Innovation Sprint London 2026
Owning the Agenda: From Messaging to Mandate
17 September 2026
The Trampery, Shoreditch, London
Overview
Innovation Sprint London is a curated executive working session. It will bring together communication leaders, business leaders, organisational specialists, and AI experts.
Strategic is collaborating with Everhaze as AI Innovation Partner, and Industry Leadership Partners: ICCO, Markson Partners, the PRII, and the CIPR, to develop practical solutions to today’s most pressing organisational challenges.
Louise Thompson will facilitate the day, and participants will be guided by an Executive Mentor Panel, which includes Richard Bagnall, Orla Graham, Renna Markson, Padraig McKeon, Peter Lyall and Jonathan Phillips.
Unlike a traditional conference, participants will work collaboratively across disciplines to move from identifying challenges to implementing practical solutions that organisations can adapt internally.
Innovation Sprint London emerged from the challenges identified by senior communication leaders during Strategic’s sold-out Communication Leadership Summits, and through conversations with its global community. Rather than simply discussing these challenges again, the Innovation Sprint has been designed to bring together cross-functional expertise to develop practical frameworks, recommendations and approaches that organisations can implement.
Places are intentionally limited to approximately 40 participants to maintain a highly collaborative executive working environment.
Strategic Members, Columnists and Industry Partner Members
£295 per delegate
Standard Participation
£345 per delegate
Team Participation (Up to Five Delegates)
£1,395
Register Your Interest – email events@strategic.global
View the Innovation Sprint London – Agenda and FAQs here
From Insight to Implementation
Innovation Sprint London is not a standalone event.
It forms part of Strategic’s ongoing leadership ecosystem, designed to help communication leaders move from identifying challenges to implementing practical solutions.
Communication Leadership Summit
Senior communication leaders from around the world come together to identify the profession’s most pressing challenges.
The 2025 and 2026 Communication Leadership Summits identified three consistent priorities:
- Demonstrating communication value and business impact
- Building organisational trust and addressing the say-do gap
- Leading AI implementation with confidence and consistency
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Innovation Sprint London
Innovation Sprint London brings together communication leaders, business leaders, organisational specialists, AI experts, Strategic Ecosystem Partners and Industry Leadership Partners to work collaboratively on these challenges.
Through facilitated working groups, executive mentors and structured collaboration, participants develop practical frameworks, recommendations and approaches that organisations can implement within their own organisations.
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Executive Insights Report
The recommendations and outputs developed during the Sprint will be captured in a Strategic Executive Insights Report.
Rather than documenting discussion, the report will share practical recommendations, leadership observations and frameworks with the wider profession.
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Ongoing Leadership Community
The conversation continues beyond the event.
Participants remain connected through Strategic’s wider leadership ecosystem, including:
- Strategic Magazine
- Membership
- Executive Forums
- Communication Leadership Summit
- Innovation Sprint
- Strategic Ecosystem Partners
- Executive Roundtables
Innovation Sprint is not an endpoint.
It is part of Strategic’s ongoing commitment to helping communication leaders create measurable business impact.
Why Innovation Sprint?
Communication leaders are operating in an increasingly complex environment.
Today they are expected to:
- Demonstrate measurable business impact.
- Influence executive decision-making.
- Build organisational trust.
- Lead organisational change.
- Help organisations navigate AI.
Despite an abundance of conferences, publications and professional development opportunities, many organisations continue to face the same challenges.
Innovation Sprint London has been designed to move beyond discussion by bringing together diverse expertise to develop practical solutions that organisations can adapt and implement.
The Three Executive Challenge Areas
Demonstrating Communication Value and Business Impact
Communication leaders are increasingly expected to demonstrate measurable organisational value.
Participants will explore practical approaches to:
- Demonstrating communication ROI
- Measuring business impact
- Aligning communication with organisational objectives
- Influencing executive decision-making
Building Organisational Trust and Addressing the Say-Do Gap
Trust is strengthened when organisational behaviour reflects organisational messaging.
Participants will examine:
- Leadership communication
- Organisational trust
- Employee experience
- Culture and behaviour
- The say-do gap
The objective is to identify practical approaches that strengthen organisational alignment and credibility.
Leading AI Implementation with Confidence and Consistency
AI presents enormous opportunities, but implementation remains a leadership challenge.
Participants will explore:
- AI governance
- Practical implementation
- Leadership capability
- Organisational adoption
- Human-centred AI
The emphasis is not on AI tools, but on leading organisational change successfully.
Who Should Attend?
Innovation Sprint London has been designed for senior decision-makers including:
- Chief Communications Officers
- Communication Directors
- Heads of Internal Communication
- Corporate Affairs Leaders
- Business Leaders
- Organisational Change Specialists
- AI Specialists
- Measurement Specialists
- Agency Leaders
- Strategic Ecosystem Partners
- Industry Leadership Partners
Participants are intentionally drawn from different disciplines to encourage broader thinking, richer discussion and more practical outcomes.
How the Day Works
Innovation Sprint London is designed as a collaborative executive working session rather than a traditional conference.
Participants will:
- Join facilitated cross-functional working groups.
- Collaborate with executive mentors and industry specialists.
- Explore real organisational challenges.
- Develop practical frameworks and recommendations.
- Share ideas across groups throughout the day.
- Contribute to Strategic’s Executive Insights Report.
Every participant is expected to contribute.
The emphasis is on collaboration rather than presentations.
Strategic Partners
Innovation Sprint London is supported by organisations committed to helping communication leaders create measurable business impact. It is being developed with selected Strategic Ecosystem Partners and Industry Leadership Partners helping shape the wider conversation.
AI Innovation Partner
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Everhaze is building the intelligent operating layer for the future of PR and communications. Built for teams under pressure to move faster, deliver sharper insight and prove greater value, Everhaze brings together media intelligence, monitoring, narrative analysis, outreach and reporting in one connected workflow. Its mission is to help communications professionals meet the pace of change without sacrificing the people, judgement and creativity that make great work possible. | https://www.everhaze.com/ |
Industry Leadership Partners
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Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK. With over 10,000 members involved in all aspects of public relations, it is the largest body of its type in Europe. | https://www.cipr.co.uk/ |
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ICCO provides a forum for senior management of the world’s best PR consultancies to meet and address issues of mutual interest and concern. | https://iccoglobal.com/ |
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Markson Partners is a management consultancy working with SMEs, start-ups, and growing businesses. It helps organisations operate more efficiently, build the foundations they need to scale, and the strategies to perform better. | https://www.marksonpartners.com/ |
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The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) is the professional body for public relations and communications practitioners in Ireland. The Institute supports professional excellence through education, professional development, networking and advocacy, promoting the highest standards across the communications profession. | https://www.prii.ie/ |
Facilitator
Louise Thompson
Louise Thompson is a highly experienced communications leader, facilitator and executive coach who helps organisations navigate transformation, leadership complexity and change.
She specialises in creating environments where leaders can think clearly, collaborate effectively and move from discussion to action.
As Facilitator of Innovation Sprint London, Louise will guide participants through a dynamic executive working session focused on practical outcomes and implementation.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Location: The Trampery Old Street, London
Format: Full-day working session: 9.30am – 5pm
Executive Insights Report
Innovation Sprint London will produce an Executive Insights Report capturing the practical outcomes developed throughout the day.
The report will include:
- Executive observations
- Emerging themes
- Practical recommendations
- Leadership insights
- Frameworks developed during the Sprint
- Future priorities for communication leaders
Participants and partners contribute to shaping the report, ensuring it reflects practical experience rather than theory.
What Participants Will Leave With
Innovation Sprint London has been designed to deliver practical value.
Participants will leave with:
- Practical frameworks that can be adapted within their organisations.
- New executive relationships across disciplines.
- Greater insight into leadership, trust, AI and business impact.
- Strategic’s Executive Insights Report.
- Ongoing opportunities to collaborate through Strategic’s international leadership community.
Registration
Strategic Members, Columnists and Industry Partner Members
£295 per delegate
Standard Participation
£345 per delegate
Team Participation (Up to Five Delegates)
£1,395
Ideal for organisations that want cross-functional teams to collaborate, learn together and bring practical solutions back into the business.
Places are intentionally limited to approximately 40 participants to maintain a highly collaborative executive working environment.
Register Your Interest
If you believe you would add value to and benefit from the discussion, we would be delighted to hear from you.
To register your interest or request further information, please contact:
events@strategic.global
Subject: Innovation Sprint London
