Re-wiring a juggernaut: adapt your programme for lasting human impact

Theme: Leadership

Why do transformation programmes often 'hit the target but miss the point'? Governance, risk frameworks and performance metrics may seem dry, but they quietly dictate whether human-centred design succeeds or gets derailed. 

At SDinGov: Virtual, they explored ‘nudging the juggernaut’ - how cognitive biases shape decision making. This session goes deeper, revealing how programme structures and incentives create unintended consequences. 

The choices made about budgets, risk, and success measures can either sustain or sabotage meaningful impact. Through real-world examples, interactive exercises, and practical tools, you’ll learn how to:

• Identify the hidden forces shaping programme decisions
• Influence governance, risk and incentives to unlock better outcomes
• Ensure design work survives beyond the early phases of transformation

Want your design work to survive programme realities and create lasting impact? This is for you.

Participant takeaways:

• A diagnostic framework to assess how programme structures impact human-centeredness
• Practical strategies for embedding user needs into governance mechanisms
• Techniques for reframing risk and resource allocation to prioritise human outcomes
• Templates for redesigning programme artefacts to maintain alignment with user needs
• Confidence to engage with their stakeholders
• A network of peers working to transform public sector programmes

This session:

• Includes interaction
• Has a number cap: 30 participants
• Will be led by a behavioural psychologist - working in behavioural design, organisational change, and the psychology of governance - and an expert in customer inclusion, with extensive experience embedding inclusive service design into major government programmes.