Wall of love for Government Transformation Magazine

On Monday night, I had the privilege of attending the Government Transformation Magazine Leaders Night. It was fantastic to join over 100 leaders from across the public and private sectors to share insight, accelerate transformation, and reimagine the role of the modern state. The keynote from Christine Bellamy, Chief Product Officer at HM Government was both inspiring and a clear call to action – challenging us to lead with purpose, embrace change and design for lasting impact. Key themes included: The responsibility of leadership to continually challenge ourselves – questioning the status quo and driving meaningful change. The need to foster greater innovation – not just through technology, but by rethinking how we collaborate, deliver services, and empower people. A bold focus on future generations – and the importance of building services that earn and sustain their trust. A big thank you to our table – John Fitzpatrick, Andrew Pearce, Ade Bamigboye, Selina Holliday, Andy Tyack and Richard Baines- for the great conversation, insights and laughs throughout the evening!

Great couple of days at the Government Transformation Magazine Summit. Good event well run. Key takeaways: I am loving the shift in how we engage and listen to each other at these events. There was a real candour from all in the room and that’s how we will make lasting improvements for citizens. Along the same lines the whole public sector feel was tangible. Central gov listening to local gov, to NHS colleagues to each other. I heard offers of help and collaboration across the whole event. Let’s keep that going it’s gold Suppliers shared insights freely and with a sense of partnerships for outcomes feel. Keep doing that folks, we pay more attention when we aren’t being ‘sold to’ 😉 Ideas are becoming actions…. Speakers were able to share what they were actually doing with AI, with UCD, with data, with cyber, with change…. Our confidence is growing, our ambition is strong and in that place the hurdles (of which there are a few) will be resolved, especially if we continue to speak with the strength of collective voice I heard this week. Oh and on the subject of us needing to hire more pirates. (James Mitton I’m going to be using that one for a while). Capt Cara Thresh Sparrow of our Innovation and Common Services Pirate Ship will be at Think Digital Partners Think Data tomorrow if you want to catch her for a chat 🏴‍☠️ Now for a kip

We’re at the Government Transformation Summit hosted by the Government Transformation Magazine! Today we are exploring effective transformation strategy and practice behind driving meaningful change in government. Change leaders have come together to discuss transformation strategy, implementing and harnessing the power of data and AI, delivering service modernisation, knowledge sharing and user-centric design and experience. Our Client Directors, Sarah Doherty-David and Danielle McCarter, are chairing the Change Management Roundtable, exploring the importance of people and culture in driving meaningful change within government organisations. They are joined by change leaders, Sarah Ormerod - Programme Director, Passport Transformation Programme, Home Office, and Madelaine Simpkin - Deputy Director, Corporate Transformation, DWP. Together, they’re exploring how to drive meaningful, people-centred change in government. At Grayce, we believe successful transformation is rooted in strong leadership, open communication, and the right talent to deliver lasting impact. If you’re passionate about Change Management, we’d love to hear from you! Discover how Grayce can support your transformation journey with our model.

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the Government Transformation Leaders’ Night at the historic Church House, Westminster, as a guest of Oracle, joined by over 100 public sector leaders from across the UK and beyond. It was an insightful evening of discussion and reflection, in the very room where the first Parliament once sat. The keynote from Christine Bellamy, Chief Product Officer at HM Government, was deeply thought-provoking, as was the State of Digital Leadership in Government panel featuring Honey Dacanay (Director General, Digital Policy, Government of Canada), Julian David OBE (CEO techUK), Nick Bolton (CEO Ordnance Survey), and Richard Davies (UK Country Managing Partner, Netcompany). One idea that keeps ringing true consistently: Technology isn’t a project – it’s a process. It is continuous, cultural, and connected. I first started working with government on the RM project for DWP (Oracle HRMS implementation), then on the Central Payment System, Europe’s largest Oracle Financials implementation at the time, and eventually Universal Credit. Alongside private sector clients, I’ve supported digital initiatives at MoJ, MoD, HMRC, BEIS, DfE, Shared Services and beyond, as well as worked with governments internationally. Public Sector transformation is something I’m very familiar with and have seen evolve over the years. However, the conversations last night made it clear: we’re not just delivering digital services anymore – we’re preparing for a digital generation. Enter Gen Alpha (born after 2010) a digitally native generation, who don’t typically browse the internet or use Google the way previous generations do. Their world is built on AI, automation, and immersive content, and they’re growing up in a globally connected environment. Their first point of information may well be a trusted circle of friends, influencers and AI-driven tools. As service designers and delivery leaders, we have to keep evolving, building services that are not just accessible, but truly aligned with how the next generation lives and thinks. Big changes are yet to come and public services must be prepared to meet them. Thank you to the lovely Fiona McAdoo and Oracle team for the invitation, and to everyone who made the evening such a valuable experience.