As a 'newbie' in the APM SIG world this was the first Volunteers Forum that I have attended and I have to say it was very enjoyable. It ran from the Friday evening through to Sunday when people could take advantage of being so close to Cambridge. On the Saturday evening we enjoyed a trip to the Imperial War Museum Duxford where we had a close up view of historic planes dating back to the early 1900's and up through to a prototype Concorde.
On the Saturday we had a full day of presentations and workshops. Included was an update on the APM Charter status, we were the first to know that the time period for PMI to apply direct to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal has now expired. This means that the current judicial process has been concluded, and that APM will now focus on the processes required to be granted, and to implement, a Royal Charter.
Other topics were the APM strategy for 2020 and beyond, individual short presentations from various SIG members on 'what they would like to see'; updates on a couple of volunteer research projects which will come to fruition later this year and towards the end of the day feedback from two workshops, held in the afternoon, on SIG Architecture and Equality & Diversity.
Meeting people from across the APM SIG bodies gave many opportunities for discussion on a variety of topics, not just those that were on the agenda.
A few people I had met before through attendance at various SIG events - PMO (obviously) Governance, Risk, Enabling Change, etc., and it was great to catch up. With others it was a chance to 'espouse' the PMO cause in supporting most of the activities that the other SIGs specialise in.
What has been most obvious in my years in PMOs, since the early 1990's, is that without a good PMO as a basis a lot of the expertise other SIG practitioners bring could be wasted as somebody needs to ensure that their good practices are not only implemented but then tended and nurtured to realise the full benefits.
Unfortunately as I had other commitments on the Sunday I was not able to take advantage of being so close to Cambridge but it is a good location which I would recommend for the future. I would also recommend that any volunteer should try to attend at least one of the Volunteer Forums in a year to keep in touch with what the other SIGs are doing.