Track 1
Keynote
Mission Critical: Keeping the lights on while rewiring the house
60 minutes
Rachel Coldicutt
Founder, Careful Industries
23-25 September 2026
John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Programme 2024
Day 1 - Wednesday 18 September
08:30
Conference registration
09:35
Welcome to SDinGov
09:45
10:45
Morning break
11:15
Track 1
Talk
Radical optimism: Reigniting hope in and for public services
45 minutes
Audree Fletcher
Public Digital
Track 2
Talk
AX (artificial intelligence experience) and service design
45 minutes
Amy Lynch
Bank of England
Track 3
Talk
Unlocking content design success on transactional services
45 minutes
Grace Cook
Transform
Hazel Yule
Transform
Track 4
Talk
Arm’s length co-design: The changing role of a service designer
90 minutes
Anna Henderson
Scottish Government
Track 5
Workshop
Yee haw! The Wild West of user research ethics
90 minutes
Leah Lockhart
fractals co-op
Soh-yon Park
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
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12:15
Track 1
Talk
Design leadership in gov: How to position, scale and lead design in large complex organisations
45 minutes
Natasha Bhambhra
EY-Seren
Nicolás Rebolledo
The Royal College of Art
Track 2
Case Study
Prioritising patients: Using responsible AI to support healthcare services
45 minutes
Anna Lay
Hippo!
Track 3
Talk
How to intervene in broken markets: Systems approach in planning
45 minutes
Matt Wood-Hill
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government
13:00
Lunch break
14:00
Track 1
Case Study
When information for the public isn’t designed for the public: A design case study into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election
60 minutes
Anne H. Berry
University of Illinois in Chicago
Sarah Edmands Martin
University of Notre Dame
Track 2
Talk
Experimenting with AI whilst keeping user needs front and centre
60 minutes
Kuba Bartwicki
GDS
Sharon McDonald
GDS
Track 3
Talk
Simplifying service design: Practical approaches to tackling complex social issues
60 minutes
Liesbeth Van Parys
Knight Moves
Yalenka Mariën
Knight Moves
Track 4
Workshop
Sharing power: Strategies from lived experts on engaging lived experts
90 minutes
Samuel Martin
SDM Consulting (Co-Design Institute)
Pamela Javier
SDM Consulting (Co-Design Institute)
Lily Cory
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Track 5
Workshop
Picture perfect: Getting started with AI storyboarding
90 minutes
Alicja Głowicka
Create/change
Sophie Keren
Create/change
15:00
Afternoon break
15:30
Track 1
Talk
Escaping the discovery doom loop
60 minutes
Priyanca D'Souza
Independent
Ian Ames
Discover Deliver Ltd
Track 2
Case Study
Effortless customer experience: Abu Dhabi government case study
60 minutes
Sultan Al Jasmi
Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi
Wafa Abdel Jalil Abu Snaineh
Gov. Design Academy
Track 3
Case Study
From prototypes to policy: Advocating for public benefits innovation and responsible AI
60 minutes
Martelle Esposito, MS MPH
Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Genevieve Gaudet
Nava Public Benefit Corporation
Workshop continued
Workshop continued
16:30
Social evening
16:45
Track 1
Lightning Talks
Lightning talks
60 minutes
You!
Day 2 - Thursday 19 September
08:45
Conference registration
09:35
Welcome to SDinGov
09:45
Track 1
Keynote
Beyond the hype of co-design
60 minutes
KA McKercher
Co-design Facilitator and Supervisor, Beyond Sticky Notes
10:45
Morning break
11:15
Track 1
Talk
User-centred design is not enough. We need a new era of public design
45 minutes
Andrew Knight
UK Government
Track 2
Talk
Hidden meanings: The power of behavioural science in research and design
45 minutes
Annika-Marie Leick
SPARCK / BJSS
Track 3
Case Study
How design-methods improved the working environment and reduced sick-leave by 50 % in Norwegian nursing homes
45 minutes
Siri Moe Megaard
Halogen AS
Elin Skogstad
Halogen AS
Track 4
Workshop
Creating truly accessible forms
90 minutes
Caroline Jarrett
Effortmark Ltd
Vicky Teinaki
UK public sector
Track 5
Workshop
Intuition vs evidence: Designing for unspoken needs
90 minutes
Bukola Jolugbo
Rare Rubies Ltd
Dayo Samuel
Audacity2Lead
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12:15
Track 1
Case Study
From fragmentation to collaboration: Cohesive cross-sector partnerships for public service delivery
45 minutes
Jessica Reedy
Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government (Oxford University)
Carmen Franziska Rosenbach
Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government (Oxford University)
Sarah Cooke
Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership
Track 2
Talk
Policy change is easier than you think
45 minutes
Jaye Hackett
Vouchsafe
Track 3
Talk
How to launch a service across local government
45 minutes
Martyn Evans
Unboxed
Laura Smith
Unboxed
13:00
Lunch break
14:00
Track 1
Case Study
Co-designing with the underrepresented: A powerful and rewarding experience
60 minutes
Vinishree Solanki
Independent
Track 2
Case Study
A design for policy experiment on water-resilience for Europe
60 minutes
Ottla Arrigoni
EU Policy Lab, European Commission
Track 3
Workshop
Beware of the doughnut : A guide to setting up multi-disciplinary teams
60 minutes
Simon Pang
Sport England
Cassie Burgess
Sport England
Track 4
Workshop
Co-creating connection: Designing a game for communities of practice
90 minutes
Darinka Yoli
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Nadja Toft
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Track 5
Workshop
When and how might we consider environmental impacts in a service project lifecycle?
120 minutes
Ned Gartside
Defra
Dave Jackson
Transform
Tracey Allen
Transform
Lisa Jeffery
Defra
15:00
Afternoon break
15:30
Track 1
Talk
Poking the future to design better policy
60 minutes
Santini Basra
Andthen
Fionn Tynan O'Mahony
Sopra Steria
Gillian Munro
Scottish Government
Track 2
Case Study
A collective exhale: Reflective learnings from a lung health co-design journey
60 minutes
Jenni Parker
Humanly
Dr Erika Kennington
Asthma + Lung UK
Juber Ahmed
Co-designer
Track 3
Workshop
How trauma informed design can transform our spaces, experiences, and services: A workshop to explore a beginner’s journey
60 minutes
Sadaf Uddin
The Children's society
Workshop continued
Workshop continued
16:30
Social evening
Day 3 - Friday 20 September
09:00
Conference registration
09:35
Welcome to SDinGov
09:45
Track 1
Keynote
Government 360
60 minutes
Whitney Quesenbery
Director, Center for Civic Design
10:45
Morning break
11:15
Track 1
Case Study
Tax and ladders: Using serious games to prototype anti-fraud policy proposals
45 minutes
Jemima Higgins
HMRC Policy Lab
Track 3
Workshop
Money talks: Estimating the cost and value of service design
90 minutes
Clara Greo
Independent
Ignacia Orellana
Independent
Track 4
Workshop
From awareness to action: Unpacking positionality and rebalancing power in service design
90 minutes
Celia Beketa
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Chiara Pasetti
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Track 5
Workshop
Designing footholds for future humans
90 minutes
Claire Robinson
Transform
Tracey Allen
Transform
Ian Jukes
Transform
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12:15
Track 1
Case Study
Enhancing public health access: Leveraging the private sector to innovative remote diagnostics solutions in the NHS
60 minutes
Shirley Sarker
Astrazeneca
Rowan Spear
NEC Digital Studio
Track 2
Case Study
Beyond the double diamond: Bringing policy, design and implementation closer together
60 minutes
Sarah McLellan
CoLab, Home Office
Christian Fitzhugh
Home Office
Jake Jooshandeh
Home Office
13:15
Lunch break
14:00
Track 1
Talk
Designing the culture through communities can improve delivery outcomes
45 minutes
Jaskiran Kang
TPXimpact
Track 2
Talk
An octopus walks into a bar, and other stories...
45 minutes
Molly Balcom Raleigh
All In
Track 3
Talk
Talking trash. Why bins matter in Britain: A real life story for service designers
45 minutes
Jonathan Bradley
Granicus Experience Group
Sophie Harris-Edmond
Granicus Experience Group
Maddy Andersone
Granicus Experience Group
Track 4
Case Study
Reimagining a 21st century welfare state: A case study and some tools for third-horizon policy design
90 minutes
Benny Souto
London Borough of Camden
Hugh Smith
London Borough of Camden
Sophie Taylor
London Borough of Camden
Track 5
Workshop
Building creative confidence: An introduction to visual thinking
90 minutes
Marcus de Vale
WorkVisible Studios Ltd
14:45
Afternoon break
15:05
Track 1
Talk
Finding the right path: a user-centred journey to effective governance
45 minutes
Lynne Roberts
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Mica Moore
TPXimpact
Track 3
Discussion
From data puddles to data lochs: Pooling insights across the voluntary sector
45 minutes
John Fitzgerald
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Workshop continued
Workshop continued
15:50
Track 1
Talk
Conference wrap-up
15 minutes
16:15
Conference end