By Vicky Croughan, Senior Communications Officer and LGcomms Executive Member, South Hams District and West Devon Borough Councils
On Tuesday 12 May, South Hams District Council played host to a brilliant South West Regional LGComms communications event, where a small but perfectly formed, group gathered at Follaton House in Totnes to show you don’t need a huge audience to spark big ideas.
Travelling from across the region, comms colleagues came from north Somerset to south Cornwall to bring a real mix of perspectives, experience and shared challenges. The result? A relaxed, friendly day with plenty of conversation, learning and inspiration.
We were so lucky to have a range of engaging and interesting sessions from a brilliant line‑up of speakers who are all knowledgeable in their fields and refreshingly honest about practice in the real world. Thanks to all the speakers for traveling to us in Devon, for making the commitment to come so far out of their way and for their excellent presentations.
The day unfolded as a conversation around some of the biggest themes shaping communications right now. There was a strong thread of creativity and fresh thinking running through the programme, with sessions that challenged us to look again at familiar problems and left us buzzing with new ideas.
Behaviour change and AI emerged as clear themes throughout the day, especially in the context of emergency planning, public messaging and seasonal campaigns. The discussions felt grounded and practical, showing how communications can influence action in the real world and helping attendees think about how to make campaigns more useful, timely and effective.
There was also plenty of focus on how communicators can connect with people more meaningfully, whether through storytelling, hands-on campaign planning or more confident use of digital tools. Together, these sessions brought a nice balance of imagination and practicality, encouraging everyone in the room to think not just about what they communicate, but how they do it and where comms is heading next.
Between sessions, there was plenty of opportunity to network, compare notes and share experiences, exactly what a regional event should be about.
One attendee said afterwards, “Yesterday was tops, very inspiring and interesting!”
So, a huge thank you to everyone who travelled, contributed and shared insight and ideas; It is a great reminder of the strength of the South West communications network, collaborative, supportive and full of good ideas.
We’re already looking forward to the next one and if anyone wants to get involved and enjoy the Devon scenery, sunshine (hopefully), learning and networking let me know at vicky.croughan@swdevon.gov.uk