Here are some of the delegate comments:

Nick Collison, Business Solutions Manager, Swets Information Services
"The PI Conference for the 2nd year running proved yet again to be at the forefront of industry topics and excelling in both communication and sharing knowledge. This is one conference which I will sign up and recommend to others whether from the vendor or user community"

Craig Moran, Manager, Robson Rhodes
"Again, a fabulous conference as ever! A useful event and fun!"

Judith Hamilton, Information Centre Officer, Rabobank
"It's a great opportunity to discuss practical issues/problems and network with other industry professionals. A good programme and a good mix of attendees"

Robin Hall, Linklaters
"A great event with a rounded and stimulating set of speakers"

Morag Smith, Linklaters
"Good venue, content and people"

Conference Details
PI: Conferences's second conference, the Information Professional Learning Conference (IPLC), was held on the 9th (optional night), 10th and 11th May at the Four Seasons Hotel, Hampshire.

This event could not have achieved its goals without the help of our following sponsors: LexisNexis, Alacra, RM Online, Complinet, Equifax, Factiva, Experian, Intelligent Resources, OneSource, Caudwell Communications, Runtime Collective and ICC.

Conference Success Rating
The conference was a huge success and gauging from feedback received, the second IPLC has proven as popular if not more than last year. This was mostly due to the fantastic venue, better quality of speakers and facilitators, better organisation and the increased opportunities to network because of the optional pre-conference night.

The success of any event can be judged on repeat business and as such over 80% of our guests have returned from last year. Most guests from 2005 have also said they will attend the IPLC 2006. On the whole, the feedback was very positive.

Feedback highlights
Almost all feedback forms revealed that the main attractions of the IPLC were the agenda, the speakers, the networking opportunities and good recommendations from colleagues. Most speakers were given a high evaluation, ranging between 3 and 5 (3=Good; 5=Excellent, 1 being the poorest ranking). The most popular presentation was the Panel Discussion on Pricing Transparency: attendees enjoyed both the format and the debate. The least favourite presentor was the after dinner speaker due to his morals.

Breakout Sessions
Feedback from the breakout sessions was generally very positive. They felt the sessions were better structured this year and the added 15 minutes made a difference. Delegates who had attended last year's conference felt that the quality of facilitators was much better this year and that they had been better briefed. The most popular breakout sessions were "competitive intelligence" and "contract negotiation".

Conference logistics

• The hotel received very high ratings for the service, the venue itself and the location. Nearly all clients who attended both conferences preferred the venue this year.
• The booking/administration, the overall conference, the organisation and the programme content received on the whole a "4=very good " ranking.
• The papers/documentations provided obtained a "very good" ranking, showing an improvement to last year's ranking.

Pre optional night
Most clients who attended the optional pre conference evening thought it was a fantastic way to network with delegates and have asked for the same structure next year. Some suggestions for improvements to this first evening include having a pre-conference keynote speaker and/or breakout sessions.

Gala Dinner
The evening dinner received a very warm welcome from the delegates, who enjoyed the more informal approach and found it a great opportunity to network and catch up with old friends. Many commented that this event brought all the delegates on a level with each other, so they felt they could converse openly and gain further value from this more personal interaction.

Networking games
These proved to be fun and a nice way to enjoy the hotel grounds, but many clients thought it would have been best to host these on the first day of the conference, in order to get to know people at the very begining of the conference.

Future conferences

• Nearly all comments revealed that they would recommend their company attends next time and that they were satisfied with their experience of the IPLC.
• Nearly all delegates said the month of May was a good time to host the conference. We are therefore looking at venues for the same dates next year.