RDF24 Annual Conference

RDF24 was the Research and Development Forum’s 2024 Annual Conference, taking place at Celtic Manor in Wales. RDF24 built on the success of RDF23 in Newcastle, which marked the return of in-person events for the Forum. The event saw an increase of attendees in comparison to the previous year, once again highlighting the prominence of this event for the health and care research community across the UK. Delegant managed the entire event from venue finding to delegate bookings, exhibitor and sponsorship sales, social media to graphic design, speaker liaison to printed materials, conference dinner to networking opportunities, workshops, and more.

Services Provided:

Full event management
Venue branding
Interactive audience participation
Conference Dinner

Branded event material
New Fringe sessions
Social media before, during & after
Award presentations

Networking Evening
Workshops
Event photography and video
Event app

Hear from our Technical Director

“We love surprises and we love surprising people. Sneaking a 55-member Welsh Male Voice Choir into a conference dinner with 760 attendees was something quite special. The absolute surprise on the faces of the audience when we dropped the curtain was something that will stay with me for a long, long time. It took months of planning to pull that off, and that was on top of the meticulous planning of the entire 850-person event.”

870+ Attendees

20+ Exhibitors

60+ Speakers

9
Sponsors

5 Networking Events

1368 Hotel Nights

Highlights

The success of this event was due to a combination of key elements: attendees, presentations, workshops, the exhibition, and networking opportunities.

The event began on the Sunday afternoon with two personal development workshops for delegates, followed by a networking evening designed to foster connections and share ideas ahead of the main conference.

The main conference took place over two days, featuring a programme full of content, including esteemed speakers, panel discussions, and parallel sessions covering a wide range of key topics. Speakers in the parallel sessions were selected from a Call for Abstracts, which proved to be very popular alongside the plenary sessions once again. RDF23 saw a record number of abstracts, and RDF24 surpassed this record with more than a 10% increase, which was great to see.

The exhibition hall was very busy at RDF24, providing exhibitors with unparalleled visibility and access to a diverse audience. Some companies also participated in delivering demonstration sessions for attendees.

On the Monday evening, we welcomed more than 750 attendees to the acclaimed Conference Dinner, which featured a surprise for attendees. The evening brought everyone together to celebrate their achievements during the awards ceremony, network at the drinks reception, enjoy a fantastic three-course meal, and have fun with the well-known ‘Yes/No’ game. The surprise? When no one was expecting it, we dropped the curtain to reveal a 55-member Welsh Male Voice Choir that we had secretly brought into the venue. It was a moment that left people in awe, and a huge success for the team who were able to make it happen.