Called Gather, the community will offers DCT business leaders a space to unite, share insight and strengthen their strategies. Tony McDonough reports
A new online community is being set up to offer support for Liverpool city region’s digital, creative and technology (DCT) businesses during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Called Gather, the community will offers DCT business leaders a space to unite, share insight and strengthen their strategies. It will also be offering a six-week leadership training course called Mettle.
The initiative forms part of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s £15m package to help the SME sector across the six boroughs during the coronavirus crisis. It is being funded by redirecting cash from other planned projects.
Gather and Mettle will be delivered by Liverpool City Region based growth consultancy, Form and can be accessed online. Similar support programmes are also in development by the company to meet the needs of the region’s non-DCT businesses too.
The Gather community’s aim is to support and connect business leaders, many of whom will be currently facing similar challenges as the local economy responds to the global pandemic. Business leaders can join the community by clicking here.
Central to the launch of the new community is Mettle. The new six-week course aims to help businesses survive current challenges in the economy, whilst stabilising their business with the aim of growing it sustainably during the recovery.
The course will comprise of online workshops with industry experts, digital projects which will help people hone their business strategy in unprecedented times, and the opportunity to discuss challenges with a group of like-minded peers. Regional DCT business leaders are being encouraged to sign up for Mettle by clicking here.
Form director and programme lead, Katie Peate, said: “Business leaders are having to pivot on an almost daily or hourly basis to respond to pressing challenges in order to protect their staff and livelihood. As they’re only human, this can mean that it’s sometimes overwhelming and hard to know where to turn next when it comes to making important decisions that could affect the future of themselves and others.
“Recognising this, we’ve developed both Gather and the Mettle to give business leaders in the DCT sector the clarity and tools they need to take positive action amid circumstances that are largely out of their control. With only 40 places available for the first cohort of the Mettle course, we’d really encourage DCT leaders to get signed up today if it sounds like the kind of support they need.”