director Cliff Smith acknowledged that reliance on online meetings made it difficult for members to feel fully engaged with one another. "Considering that communication and knowledge-sharing are important elements of GIRI's core strategy, we are keen to create conditions that give our members the chance to network with one another during the event," he said.

A series of breakout rooms will be opened up during the 15 minute coffee break and attendees will be free to move between them to chat privately with other delegates or catch up with colleagues or friends. 

After the formal proceedings conclude at 11.30, Cliff and the other guest speakers will be available in breakout rooms for a further 30 minutes to answer questions or chat with delegates informally.

Delegates will also be able to use the chat box to communicate privately with one another during the members' meeting - a function that is usually switched off for the public GIRI forums.

"We appreciate that the chance conversations and encounters that characterise in-person meetings can never be fully replicated online," Cliff said, "but we hope that this trial run will prove useful to our members and add a welcome extra dimension to the event."

To find out more about the event and register to attend visit https://getitright.uk.com/events/giri-members-meeting-3