TransformGov Talks : January 2026

Harry Trimble, dxw, on prototypes exploring what data and automation in a blueprint for government could be like. Asma Nafees, NHS Non-Exec Director, Local Authority Social Enterprise NED and Social Care Charity Trustee, on 'Leadership Without Borders: Challenging the Way We Do Public Service'.

Riz Parveen, Department for Work and Pensions, on 'People at the heart of change'. Julia Finch, Director, Athene Leadership, on 'Eggs in One Basket: Strategic Risk in an Age of Volatility'.

Gordon Guthrie on his research project, Foundations of the Digital State, examining the role of parliament and government in creating and coordinating state digital systems. Ann Kempster and Dafydd Vaughan, Transform Wales, on Transform Wales's work on the organisation of digital services to deliver transformation change.

Catherine Elms and Damien Hatton, Welsh Revenue Authority, on their user-centred approach to designing the visitor accommodation register. Lee Williams and Rebecca Morales-Reeves, Shared Resource Service, on how they've been 'Giving Council Tax a 21st Century Facelift'. Jo Carter and Dafydd Vaughan, Transform Wales, on the conditions Wales needs to make digital transformation possible.

Hosted by Gavin Freeguard, Director, State of the Future. Charlie Browne, Managing Editor: Hansard, UK Parliament (House of Commons) and Michael Kibedi, User Researcher, UK Parliament (Digital Service), on 'Beyond and Between Our Screens: how design ethnography is informing the evolution of Hansard's technology' (slides) Katie Thorpe, Learning Consultant and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, on "Churn!" - a board game about making good policy against the odds (slides) Note: owing to a wifi drop-out, video and audio recording was lost between 20:09-21:33 and 22:10-32:20.

Our first speaker was Caitlin Wakeford, Product Manager, LNER, on 'Fancy Sketches: how to use AI to prototype quickly, centre the user and not get stuck in magical thinking' Following that was ​Jagpal Jheeta, Chief Product Officer at the FCA on how his organisation is incorporating the safe us of AI into their organisation.

Lisa Trickey and Rebekah Wilson, Local Government Association on the state of digital Local Government and LG2040: The State of Things to Come ​Jonathan Slater, Visiting Professor at King's College London and QMUL, on civil service reform

Lara Groves and Oliver Bruff, Ada Lovelace Institute, on Scribe and prejudice? Exploring the use of AI transcription tools in social care ​Owen Prendeville, Group Manager – Public Affairs (Parliament), Information Commissioner's Office, on the ICO's Better Records Together campaign to drive improvements for access to care records (https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/campaigns/better-records-together/)

Liam Hawkes, Principal Service Designer, and Violette Gadenne, Senior User Researcher, Policy and Innovation Lab (CoLab), Home Office, on setting the scene, not running the show: service design in a spending review. James Plunkett, Kinship Works, on the energy at the edges - and how the centre can spread it.

Our event from the 28th of January 2026. Matt Wood-Hill, MHCLG, and Linda O'Halloran, TPXimpact on public service market-shaping ​Patrick Diamond, Professor in Public Policy, Queen Mary, University of London, on what we've learned from 25 years of research on government effectiveness