[EventStrategy] The Strategy Design Festival, London, Jan 20th

[Dirk Slater]

Hello Event Designers,

We’re getting ready for next week’s Strategy Design Festival, and the interviews we’ve been conducting with people already signed up have been fascinating.

Everyone’s clear: the glossy five‑year plan approach is no longer fit for purpose. People are in the thick of real strategy work, under real constraints, and they want a space to rethink how they do strategy in uncertain times.

Across youth‑empowerment orgs, data‑for‑good charities, antiracist education hubs, media development initiatives and emerging consultancies, three needs keep coming up:
planning a living, participatory strategy;
practical ways to involve staff, boards, funders, volunteers and communities without things becoming chaotic;
and turning complex strategic intent into clear language and storiespeople can quickly get behind.

On 20 January in London, we’ll explore lightweight participatory strategy processes; stakeholder mapping and engagement that build real ownership; and storytelling patterns that help different audiences get involved and invested.
You won’t leave with a finished strategy, but you should leave with strengthened scaffolding: concrete prompts and processes you can plug straight into your own context in 2026.  If that sounds like what you need this year, then I need you!  I’d love to see you at the Strategy Design Festival. 

Learn more and register here: https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival/

Best,

- dirk


> On 7 Jan 2026, at 13:27, Dirk Slater <dirk at fabriders.net> wrote:
> 
> Hello Event Designers,
> 
> We’ve just added a draft working agenda for The Strategy Design Festival in London on January 20th, and it is now online: https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival-agenda/ 
> 
> The working agenda outlines how the day will move from clarifying goals, stakeholders, and theories of change in the morning to practical, hands-on working and learning sessions in the afternoon, including implementation and learning loops, stakeholder ownership, narrative and storytelling, and utilising AI. The working agenda is framed as a flexible structure that will continue to evolve based on the needs, questions and examples participants bring in advance and on the day. 
> 
> You can still register and share the invite with colleagues who might benefit from participatory and adaptive approaches to strategy design in 2026 and beyond. Full event details, including time, location and registration information, are here: https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival/
> 
> Hope to see you there,
> 
> dirk
> 
> 
> dirk slater
> FabRiders 
> www.fabriders.net
> Signal: FabRider.12
> Join the Strategy Design Festival in London on January 20th -  https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival/
> Book a chin wag with dirk: https://calendar.app.google/cm9bjytUgxJg8gDa7
> 
> 
> <FR100x100icon.png>
> 
>> On 11 Dec 2025, at 13:29, Dirk Slater <dirk at fabriders.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello Event Designers,
>> 
>> For the first time in over 6 years, FabRiders is running its own live event!  It will be in London on January 20th.  
>> 
>> I am inviting you because it may be relevant, and also because I will be utilising much of the knowledge we shared in past sessions. If you know people who might benefit from participating, please share:
>> 
>> The Strategy Design Festival is a one-day, highly interactive gathering for organisations that want strategy to be a living, shared practice rather than a document on a shelf. Together, we will explore collaborative approaches to developing a strategy that stays grounded in your purpose while responding to rapid change. 
>> 
>> The festival will take place on January 20th, 2025, from 9 am to 5 pm at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in London. The cost is 60 GBP, including lunch.
>> 
>> Across the day, you will:
>> 
>> Learn inclusive, co-creative ways to engage board, staff, partners, and communities so they share ownership of your organisation’s direction. 
>> Explore ways for keeping strategy flexible and “alive” through regular check-ins, learning loops, and course corrections. 
>> Connect with peers who are also navigating uncertainty and building organisational cultures where strategy is discussed, questioned, and refined together. 
>> 
>> You will leave with fresh perspectives, concrete ideas, and renewed energy to approach 2026 and beyond with confidence, creativity, and a stronger sense of shared commitment.
>> 
>> You can learn more and register here: https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival/
>> 
>> Hope to see you there,
>> 
>> - dirk
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> dirk slater
>> FabRiders 
>> www.fabriders.net
>> Signal: FabRider.12
>> Join the Strategy Design Festival in London on January 20th -  https://www.fabriders.net/strategy-design-festival/
>> Book a chin wag with dirk: https://calendar.app.google/cm9bjytUgxJg8gDa7
>> 
>> 
>> <FR100x100icon.png>
>> 
> 

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