Track 1
Keynote
Bringing unsexy back: fixing the plumbing of government
60 minutes
23-25 September 2026
John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Programme 2020
Day 1
08:30
Welcome to Service Design in Government
08:45
09:45
Refreshment Break
10:15
Track 1
Case Study
How to prototype your operating model
45 minutes
Emily Bazalgette
Organisation designer
Track 2
Case Study
Co-creating truly inclusive services: beyond wheelchairs and screen readers
45 minutes
Vita Mangan
dxw
Track 3
Workshop
Igniting Scotland’s change leaders of tomorrow today
90 minutes
Lisa Murphy
Young Scot
Track 4
Workshop
Public service mapping: collaborating on end-to-end multi-channel journeys
90 minutes
Brian Hendrick
Canadian Digital Service
Samantha Sadasivan
Canadian Digital Service
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11:05
Track 1
Case Study
From service design to systems change: lessons from practice
45 minutes
Adam Groves
The Children's Society
Nerys Anthony
The Children's Society
Track 2
Case Study
Using design to embed ethics in product development
45 minutes
Dawn Duhaney
Wellcome Trust
Aoife Spengeman
Wellcome Trust
11:50
Lunch Break
12:40
Track 1
Case Study
Service designers in detention: case studies from crime and education
45 minutes
Tanvi Kareer
Doblin by Deloitte
Munpreet Uppal
Department of Education: Education and Skills Funding Agency
Track 2
Case Study
Cake as work
45 minutes
Dan Barrett
Citizens Advice
Track 3
Tutorial
Service Design: not just a toolkit… but a way of being
90 minutes
Jo Carter
The Satori Lab
Melys Phinnemore
Go Further
Howard Merrett
Valleys to Coast Housing Association
Track 4
Workshop
Rapid prototyping: making a considered AI-driven public service
90 minutes
Akil Benjamin
Comuzi
Beverley Benjamin
Comuzi
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13:30
Track 1
Case Study
Scary design - building Local Welcome from our riskiest assumptions
45 minutes
Will Myddelton
Local Welcome
Track 2
Case Study
How our community of practice got better at growing our design capability
45 minutes
Joe Honywill
HM Land Registry
14:15
Refreshment Break
14:45
Track 1
Case Study
Pass on the spark: spreading the story of your project
60 minutes
Sam Villis
MHCLG
Rahma Mohamed
London Borough of Hackney
Hattie Kennedy
MHCLG
Track 2
Tutorial
Co-producing a feedback tool with young people with care experience: thinking critically about the role of technology in social work services
60 minutes
India Roche
Dartington Service Design Lab
Zoë Prosser
Snook
Track 3
Workshop
What it’s really like doing user-centred design in policy?
60 minutes
Joe Silverman
Department for Education
Tristan Ostrowski
Department for Education
Sophie Boyd
Department for Education
Track 4
Workshop
(CONTINUED...)Rapid prototyping: making a considered AI-driven public service
60 minutes
Akil Benjamin
Comuzi
Beverley Benjamin
Comuzi
15:45
Social Evening
Day 2
08:30
Welcome to Service Design in Government
08:40
Track 1
Keynote
What role are you taking in change?
60 minutes
Cassie Robinson
Head of Digital Grant Making, The National Lottery Community Fund and Co-founder of the Point People.
09:40
Refreshment Break
10:10
Track 1
Case Study
Redesigning cervical screening: collaborating across health governing bodies to deliver a whole service
45 minutes
Rochelle Gold
NHS Digital
Shirley Sarker
NHS Digital (contractor)
Track 2
Case Study
Service (re)-design at Registers of Scotland – The Doing
45 minutes
Clare Barnett
Registers of Scotland
Barry Mullan
Registers of Scotland
Track 3
Workshop
Citizens Advice: how can we design services with a unique local offering?
90 minutes
Clare Villalba
Citizens Advice
Jessica Kyriacou
Ministry of Justice
Leanne Griffin
Citizens Advice
Alex Gadsby
Citizens Advice
Track 4
Workshop
Power and privilege in design: a training course
90 minutes
Clara Greo
Government Digital Service
Sonia Turcotte
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11:00
Track 1
Case Study
The undercover service designer: bringing service design to a traditional NHS role
45 minutes
Sarah Josefsberg
NHS
Emma McAuley
Track 2
Case Study
Innovation on the rocks
45 minutes
Tony Young
Department of Finance Northern Ireland
Malcolm Beattie
Department of Finance Northern Ireland
11:45
Lunch Break
12:35
Track 1
Case Study
7 years to deliver change - why having more time doesn’t make things easier
45 minutes
Sohila Sawhney
Barnardo's
Track 2
Case Study
In Argentina, citizens and government are co-creating technological projects to help rural families
45 minutes
Julieta Tortosa
Government Lab of Argentina
Track 3
Case Study
Starting small to build big
45 minutes
Simon Walder
Scott Logic
Track 4
Hands-On
Liberating Structures for service design
90 minutes
Mike Press
Open Change
Hazel White
Open Change
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13:25
Track 1
Case Study
How to keep traffic moving across Greater London
45 minutes
Sally Halls
Sopra Steria
Schumoné Groener
TFL Network Management Control Centre
Alex Sykes
Transport for London
Track 2
Case Study
Increasing public participation in the policymaking process: a valuable, but risky endeavour?
45 minutes
Lucy Jessop
Department for Work and Pensions
Track 3
Case Study
Inwards and outwards research: choosing your research methods according to the service lifecycle
45 minutes
Caroline Jarrett
Effortmark Ltd
Clara Greo
Government Digital Service
14:10
Refreshment Break
14:40
Track 1
Case Study
Exploring the future of open justice: speculative design in service design
60 minutes
Rachel Bruce
Policy Lab
Nina Cutler
Policy Lab
Track 2
Case Study
Defining a theory for discovery
60 minutes
Nabeeha Ahmed
Ministry of Justice
Track 3
Tutorial
Soft power: influence through storytelling
60 minutes
Tanvi Kareer
Doblin by Deloitte
Dianna Wu
Doblin by Deloitte
Yi Wu
Doblin by Deloitte
Track 4
Tutorial
Using data in the design process
60 minutes
Ottla Arrigoni
Humanly
Jenni Parker
Humanly
15:40
Social Evening
Day 3
08:30
Welcome to Service Design in Government
08:40
Track 1
Keynote
Building better worlds
60 minutes
Cennydd Bowles
Designer and futurist
09:40
Refreshment Break
10:10
Track 1
Case Study
Designing an environmental service standard
45 minutes
Ness Wright
Snook
Zoë Prosser
Snook
Track 2
Case Study
What lies beneath - future problems of truth and power in design
45 minutes
Alastair Somerville
Acuity Design
Track 3
Workshop
Do or die: why local government needs to collaborate to survive
90 minutes
Mia Peters
London Borough of Southwark
Tom Cleary
London Borough of Southwark
Track 4
Workshop
How might we collectively create a service design apprenticeship?
90 minutes
Amy Newnham
Adur & Worthing Councils
Clara Greo
Government Digital Service
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11:00
Track 1
Case Study
The designer's ego and how it will prevent us saving the world
45 minutes
Audree Fletcher
Sensemakery Limited
Track 2
Tutorial
Data and Public Services Toolkit
45 minutes
James Maddison
The ODI
11:45
Lunch Break
12:35
Track 1
Case Study
I just want to be believed
60 minutes
Sam Groves
UR Consultant
Track 2
Case Study
Facilitating cross-government transformation through co-design
60 minutes
David Singer
Engine Transformation (in partnership with HMCTS)
Natalie Harney
Engine Transformation (in partnership with HMCTS)
Track 3
Tutorial
Starting with the right questions
60 minutes
John Waterworth
dxw digital
Lucy Taylor
dxw digital
Track 4
Workshop
Policy, participation and power - how can deliberative democracy change decision making and service design in government?
60 minutes
Emyr Williams
Y Lab
Oliver Escobar
Edinburgh University
13:35
Refreshment Break
14:10
Track 1
Endnote
Reflections on, at least, three Ps
60 minutes
Shanti Mathew
Deputy Director, Public Policy Lab
15:10
Conference Wrap-up and Close