This Week: We take you inside Aviva's iconic Marble Hall, where the Norwich Financial Industry Group (FIG) is meeting for its 2026 Annual Conference. 

This year's theme is 'People': an especially prescient theme as the AI revolution gathers pace.  Host Mike Rigby talks to keynote speakers Gautam Hazari, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at XConnect, and Professor Amir Sharif of the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia.

We hear what the delegates made of the event, including Turning Factor's Brian Bush and East Norfolk Sixth Form College students Charlie Willis and Sonny Moughton, not to mention college principal Dr Catherine Richards!  

Finally we hear from Norwich FIG Chair Steve Davidson on a fantastic evening, and Holly Bamford of Work In Norwich (WiN) about their crucial survey for the Norwich Business Improvement District.  And don't forget our three irresistible Action Points!

The Norwich financial sector is a case study in quiet excellence and a pleasure to turn up the volume yet further.

You can find the Work In Norwich survey here: https://www.workinnorwich.co.uk/win-fig-survey/.

Visit the Norwich FIG website here: https://fignorwich.org/.

To find out more about Eastern Promise, to use our contact form, or listen to our back catalogue, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk.

The Eastern Promise podcast is made in The Podding Shed in proud association with Mills & Reeve.

This week: Eastern Promise's own Mike Rigby heads for Barnwell Road, on Cambridge's Abbey estate, where hyperlocal charity, Abbey People, are working incredibly hard to help residents move from surviving to thriving.

Mike joins Chief Executive Nicky Shepard and her team - Food Hub Coordinator Rachel and Comms guru Gemma, amongst many others - to chat about the work Abbey People do at The Hub on Barnwell Road, all whilst the Community Cafe buzzes away in the background. 

Then, they get out into a rainy Cambridge afternoon to walk to the pocket parks and new verges created by Abbey People, before visiting the Community Food Hub and Social Supermarket.  You can find out more about Abbey People, including how to donate to this hyperlocal charity, here: https://abbeypeople.org.uk/

All this, plus this week's 'Eastern Insight' also comes from Abbey People in their own words!  We hear more about Abbey People's Barnwell Basket campaign, aiming to ensure everyone in the community can have access to nourishing food.

For more information about the Barnwell Basket, visit the Abbey People website here and Boost the Basket: https://abbeypeople.org.uk/barnwell-basket-campaign/.

To deliver the 'Eastern Insight', and share your thought leadership with the region, contact Eastern Promise at [email protected].  A single slot costs £75 and a block of six across the year costs £350.  The slots are free to charities and non-profits. 

To listen to the Eastern Promise back catalogue, and to find out more about what we do, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk.

The Eastern Promise podcast is made in The Podding Shed and is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This week: We drop in on Stephen Crocker, CEO and Creative Director of Norwich Theatre.  We ask Stephen about his career, whether behind or in front of the curtain; the three stages across the City of Stories that make up the Norwich Theatre; how Norwich Theatre lives and breathes its values and the amazing community work the theatre does.   

Host Mike Rigby talks to Stephen about how the cultural sector contributes to the region's economy, the power of Norwich as a centre for creative wellbeing and Stephen's role as a Norfolk ambassador.

As our ACTION POINTS stress, regional theatre provides an amazing entry point for new performance arts, whether as patron or participant; ballet, opera, straight drama, comedy, music or even panto.  Oh, yes it is! (Stop it!) 

Do visit the Norwich Theatre's website here: https://norwichtheatre.org/

Find out how you can support Norwich Playhouse's redevelopment project: https://norwichtheatre.org/playhouse-redevelopment-project/

Learn more about the Norfolk Ambassadors here: https://norfolkambassadors.co.uk/

...and the Norfolk Suffolk Cultural Board here: https://norfolksuffolkculture.co.uk/

To find out more about Eastern Promise, including our entire back catalogue and to contact us via our messaging service, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk!

The Eastern Promise podcast is made with love in The Podding Shed, in proud association with Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Your host Mike Rigby chats to Councillor Cameron Holloway, Leader of Cambridge City Council.

We discuss his ward, the side of Cambridge many people seldom see, and also the impact of the Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership.

Not only that, Cameron also discusses the hugely positive impact that the city council has had on housing and the consultation on the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation that closes shortly (1st April 2026).

Then, we distil the interview and propose three 'Action Points'; each of great practical and philosophical value! 

PLUS! Eastern Promise is looking for strategic partners who share our values and can support us in delivering our ambitious programme for 2026-27.  With your help we can go even further...

To find out more about Eastern Promise, access our podcast's full back catalogue and get in touch via our contact form, here: https://easternpromise.org.uk

This podcast is made with love in The Podding Shed in association with Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We return to our special series of 'Beginner's Guides' with a deep dive into the East of England's town & city ecosystems.  And in this episode, we take on Suffolk's county town - IPSWICH!

You join your host, Mike Rigby, at the University of Suffolk with an extraordinary panel:

Between them, the panel delves deep into: what defines Ipswich for them. We examine why the cultural and music scene is so fundamental to the town, as is its rich historic legacy. 

The panel share their thoughts on the University itself, the key sectors of Ipswich's economy, especially innovation.  Then there's networking, start-up funding, signposting and much more besides!  

Plus, with the announcement that Ipswich has been long-listed for City of Culture, Lee explains the process, considerations and strategy behind Ipswich's approach - it's one Eastern Promise supports wholeheartedly!

And that's not all!  Mike is back for your Eastern Insight this week, extoling the benefits of a strategic partnership with...Eastern Promise!  Can he do that?  Yes, he can! 

Some Ipswich links:

This is episode 162 of the Eastern Promise podcast, made in The Podding Shed.

To listen to our back catalogue, and to contact us, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk.

Eastern Promise is made in The Podding Shed in association with Mills & Reeve: http://mills-reeve.com..

This week: We're taking a closer look at Government proposals to establish a centrally-led Urban Development Corporation (UDC) for Greater Cambridge.

Taking us through the proposals, including what exactly is being proposed, the powers a UDC will have, the difference a UDC can make and the size of the opportunity presented, are two distinguished members of the Cambridge Growth Company's Advisory Council. 

Mike is joined by CGC Chair, Peter Freeman; and Master of Fitzwilliam College Cambridge, and Chair of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Baroness Sally Morgan.  Peter and Sally take Mike through the proposals and stress the potential for positive public impact to emerge early through these proposals.,

The Government consultation on these proposals is open now and runs until 1 April 2026.  You can read the consultation documents and submit your response by clicking here. 

You can also read more about the Cambridge Growth Company - which will evolve into the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation - by clicking here. 

PLUS! This week's 'Eastern Insight' is delivered by our own Mike Rigby, delivering a three-minute slug of thought leadership on 4.5 years' worth of learning from the Eastern Promise podcast.  Listen now! 

You can listen to our podcast's back catalogue, or contact Eastern Promise, by visiting our website - click here to go there now!   

Eastern Promise is proud to be in partnership with Mills & Reeve.

This week: Eastern Promise host Mike Rigby sits down to chat with Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Paul Bristow.

We discuss Paul's hometown of Peterborough, the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership, the difference between being a mayor and his previous role as an MP, and also the Combined Authority's Local Growth Plan - particularly the decision to have 'mayoral targets', putting his accountability front and centre.   

You can read and download a copy of the Local Growth Plan by clicking here.   

You can visit the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority website by clicking here. 

PLUS!  We begin a new era with our first EASTERN INSIGHT!  This week, Kim Lockwood of Thetford Town Cricket Club's Project 100, which aims to create a fully inclusive, modern, and accessible community sports environment that enables more people in Thetford to become active, stay active and feel part of a supportive community. 

Here's Project 100's crowdfunding page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/project-100-2.

For more more information on Eastern Insight, contact Eastern Promise at: [email protected].

Visit our website at https://www.easternpromise.org.uk.

Thank you to our partners, Mills & Reeve. 

This Week: With a packed hall of farmers, agronomists, scientists and agricultural luminaries old and young, we're glad Mike Rigby dropped in on the 2026 Norfolk Farming Conference!  Calling in first on the Food and Farming Discovery Trust's splendid mobile classroom, we hear from Trust Manager Frances Roberson about why they're at the conference and what this educational sister charity to the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association has planned for the year ahead - no need to feel sheepish! 

Next, Mike drops by the Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's stand to chat with Nathan Walker about their deer management strategy and the move to get more people into venison.  

With the slightest of pauses to hear more about Eastern Insight, Mike catches up with Cllr Fabian Eagle to ask about the Norfolk Rural Business Awards, before seizing the chance to interview former agriculture minister and Pier of the Realm, Baroness Shepard of Northwold, asking about what makes this event so important. 

It was a whistle-stop tour of the stands but you can get a flavour of the event right here...possibly venison! 

You can hear all of Eastern Promise's back catalogue and contact us by visiting our website and clicking on 'contact'.

Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Form the Future is one-of-a-kind; a unique bridge between the worlds of education and work. 

This Cambridge-based CIC is rightly praised for its work in lifting the horizons of young people in the #EastofEngland and beyond, so Eastern Promise didn't hesitate to send Mike Rigby along to Hinxton Hall Conference Centre to ask delegates at Form the Future's 2026 Annual Conference why they're there, what makes Form the Future so special, and what they hope to have gleaned by the end of the day.   

Mike chats to delegates, speakers and CEO of Form the Future, Anne Bailey herself.  Don't miss it!

To find out more about Form the Future, click here.

PLUS! Hear all about our new thought leadership slot, 'EASTERN INSIGHT'; it'll be kinda like 'Thought for the Day' but more: 'Thought for the East'! Perfect if you need to raise the salience of a product, place, innovation, or a cause that motivates you. 

If you've something to say that's true to Eastern Promise's values of people, place, potential and positivity, and shares our commitment to diversity and inclusion, then get in touch via [email protected] for pricing and booking details. There's only one Eastern Insight slot per week, so you'll have unrivalled visibility (or audibility!) 

To listen to Eastern Promise's entire back catalogue, or to contact the podcast, click here to visit easternpromise.org.uk.  

Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: As the magnificent Cambridge Science Centre publishes its new Strategic Plan for 2026-2031, Eastern Promise's own Mike Rigby chats with the centre's CEO on the intent behind the Strategic Plan, their outreach strategy and the drive to not only make the centre 'best in class', but also an exemplar for STEM educational centres around the world.

You can read the Strategic Plan by clicking here, and buy tickets to visit the centre by clicking here.

PLUS! You can hear about the all-new thought leadership slot coming soon to the Eastern Promise podcast: EASTERN INSIGHT!  It's your chance to share your news, views and more with the world, with strategic visibility and a unique position in each episode.

All this and so much more!

You can contact Eastern Promise by visiting the Eastern Promise website and clicking or by emailing [email protected].   

Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.