Transformation Strategy
Discussion hosts:
Tina Churcher - Chief Delivery Officer (Digital and Data), DVSA
Ruqaiya Isa - Deputy Director Governance, Assurance & Partnerships, Department for Education
Neil McIvor - Head of Data for public services, esynergy
Rishi Sharma - Head of Public Sector, esynergy
This session explores how public sector leaders are moving beyond legacy systems to build joined-up, citizen-first services.
- Moving beyond legacy systems to build joined-up, citizen-first services that align platforms, data and people around shared outcomes.
- What does a credible transformation strategy actually look like at departmental level?
-The programme leadership and cross cutting collaboration needed to deliver at pace and scale.
In partnership with:
Digital Workplace
Discussion hosts:
Johnathan Foreman - Deputy Director, Special project lead: Digital and AI training for civil servants, Cabinet Office
Tom Sadler - Data Science & AI Solution Lead UK&I, HP
Sandra Rega, OEM Sales Alliance Manager EMEA, NVIDIA
Retaining talent, closing skills gaps and fostering innovation depends as much on internal tools and culture as it does on strategy.
- Building platforms, products and services that create a simple, joined-up and personalised experience for civil servants across departments
- Are your internal tools and working practices keeping pace with what your departments need to deliver?
- What it takes to put people genuinely at the centre of your department's digital transformation
Operational Transformation
Discussion hosts:
Hayley Addison - Deputy Director, Digital Payment Services, Department for Work and Pensions
Lee Cramp - Chief AI Officer, Department for Health and Social Care
Nancy Church - Client Partner Executive, Grayce
Sarah Doherty-David - Director of Public Sector, Grayce
With one in four government digital systems outdated and pressure to deliver more with less, the case for transforming operations is no longer a matter of debate.
- How modern digital infrastructure and tools are being embedded across departments to streamline processes, reduce complexity, and enhance service delivery.
- What does it take to embed operational transformation at scale ?
- Building the operational foundations that make government faster, more efficient and citizen focused.
Modernising Legacy
Discussion hosts:
Richard Baines - Deputy Director, Digital Delivery, DEFRA
Keith Dargie - Chief Digital Information Officer - Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scotland
Nick Spodofora - Head of Public Sector, Outsystems
Chris Fletcher - Outsystems
Legacy technology remains the single biggest barrier to government transformation, with departments spending up to 50% of their technology budgets simply keeping old platforms running.
- The challenge of retiring legacy infrastructure with confidence while maintaining continuity of service delivery
- Are outdated systems consuming your budget and blocking your transformation ambitions?
- What leaders are doing to unlock the productivity gains needed to deliver a modern, resilient department
In partnership with:
Accelerating legacy modernisation using AI
Discussion host:
Rizwana Parveen - Programme Director at Department for Work and Pensions
Jade Ackers - Director Digital Transformation, HMRC
Lorraine Henderson - Engagement Manager, Equal Experts
Ben Wilkes - Principle Consultant, Equal Experts
Legacy systems remain one of the biggest sources of cost, risk, and constraint across government, with modernisation often seen as too complex to deliver at scale.
Emerging AI capabilities are starting to change that, making legacy migration faster, more feasible, and opening up transformation opportunities that were previously out of reach.
- How can AI reduce the cost and complexity of modernising legacy systems at scale?
- What tools, practices, and delivery patterns are proving effective in government today?
- How are teams moving towards more repeatable and increasingly self-service approaches to modernisation?
In partnership with:
Government AI Efficiency
Discussion host:
Andy Wilson - Government Services Lead, Ordnance Survey
Gurshagun Kaur - Public sector Account Executive, Appian
Peter Corpe - Industry Leader, EMEA Public Sector, Appian
Government AI efficiency starts with how work actually gets done.
- Without clear processes, governance, and orchestration, AI struggles to move beyond isolated use cases.
- This session explores how departments can embed AI directly into end-to-end workflows, connecting data, decisions, and actions, to deliver measurable efficiency at scale, not just experimentation.
In partnership with:
Building In-House Capability
Discussion hosts:
Lee Dunn - Head of Profession for Digital and Data, Head of the Scottish Digital Academy, Scottish Government
Dr James Cook OBE - Director People Transformation, Ministry of Defence
Amul Batra - MD, Counter
James Heggs - Tech Director, Counter
Sustainable AI adoption across government depends not on procuring the right tools, but on building the right people, skills and structures to use them effectively.
- The risk of over-reliance on external expertise and what it means for departments that have yet to develop the internal capability to own, iterate and scale their AI investments
- How do you build the digital, data and AI skills needed to reduce dependency and drive transformation from within?
- What senior leaders are doing to develop the in-house capability that makes lasting, self-sufficient public sector innovation possible
In partnership with:
Cutting Costs Without Cutting Capability
Discussion hosts:
Arron Egan - Commercial Deputy Director, Government Digital Service
Michelle Williams, Head of ITAMS, DWP
- Where are the real savings across the IT estate?
- Strengthening Government Control of Software Spend
- What can you cut safely without increasing operational risk?
In partnership with:
AI Use Cases
Discussion hosts:
Sumitra Varma - Deputy Director, Probations Data, Ministry of Justice
Jeremy Gould - Deputy Director AI Delivery, GDS
Ed Pikett - Chief Digital Officer, Redrock
Ben Lloyd - Chief Technology Officer, Redrock
The question for senior leaders is no longer whether to use AI, it is where to deploy it, how to scale it and how to ensure it delivers.
- With the AI Opportunities Action Plan in full flow and AI Exemplars already live across departments, practical real-world applications are moving beyond the experimental
- What can you learn from use cases across healthcare, welfare and policy delivery to accelerate responsible AI adoption in your own department?
- How to cut through the hype and identify the opportunities most likely to deliver in your context
In partnership with:
AI Strategy
Discussion hosts:
Euan Neill - Head of Innovation, ACE, Home Office
Dr Ravinder Singh- Head of Digital and Systems at Cabinet Office
Mark Simms - Public Sector Lead, Equinix
Brenden Rawle - Senior Director Business Development EMEA, Equinix
Ambition is not the problem, execution is.
- The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets a bold national vision, but for departments the defining challenge is translating strategy into operational, architectural and infrastructural reality that delivers real public service outcomes.
- As AI moves from pilots to production, senior leaders must align investment, design and deploy the right AI infrastructure, and sequence adoption while ensuring data sovereignty, security, resilience and trust. Decisions around where data is processed, how models are trained and deployed, and how systems interconnect across cloud and on‑prem environments are now central to credible AI delivery.
- This roundtable will explore what a trusted, sovereign and scalable departmental AI infrastructure strategy looks like in practice – and how to lead that transition with confidence.
In partnership with:
AI Governance
Discussion hosts:
Nico Celaj - Head of Strategic Customer Engagement, ACE, Home Office
Alex Wolff - Director Public Sector, Softwire
Heather Venter - Client Success Director, Softwire
Clare Young, Delivery Director for Public Sector, Softwire
Responsible AI deployment across government depends on governance frameworks that are robust in practice, not just in principle.
- Developing and implementing the structures needed to oversee AI systems with confidence, from policy to procurement to deployment
- How do you move from theory to practice and build frameworks that genuinely underpin public trust in government's use of AI?
- What effective AI governance looks like at departmental level and how to lead it without stifling innovation
Generative AI
Discussion hosts:
Richard Patterson - Chief Data and AI Officer, Bureau Of The Comptroller And Global Financial Services, US State Department
Shabeih Bukhari - AI Product and Delivery Manager, NISTA
Callum Corr - GTM Manager, Legora
Jack Lewy - GTM Manager, Legora
From automating routine tasks to making sense of vast datasets for policy, the possibilities of Generative AI across government are colossal, but knowing where to start is the defining challenge.
- Do you pursue the quick wins that build momentum and demonstrate value, or invest in the systemic transformation that delivers at scale?
- How do you sequence your GenAI ambitions in a way that is credible, responsible and builds confidence across your organisation?
- What senior leaders are doing to move from experimentation to meaningful, lasting deployment
In partnership with:
Agentic AI
Discussion hosts:
Molly Adamat - Head of Data Management | Data Hub | Corporate Centre Group, HM Treasury
Chris Page - AI Research Engineer, DSIT
Scott McKinnon - Chief Security Officer, Palo Alto Networks
Satpal Biant - Senior Director, UK Public Sector, Palo Alto Networks
AI is no longer just analysing data - it’s beginning to act on it. From automating casework and triaging public health data to managing dynamic infrastructure systems, agentic AI promises faster, more responsive public services.
But with greater autonomy comes greater responsibility - and risk. What does it mean to entrust decision-making to AI in a public sector context?
How can we ensure transparency, accountability, cybersecurity and trust in systems that will increasingly act on our behalf?
In partnership with:
Operationalising AI
Discussion hosts:
Simon Short, Director Data and Analytics, Homes England
Shelina Hargrove, Deputy Director - GOV.UK AI and Chat, GDS
Vic Gabrie - Senior Manager, Solution Architect, Red Hat
Robbie Jerrom - Senior Principal Technologist AI, Red Hat
Operationalising and embedding AI into the fibre of public sector organisations has endless possibilities to enhance service delivery.
Alongside having robust governance frameworks, AI adoption will allow cross-government departments to create smarter, data-driven policies to become more adaptive, agile and resilient.
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Building Trustworthy AI
Discussion hosts:
Dr Nayyab Naqvi - Head of Technology for AI Enablement, GDS
Ruth Kelly - Chief Analyst, National Audit Office
1: Dipak Varsani - Public Sector Commercial lead for UKI & European Agencies, Wrangu
James Taylor - Managing Consultant, Wrangu
Public confidence in government's use of AI cannot be assumed, it must be earned through systems that are transparent, explainable and consistently accountable.
- The growing expectation that AI deployed in public services meets a higher standard of fairness, transparency and explainability than its private sector counterparts
- How do you build and maintain public trust in AI systems that are making consequential decisions on behalf of citizens?
- What senior leaders are doing to embed trustworthiness into AI from design through to deployment and sustain it over time.
In partnership with:
Process Improvement
Discussion hosts:
Ade Bamigboye, Chief Technology Officer, Kensington and Chelsea Council
Siloed workflows, rigid procedures and manual hand-offs remain some of the most persistent barriers to effective public service delivery.
-How senior leaders are reimagining ways of working from the inside out to eliminate friction and foster collaboration.
-How much of your department's capacity is absorbed by processes that were never designed for the demands of modern government?
-Building the agile foundations that genuinely responsive government requires
In partnership with:
Data Optimisation
Discussion hosts:
Jenny Brooker, Chief Data Architect, Government Digital Service
Jacqui Leggetter - Head of Data and Platforms (Deputy Director), Department for Work and Pensions
Morgan Rees - Vice President | UK Head of Enterprise Data & Analytics, Capgemini Invent
Richard Haynes - VP, Health & Devolved Government, Capgemini
Good decisions depend on good data, yet poor quality, inconsistent and siloed data remains one of the most persistent barriers to effective government.
- Before departments can harness AI or advanced analytics, the data foundations must be right
- How do you build the governance, standards and culture needed to treat data as a strategic asset?
- How optimised, reliable data translates into better policy, sharper decisions and more responsive public services
Citizen Experience
Discussion hosts:
Sam Olsen - Executive Director, Change and Innovation, Richmond & Wandsworth Council
Catherine Walden - Digital Director, Passports, Citizenship and Civil Registration at UK Home Office
Fiona Virtue - Commercial Director, Route101
Isaac Richardson - CX Technology Specialist, Route101
Citizens increasingly expect public services to match the speed, simplicity and personalisation they experience elsewhere, yet the gap between expectation and delivery remains wide.
- Redesigning services around citizen needs without unlimited budgets or the luxury of starting from scratch
- How do you close the gap between what citizens expect and what government can realistically deliver?
- Building the trust and responsiveness that genuinely citizen-centred public services depend on
In partnership with:
Scaling AI to Production
Discussion hosts:
Dr Ravinder Singh - Head of Digital and Systems, Government Commercial Function
George Churchill - UK Public Sector Data & AI Leader, AWS
Joe Raey - Exec Lead, UK Government Strategic Engage, AWS
Moving AI from proof of concept to live public service remains one of the most complex challenges facing government departments today.
- While experimentation is accelerating across the public sector, the majority of organisations still struggle to move beyond the pilot stage. Legacy infrastructure, fragmented data environments, governance concerns, procurement complexity, and integration with existing services continue to slow adoption at scale.
- What does it actually take to move an AI tool from experimentation into a trusted operational service that civil servants can rely on and citizens can safely interact with?
In partnership with:
User Centred Design
Discussion hosts:
Jeremy Davis, Deputy Director Service Design, HMRC
Paul Moran - Head of User Centred Design at DVSA
Andy Lawson - Director of Public Sector, Hedgehog Labs
Alex File - Lead UX Researcher, Hedgehog Labs
The average UK citizen spends one and a half weeks a year navigating government bureaucracy, so how do we make it simpler?
- Building services that genuinely work for everyone, regardless of digital confidence, background or need
- How do you embed user feedback, accessibility and inclusive design into the heart of service delivery?
- What it takes to reduce friction and build trust in citizen-facing services
In partnership with:
Digital Experience
Discussion hosts:
Sarah Lyons - Deputy Director of Service Transformation, MOJ
Ayub Bhayat - Director of Data & AI Officer, NHS England
Seamless, inclusive digital services are no longer aspirations, they are expectations, yet significant barriers persist for too many citizens.
- Translating service strategy into digital experiences that are consistent, accessible and built around the needs of every user, not just the digitally confident
- How do you lead transformation programmes that close the gap between policy intent and the quality of service citizens actually receive
- What senior leaders in service strategy and transformation are doing to embed inclusive design, data insight and smarter delivery into the foundations of citizen-facing government.
In partnership with:
Harnessing User Feedback
Discussion hosts:
Dr Neil Brammall - Principal Data Architect | National Data Library, GDS
- Understanding user needs has always been central to effective public service delivery, but in an increasingly digital environment, departments now have access to more real-time feedback and behavioural insight than ever before.
- The challenge is no longer collecting feedback, but turning it into meaningful action. Many organisations still struggle to connect user insight with service improvement, policy development, and operational decision-making at scale.
- How can your department better capture, interpret, and operationalise user feedback to improve outcomes for citizens and frontline teams?
In partnership with: