From the
TEDxGrantham desk.
Updates from the organising team: speaker reveals, behind-the-scenes notes, and longer-form pieces on ideas worth spreading.
Near Grantham, an 88,000-job agri-tech economy dwarfs any single TED idea
Lincolnshire’s agri-tech cluster now centres on robots, AI and data systems, with the wider LINCAM economy put at about 88,000 jobs and £3.8bn GVA; near Grantham, that is starting to reshape the skills needed for farm and technician roles.
Grantham's engineers have kept things moving since 1946, off any TED stage
Between Harlaxton Road, Alma Park Industrial Estate and Turnpike Close, Grantham firms make and repair the hidden parts that keep industrial kit moving: vibrator motors, slip rings, fabricated assemblies and control systems. Founded across 1946 to 2004, they turn maintenance, automation and machining into a local engineering base.
Gravity Fields proved Grantham wants more than one TED-style day
Grantham already has the Newton-linked sites needed for year-round public science, from Woolsthorpe Manor and The King’s School to Newton’s Trail. Gravity Fields proved local demand, but financial pressure ended the old festival model, leaving only a standing partnership to turn scattered assets into regular learning events.
Lincolnshire's AI shift is a judgement call no TED talk can settle
United Lincolnshire Hospitals uses AI software to support clinical decision-making on chest X-rays for patients over 16, while Lincolnshire farms are using AI to spot crop stress and disease earlier. The result is less outright automation than a shift in work towards data, checks and human judgement.
Market Place's £1.8 million rebuild hid a mess no TED stage could show
Grantham Market Place reopened in September 2024 after a £1.8 million rebuild, but the real test came during the works, when traders warned of lost trade and South Kesteven accepted the disruption had caused consternation among shopkeepers. The council’s response became a case study in managing public anger, access and trust.
Grantham's scattered searches add up to more than one TED-shaped idea
Searches in Grantham cluster around hospital entrances, parking maps and outpatients, while South Kesteven residents search for exact bin days and postcodes; both patterns point to services that fail to make the next step obvious.