Keynote
The human alternative – and how design can help
60 minutes
James Plunkett
Founder, Kinship Works
23-25 September 2026
John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Programme 2025
Day 1 - Wednesday 17 September 2025
08:45
Conference registration
09:45
Welcome to SDinGov
10:00
11:00
Morning break
11:30
Track 1
Talk
Test, learn and grow: place-based design to drive whole government change
45 minutes
Kara Kane
Cabinet Office
Omar Idris
Nesta
Track 2
Case Study
Unnavigable navigation: making the unnavigable, navigable in complex systems
45 minutes
Jo Lang
Essex County Council
May Jorge
Dani Spinage
Essex County Council
Claire Craig
Essex County Council
Case Study
Sustainability in a challenging world: stories of design-led impact
45 minutes
Sinead Doyle
Transform
Jennifer Dawson
Transform
Franco Grech
Transform
Track 4
Case Study
Designing a service architecture for Dublin city: transforming Ireland’s largest local authority
90 minutes
Gerry Scullion
Humana Design Ltd
Marc Stickdorn
Stickdorn Service Design GMbh
Eoin Swift
Dublin City Council
Workshop
Futures for public design
90 minutes
Lucy Kimbell
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Derk Ringers
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
12:15
Switchover
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12:30
Talk
SOS (save our services): how design can survive and thrive in the era of government efficiency
45 minutes
Martha Edwards
Government of British Columbia
Case Study
Design for stewarding cross-sector mission delivery
45 minutes
Andy Marsden
Nesta
Talk
Freaky thinking to deliver great service design
45 minutes
Chris Thomason
Ingenious Growth Ltd
13:15
Lunch break
14:15
Talk
How a service designer can contribute to accessibility
60 minutes
Stéphanie Krus
Independent
Case Study
Sustainably saving lives: service design meets organ donation
60 minutes
Rasi Surana
NHS Blood and Transplant
Workshop
Garbage in, garbage out? Measuring error rates and data quality to get ready for AI
60 minutes
Caroline Jarrett
Effortmark Ltd
Sharon Dale
Workshop
From awareness to action: co-creating a framework and guidelines for trauma-informed digital services
120 minutes
Dr Priscilla Chueng-Nainby
The University of Edinburgh, Dr P Research & Innovation Ltd.
Dr Angela Orviz
Opencast
Bukola Jolugbo
Joshua's Army
Joan Herlinger
Joan Herlinger Design
Workshop
Pattern spotting workshop
120 minutes
Jaskiran kang
TPXimpact
Tash Willcocks
TPXimpact
Ibarieze Abani
TPXimpact
15:15
Switchover
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15:30
Case Study
Neurodivergent design thinking, to create inclusive recruitment
45 minutes
Ollie Sweetman
HMRC
David Hopkins
DWP Digital
Talk
Money makes the world go round: how service designers can adopt 'zoom level' systems thinking when approaching public sector design challenges
45 minutes
Alix Speed
Money and Pensions Service
Lia Emanuel
GAIN
Case Study
Policy design at pace: how service design can help navigate and shape emerging policy
45 minutes
James Dotti
Department for Education
Astrid van Waveren
GAIN/Department for Education
16:15
Break
16:45
Discussion
From evidence to action: the Public Design Evidence review
60 minutes
Kara Kane
Cabinet Office
Lucy Kimbell
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Jeffrey Allen
Ministry of Justice UK
David Singer
Transform
17:45
Social
Day 2 - Thursday 18 September 2025
08:45
Conference registration
09:50
Welcome to SDinGov Day 2
10:00
Keynote
Care for the public: trauma-informed service design
60 minutes
Rachael Dietkus
Public Interest Designer, Technologist, & Ethicist. Founder, Social Workers Who Design
11:00
Morning break - 30 minutes
11:30
Talk
The new blueprint for modern digital government: what does it mean for the services we all rely on?
45 minutes
Harry Scott-Trimble
dxw
Case Study
Who needs data anyway? Gathering data to challenge assumptions
45 minutes
Catherine Hope
Department for Work and Pensions, UK Government
Jim Montgomery
Department for Work and Pensions, UK Government
Talk
From zero to hero: leading service design when the playbook doesn’t fit
45 minutes
Tricia Rambharose
Softwire
Discussion
Prioritising safety in service design: protecting participants and practitioners
90 minutes
Ali Fawkes
Humanly
Jenni Parker
Humanly
Workshop
Re-wiring a juggernaut: adapt your programme for lasting human impact
90 minutes
Jonti Dalal-Small
Sopra Steria Next
Joanna Finlay
Sopra Steria
12:15
Switchover
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12:30
Case Study
Designing user-centered tests for complex service journeys
45 minutes
Sean Eddings
Mighty Acorn Digital
Track 2
Talk
You might be eligible (we think, probably) - designing personalised vaccine services in the NHS
45 minutes
Caroline Finucane
NHS England
Gabe Fender
Thoughtworks
Case Study
Living beyond cancer: designing to cope with long term survivorship challenges through creativity, sensitivity and care
45 minutes
Komal Pahwa
HMRC
13:15
Lunch break
14:15
Talk
Share and reuse by design
60 minutes
Nikola Goger
Ministry of Justice
Rob McCarthy
Ministry of Justice
Case Study
Sprinting towards better consent processes and more inclusive research
60 minutes
Claire Craig
Essex County Council
Mansoor Mir
Home Office
Thomas Sweetland-Michie
Education Scotland, Scottish Government
Workshop
Co-Design vs Faux-Design: Navigating the complexities of sharing power in co-design
60 minutes
Samuel Martin
SDM Consulting (Co-Design Institute)
Workshop
The chaos whisperers: reimagining the Iceberg Model to map systems and address complex challenges
120 minutes
Diana Hidalgo
Ministry of Justice UK
Jeffrey Allen
Ministry of Justice UK
Andreea Ardelean
Ministry of Justice UK
Workshop
Co-creating the 'Design in Local Government Playbook'
120 minutes
Lara Salinas
University of the Arts London
Elsa Bardout
London Borough of Camden
Katie Patterson
North East Lincolnshire Council
Vicky Wang
15:15
Switchover
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15:30
Case Study
Setting the scene, not running the show: service design in a spending review
60 minutes
Liam Hawkes
Policy and Innovation Lab (CoLab), Home Office
Violette Gadenne
Policy and Innovation Lab (CoLab), Home Office
Talk
Channel surfing: delivering a thing that delivers everyone else’s thing
60 minutes
Mike Gallagher
NHS England
James Higgott
NHS England
Workshop
Redefining vulnerability through the lens of Consumer Duty
60 minutes
Lucy Barrett
Nile
Katherine Snow
Nile
16:30
Break
16:50
Lightning Talks
Lightning Talks
45 minutes
17:30
Social
Day 3 - Friday 19 September 2025
09:00
Conference registration
09:50
Welcome to SDinGov Day 3
10:00
Keynote
AI in Public Services: Realism, responsibility and the public good
60 minutes
Steph Wright
Head of Scottish AI Alliance and Founder of something new
11:00
Morning break
11:30
Talk
How services make us vulnerable
45 minutes
Finlay Clark
Ministry of Justice (UK)
Track 2
Talk
Being the grown up: the one habit of highly effective leadership
45 minutes
Dan Healy
Made Tech
Other
Ending gracefully
90 minutes
Clara Greo
Independent
Imran Hussain
Government Digital Service
Workshop
No more content vomit: how to train like a service designer
90 minutes
Jo Carter
Service Works
Katie Driver
Thinking Alliance
Workshop
Design as repair: creating value for communities experiencing entrenched inequalities
90 minutes
Ashley Evans
Rooted
Courtney McClean
Rooted
Julian Thompson
Rooted
12:15
Switchover
Switchover
12:30
Case Study
Inclusive by design: new ways to verify identity without photo ID
45 minutes
Amy Rogers
Vouchsafe
Track 2
Discussion
Making data human: enhancing the power of data through design
45 minutes
Amber Polley
NEC Digital Studio
Tom White
NEC Digital Studio
13:15
Lunch break
14:15
Talk
Embedding prevention within a newly formed council
60 minutes
Joe Hayes
EY Seren
Alison Graham
Cumberland Council
Shagun Seth
EY Seren
Talk
Billy’s sidewalk: dignity, disability and the systems we choose to forget
60 minutes
Ryan Haney
Happygeneralist LTD
Workshop
How to exit our service design Groundhog Day experience? Making end-to-end service design finally happen
60 minutes
Martin Jordan
Digital Service (German government)
Kara Kane
Cabinet Office
15:15
Break
Discussion
Speculate trends in User Centred Design in Government
45 minutes
16:15
Conference close