Welcome Address
The Future Citizen
EY will lead a discussion on the ‘future citizen’. Much consideration is given to how government may look in the future. But how will changing patterns of work, leisure and lifestyle affect what people want and need from government? EY has studied how people’s lives may change over the coming years, and this session will consider the potential implications for government.
No one can predict the future. But if you can imagine it, you can prepare for it.
Speaker
George Atalla, EY Global Government and Public Sector Leader – Presentation
Headline Knowledge Partner
Innovation in Policy Development
In our ever more globalised, complex and interlinked societies, it’s increasingly difficult to develop policies that will win public approval, dovetail with other policies and services, and deliver ministers’ goals. But whilst emerging technologies and cultural changes contribute to the challenges facing civil servants, they can also provide the tools with which to address them.
Social media offers new ways to test policies and consult with interest groups. Agile project management techniques improve our ability to hone and develop ideas. Emerging professional ‘functions’ enable civil servants to collaborate across organisational boundaries and build technical skills. Specialist central teams help ensure that concepts are robust and support implementation. Digital technologies and online communities offer new interfaces with service users.
This session will examine how civil servants are finding innovative ways to develop and deliver policy, exploring case studies and debating the constraints and opportunities around policy making in the contemporary world.
Panel
- Andrea Siodmok, Deputy Director, Policy Lab, UK – Presentation
- Matthew Mendelsohn, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Results and Delivery, Canada – Presentation
- Paul Maltby, Chief Digital Officer, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, UK – Presentation
- Andrea Schneider, Head of Directorate Innovation and Policy Planning, Federal Chancellery, Germany – Presentation
- Matthew Vickerstaff, Interim Chief Executive, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, UK – Presentation
Session report: Innovation 2019 kicks off with five key lessons on policymaking
Plenary, Kevin Cunnington, Head of the Government Digital Service, UK
Breakout session: Innovation in Procurement
In the modern world, many governments depend on private and voluntary sector suppliers to run business processes, deliver services and contribute to organisational development. And the ways in which public bodies procure and commission suppliers – from the companies running departments’ IT systems, to the charities working in frontline public services – play a key role in shaping policy outcomes, public spending and service users’ experiences.
Recent years have seen dramatic changes in public procurement. Specialist central units have boosted coordination, skills development and coherent management of purchasing. Digital platforms have improved competition and smoothed buying processes. Innovative contracting models have focused suppliers more closely on realising public policy goals. And new approaches to commissioning IT have supported more flexible and innovative business processes.
This session will consider some of the best emerging approaches to public procurement, and debate how commercial teams can work with business owners to improve performance and save public funds.
Panel
- Gareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer, Crown Commercial Service, Cabinet Office, UK – Presentation
- Nihat Arkan, CEO, thebigword – Presentation
- Jane Barrett, Founding Partner, Cadence Innova – Presentation
- Alex Benay, Chief Information Officer of Canada
Session report: UK to insist suppliers pay SMEs quickly, says commercial chief
Knowledge Partners
Breakout session: Innovation in Processes Automation
Many government processes, conceived and designed in an era of mass workforces, involve high volumes of repetitive administrative tasks and routine decision-making – feeding the complex, multi-layered IT systems that power public services. Soon, digital technologies may enable us to replace those legacy IT systems entirely; but in the meantime, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can dramatically cut costs, hasten timescales and reduce errors in back office processing.
Using a form of artificial intelligence, RPA involves automating the routine processes and decisions that support and supply our ageing IT systems. Readily available ‘off the shelf’, these technologies can be quickly configured and installed to handle vast numbers of transactions – cutting labour and office costs, improving service quality, and saving public resources for use in frontline services.
In this session, RPA experts from the public and private sectors will consider how these systems are best planned, purchased and implemented, and explore their potential costs and consequences within civil service operations.
Panel
- Rannia Leontaridi, Director, AI & Business Growth, Department for Business Energy and Industrial, UK – Presentation
- Dmitri Jegorov, Deputy Secretary-General for Tax and Customs Policy, Ministry of Finance, Estonia – Presentation
- Marcelle von Wendland, Consultant, Finworks – Presentation
- Paul Loke, Director, Technology & Chief Information Officer, Accountant-General’s Department, The Treasury, Singapore – Presentation
- James Merrick-Potter, Head of Robotic Automation, Cabinet Office, UK – Presentation
Session report: Automated for the people: putting robots to work
Knowledge Partner
Innovation in the Use of Data
Data has provided the raw material for entirely new economic sectors, whilst transforming many existing industries. And it has the potential to alter the operations of government just as profoundly.
Better use of public data can, for example, greatly improve personalisation and targeting in public services – improving their impact whilst reducing waste. It can strengthen forecasting, risk management and emergency response. It can transform coordination between public service providers, smoothing user journeys and minimising errors. It can support the development of new industries, drawing on ‘open data’ policies to boost economic growth. And this is just the start.
This session will review the state of the art in open data, analytics, management information and data-sharing, and discuss the risks and opportunities facing data professionals and business owners across government.
Panel
- Alex Benay, Chief Information Officer of Canada
- William Priest, Chief Executive, Geospatial Commission, Cabinet Office, UK – Presentation
- Paul Brook, EMEA Director, Data Analytics & AI, Dell EMC – Presentation
- Mart Mägi, Director General, Statistics, Estonia – Presentation
- Sarah Henry, Director of Methods, Data and Research, Office for National Statistics, UK – Presentation
Knowledge Partner
Breakout session: Innovation in the Workspace
In a competitive jobs market, civil service employers’ offer to potential recruits is crucial to attracting and retaining skilled, talented staff. And innovation in working practices can also cut costs, foster collaboration and improve delivery.
Modern workspaces can, for example, reduce office footprints and drive co-location – boosting cross-departmental working. Communications technologies can foster remote working and reduce travel requirements, providing the flexible roles that support the employment of older or disabled workers and those with caring responsibilities. Reformed security access systems can refashion the government estate as a far more flexible and efficient asset. And digital systems can reshape how people work and collaborate, reducing waste and improving outcomes.
This session on workspace innovation will map out the opportunities for employees and public bodies alike, and consider the agenda’s links to collaborative working, workforce diversity and staff morale.
Panel
- Martin Sellar, Programmes Director and SRO, Government Property Agency, UK – Presentation
- Kätlin Alvela, Director General, Estonian Emergency Response Centre – Presentation
- Sujay Bhattacharya, Director, Global Practice Head, Workspace Services, Wipro – Presentation
- Mark Gray, Director of Digital Transformation, Crown Prosecution Service, UK – Presentation
Session report: If it flexes, it won’t break: innovation in the workspace
Knowledge Partner
Innovation in Service Design and Delivery
Traditional public services, built around the needs of vast delivery organisations, tend to offer ‘one size fits all’ services that struggle to serve diverse client groups. But government bodies are increasingly adopting innovative models of service delivery – drawing on charities’ expertise in meeting people’s complex needs, for example, and learning from digital businesses’ ability to put the user at the heart of their services.
Co-designing services with user groups and the wider public, today’s civil servants are homing in on people’s real-world problems and concerns. Partnering with industry bodies and voluntary sector organisations, they’re building direct connections with clients and interest groups. Creating digital services built around people’s individual needs, they’re cutting waste and improving users’ experiences.
This session will explore some of the most innovative approaches to designing and delivering public services, and consider the keys to saving public money and improving outcomes.
Panel
- Peter Batt, Director General for Digital Society, Digitisation of the Administration and Information Technology, Federal Ministry of the Interior Building and Community, Germany – Presentation
- Radhika Chadwick, Strategy Partner at EY – Leading our practices in Central Government and Digital Government – Presentation
- Lucelle Veneros, First Assistant Secretary, Service Delivery Office, Department of Finance, Australia – Presentation
- Dax Harkins, Director, NS&I Government Payment Services – Presentation
- Tang Liheng, Director (Transformation Office), Public Service Division, Singapore – Presentation
Session report: Disrupting governments: choosing a pace for public sector innovation
Knowledge Partner
In Conversation with John Manzoni
John Manzoni, CEO of the Civil Service, UK and host of Innovation 2019, speaks to Matt Ross, Editorial Director and Innovation 2019 Chair.
Session report: Brexit demands pace and innovation, says John Manzoni
