Making tomorrow better with actions, today!
Investing time and energy into initiatives that help continue to make our region a great one is an incredibly important part of everything we do here at Knapton Wright.
A recent project that absolutely backs up this sentiment is Scunthorpe Tomorrow. Back in March 2023, Tyrone Curran introduced us to Rob Allen. In a conversation that brought us up to speed and joined up plenty of dots, Ty went on to explain that “for the past few months he and Rob had been talking around the idea of bringing together a group of organisations/businesses to develop a vision for the future of Scunthorpe/ North Lincolnshire”. 18 months later, our head honcho Alex was on stage, introducing Ty to the room to tell an emotional story that helped explain what Scunthorpe Tomorrow is and why he had given so much of his time to get the group to where it is.
As an initiative that is working to build a better future for Scunthorpe, Ty and Rob and their extended team - of which we are incredibly happy to be a part - are building a network of people who are passionate about Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire to help deliver a better future for the community. This notion came to fruition at Scunthorpe Tomorrow’s first Place Lab event, which ended up being totally packed; a room full of people seriously committed to using their skills to better a palace they are so passionate about. 70+ people in fact who chose to spend 3-4 hours of their working day at the inaugural Place Lab of Scunthorpe Tomorrow. That’s a huge amount of time devoted to using the past and present to help shape the future.
Obviously, we were proud to have been able to support the event, with strategy, hosting the actual event and PR and comms support in the lead-up to ensure plenty of bums - and the right bums - were on seats, but the event did way more than that. It showed how important it is for a town to be sustainable in its outlook and there are a lot of people who care about that. It was brilliant to see not only such a broad range of backgrounds in one room but also the two people at the helm (Rob and Ty), caring so passionately about what the town’s future could and should be.
Community is arguably an overused word, and the work we are very proud to have a hand in taking place in Scunthorpe isn’t the only example of the work going on nationwide.
This is happening in industrial towns across the UK. Made in Stoke and Our Future in Grimsby are two notable examples of communities joining together to share their expertise for the greater good.
Change doesn’t always happen quickly - and arguably it shouldn’t if it is going to be done properly - but where there are people who care and who openly share their vision and ideas and are willing to embrace other people’s visions and ideas, good things happen.
The energy of ideas, of different communities getting together, of people positively challenging each other’s perceptions of what Scunthorpe - in this case - means to them, as a catalyst for growth, it cannot be underestimated. Which is a way of working that harks back to what we do here at Knapton Wright too. We’re in it (it being our working relationships) for the long haul, doing the hard miles (if they need to be done) to get clients to a place where their goals are being delivered.
This stuff matters to people. It really, really matters. More than it ever did before. Not to everyone, nothing matters to everyone, but it matters to enough people that it makes taking your time to build collaborative relationships that aid the strategic development of your own business and support the community and the planet worthwhile doing.