Event Hosting & Moderating: Enduring Atmospheric Platforms Kick-Off
Service: Event Hosting & Moderating
Location: The Lowry, Manchester
Role: Host, two days plus preparation
Creating a strong cultural identity between creator teams for the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme over a two-day, highly technical kick-off.
The Context
Modelled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the US, ARIA is the UK government’s R&D funding agency, designed to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. It encourages science entrepreneurship by recruiting the best R&D talent in the UK and beyond. Its ambition is global, and its programmes attract global talent.
The Challenge
This kick-off was the result of 18 months of discovery, defining and designing an ambitious programme that, if successful, will transform the world and the UK's industrial and economic prospects. The programme selected 18 cross-functional and cross-sector teams from across the UK's leading private and public institutions and most promising SMEs. But it wasn’t only creator teams in the room, regulators, investors and industry were there too, with speakers from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, UK Telecoms Lab, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund and Inflection Fund, plus programme partners Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and QinetiQ.
DisCom’s role was to maximise connections so impact far outlived the conference itself, while maintaining high levels of energy and delivering a programme that kept to time.
Enduring Atmospheric Platforms - Kickoff Workshop - Manchester September 2026.
The Work
We started with pre-event calls with the ARIA team to review the content and build in facilitated sessions that prioritised connection. Elizabeth arrived the night before with the full script prepared and reviewed, fully familiarised with the names of guests and organisations.
Two days of stratospheric engineering brought an intense volume of highly technical content, and each talk and presentation was distilled into its core insights while keeping the thread visible across all 18 teams. Guests remarked on the energy brought to the room, noting that it stood out from other workshops they’d attended.
Elizabeth is passionate about engaging as many people as possible, so special effort was into putting people at ease, with one-to-one moments and the floor offered to quieter and underrepresented participants, while keeping on top of the more challenging characters. All 35 speakers kept to time across the two days without any of them being made to feel rushed. Timings were updated in real time to keep on track, with Rico thanking the room for the timekeeping in his closing remarks.
DisCom became an extension of the ARIA team for the duration of its involvement, carrying the programme team's key messages through the agenda and re-emphasising what needed to land by the end of each day. Elizabeth held space for final thoughts and takeaways and insisted on quiet reflection in the room, meaning the programme team left with the insights they needed rather than hoping for them.
While DisCom wasn't there in an Event Production capacity, we helped the events team by spotting important details, such as the coffee not being ready for an upcoming break. Elizabeth ensured a superb team photo which will be ideal for PR and marketing, while making sure to capture moments for the team who'd never think to ask for photos. Following questions relating to programme financing, we spotted the opportunity to organise a pop-up session between the Programme Finance Director and some of the programme participants.
'Superconnecting'
The brief was hosting for maximum connection and network effects, and Elizabeth was able to spot some introductions into her own extensive network. For example, during a session on reporting requirements, she identified another team in the room that had already navigated the same challenge on a different programme, so they were brought into the discussion to share their experience
EndAP in Numbers
2 days
18 creator teams
35 speakers
7 breakout sessions
4 energisers
“Working with Liz across two events has been an absolute joy. She is an exceptional moderator and a true super connector! Her energy is infectious, her ability to read a room and pivot where needed is seamless, and she goes above and beyond to make every speaker and the team, feel supported and prepared. Liz brings a mix of warmth, passion, and high level professionalism. I recommend Liz highly!”
Caitlin Kubala, Programme Specialist, ARIA
