What We Do
Supporting the Profession. Raising Standards. Bringing People Together.
UKCMA works across the crowd management and wider events sectors to strengthen professional practice, represent industry experience and encourage collaboration.
Our activities range from engagement with government and regulators to the development of industry guidance, professional learning, research, conferences and member collaboration.
While the individual projects may change, the objective remains consistent: to help improve how crowds are understood, planned for and managed.
Representing the Crowd Management Profession
The people responsible for managing crowds have valuable practical knowledge that should be part of the conversations shaping their profession.
UKCMA provides a collective voice for that experience.
We engage with government departments, regulators, policymakers and industry stakeholders on issues affecting crowd management and the wider events sector.
This has included engagement around areas such as protective security, Martyn’s Law, private security regulation, competency and qualifications, workforce development and wider event-safety policy.
Our role is not simply to respond to change once it happens. Wherever possible, we work to ensure that the experience of crowd management professionals is represented while policy, regulation and guidance are being developed.
Developing Standards and Good Practice
Raising professional standards has been central to UKCMA since its formation.
UKCMA and its members have contributed to the development of guidance, qualifications, occupational standards and professional practice across the sector.
This includes contributions to established industry resources such as the Purple Guide, alongside collaborative projects addressing emerging issues in crowd safety, security and event operations.
We believe guidance is strongest when it combines evidence, professional expertise and the experience of people working on the ground.
That is why collaboration with practitioners and industry partners remains such an important part of our work.
Sharing Knowledge
Crowd management is a continually developing discipline.
Lessons emerge from events, research, incidents, new technologies and changing audience behaviour. One of UKCMA’s most important roles is helping those lessons travel across the profession.
We do this through:
- Professional guidance and resources
- Member briefings and meetings
- Webinars and online learning
- Industry research
- Conferences and events
- Collaborative projects
- Practitioner discussion and knowledge exchange
Our aim is not simply to provide information, but to encourage informed discussion and continuous professional development.
Convening the Industry
Good crowd management depends on collaboration.
Event organisers, venues, crowd management teams, security providers, production professionals, emergency services, local authorities, regulators, transport operators and many others can all influence how crowds experience an event or place.
UKCMA creates opportunities for those perspectives to come together.
Our meetings, webinars, working groups and events provide forums in which practitioners and stakeholders can discuss common challenges, share experience and develop better approaches.
Our Safer Crowds, Safer Venues conference is a major expression of that philosophy, bringing together professionals from across the crowded places and events sectors to explore the issues shaping the future of crowd safety.
Working in Partnership
The challenges facing the profession are too complex for any organisation to address alone.
UKCMA therefore works collaboratively with organisations across government, regulation, events, security, education and public safety.
Our work has involved engagement or collaboration with organisations including the Home Office, Security Industry Authority, Events Industry Forum, LIVE, Night Time Industries Association, Sports Grounds Safety Authority, Global Crowd Management Alliance, Event Safety Alliance and many others.
Each relationship is different, but the purpose is the same: bringing relevant expertise together to help advance safer, stronger professional practice.
Supporting Research and Evidence-Led Practice
Professional practice should be informed by evidence as well as experience.
UKCMA supports and participates in research addressing issues affecting crowds, practitioners and the environments in which they work.
By connecting researchers with industry experience and helping share findings with practitioners, we aim to strengthen the evidence base available to the profession and encourage better-informed decision-making.
Ultimately, our work is about converting knowledge into practice and experience into progress.