LEONARDO ROYAL ST PAUL'S, LONDON

Agenda

The ERG Blueprint Conference 2026 will be a full-day experience focused on practical learning, peer insight and strategic growth. The agenda is built around the real challenges and opportunities facing ERG leaders and their supporters today.

Each session is designed to give you frameworks you can apply, space to reflect, and the chance to connect with other network leads, DEI professionals and executive sponsors.

Full timings and speaker details will be released soon. For now, here's what the day will include:

1. Why It’s Worth It – Framing the Value of ERGs for Chairs, Members, DEI Leads and Sponsors

We start by going back to the reason we're all here. Why do ERGs matter? And what makes them effective?

This is a strategic reset on why ERGs exist and what they deliver.

This session reframes ERGs as engines of influence, talent, risk management and organisational insight - not just “community groups”.

Attendees will map the real value their ERG brings to organisations using a guided workbook.

Define ERGs as strategic culture levers in organisational culture, inclusion and business performance
Equip attendees to articulate value in language businesses understand
Identify where ERGs currently create impact and where opportunity is being missed

2. Navigating Political Turbulence - The Impact of the US Climate on ERGs

ERGs operate in a broader political, societal, and regulatory context.

This is an honest look at how shifting political and social climates are impacting inclusion efforts. Hear from the ERG leaders who are tackling political turbulence and external societal challenges.

This session explores how organisations and ERGs can respond proactively within these restraints.

Understand the effect of evolving legal and political pressures influencing ERG strategy
Identify practical approaches to maintain credibility, engagement and influence
Showcase global and cross-border considerations for ERGs
Learn how to maintain momentum without budget or compromising compliance during difficult seasons

3. Defining and Showcasing Your ERG’s Unique Voice – Workshop on USP and Storytelling

How do people see your network?

ERGs need a clear, authentic voice to engage members, influence leaders and secure sponsorship.

This session equips attendees with storytelling tools and frameworks to showcase their ERG’s unique identity and impact. It will focus on how ERGs can articulate who they are, why they exist and what sets them apart.

Help ERGs articulate a compelling and unique value proposition
Strengthen collaboration across networks
Equip ERGs to communicate measurable outcomes to leaders and stakeholders
Learn how leading organisations amplify ERG stories internally and externally

4. Identifying Challenges, Barriers & Solutions in Employee Resource Groups – Workshop

ERGs face structural and operational barriers that limit impact.

This session introduces a structured methodology to diagnose ERG challenges and generate targeted solutions using a framework that separates surface tension from root systemic barriers. We'll explore what works (and what doesn’t).

Identify the structural and cultural blockers affecting ERGs
Equip ERGs with a structured approach to diagnose barriers
Provide strategies to scale impact without increasing volunteer workload
Highlight actionable solutions for low/no-budget ERGs

5. Masterclass on Data Collection – Metrics That Matter

ERGs must measure impact to influence decisions and secure resources.

This session will focus on actionable metrics, data collection techniques, and reporting frameworks aligned with business priorities.

Learn how to capture, report and communicate your network's impact through meaningful data – and use it to influence change.

Identify key metrics that demonstrate ERG value
Understand how to report results and communicate impact to influence leadership
How to evidence value without budget

6. Personal Brand, Power and Influence

An empowering keynote from a renowned leader in ERGs about maximising your power and personal brand as an ERG leader, with lessons on building influence, voice, overcoming resistance, and staying resilient.

Strengthen leadership presence and authority.
Use personal brand to advance ERG impact.
Overcome self-doubt and visibility barriers.
Connect personal development to ERG success and organisational outcomes

7. Influence & Persuasion – Gaining Buy-In and Executive Sponsorship

ERGs thrive with executive sponsorship and organisational buy-in.

This session uses coaching methods to explore how ERG leads can understand power dynamics, build executive relationships, and communicate with clarity and confidence, even in difficult environments, to create the conditions for success.

Build influencing skills to secure sponsorship and align with business strategy
Understand executive decision-making and how to position ERG work in leader language
Provide actionable frameworks for influence and persuasion
Manage volunteer engagement sustainably

8. ERGs of Tomorrow: Building Futures, Leveraging AI and Managing Risk

What must ERGs become next – and why is that exciting?

This session looks forward to explore how AI, technology, and shifting workforce expectations will shape the next era of ERGs.

Attendees will leave inspired, informed, and ready to lead the future, turning potential challenges into opportunities to shape culture, inclusion, and talent strategy.

Explore future ERG opportunities and risks, including bias, AI, legal, and tech considerations
Demonstrate how ERGs can work with AI and data to increase influence and reach
Equip attendees to use ERGs strategically to shape culture, inclusion, and talent outcomes

Ready to build your own ERG blueprint?

Join 200+ ERG leaders, DEI professionals, and inclusion champions for a day of practical learning, strategic networking, and actionable insights that will elevate your networks.

TUESDAY 28 APRIL 2026 • LEONARDO ROYAL ST PAUL'S, LONDON

LEONARDO ROYAL ST PAUL'S, LONDON

Agenda

Ready to build your own ERG blueprint?

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