As another year draws to a close, I trust you and your teams are fit, well and looking forward to a well deserved Christmas break.
Every single one of our members, whether as a company or individual, will have been affected by their own challenges as a result of the pandemic this year and I’d once again like to thank you all for your support, resilience and continued passion in driving the North East region forward through Developing Consensus.
During this time of significant change, our group has continued to focus on championing measures and investments that will help the North East economy to grow and thrive, and we continue to lobby on major investments the region needs (or needs to make) to create jobs and boost economic growth for the long-term future.
This year, like the rest of the world, we began hosting our meetings virtually and continued inviting regional leaders from across both public and private sector organisations to share their research, developments and perspectives with our group.
Throughout these meetings it has been encouraging to see the attendance continuing to increase and thanks must be said to our core members who not only attend, but continue to share their views, questions and support within the group.
Despite the events of the last year, the profile of Developing Consensus is growing and expanding across the region and beyond, and as we go into 2021 we’re also welcoming a number of new members who have joined us from key sectors and organisations.
A final thanks must be said to the individuals on our strategic group panels, who have taken time out of their busy schedules to work closely with us throughout the pandemic to define and provide insight on the key issues that our sector is facing.
This input has allowed us to shape our narrative, put out thought-leadership content lobbying for change and also provide internal responses to key consultations.
With this in mind, we’re looking forward to reconvening with the strategic groups in the New Year and defining what 2021 and the years ahead should look like for our region to prosper.
As we move into what hopefully will be a year of overcoming adversity and highlighting successes for our region, from myself and all of the team here at Developing Consensus, we’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Adam Serfontein
Chairman of Developing Consensus