On the 19th March 2025, Convene attended the GovTech Show and Exhibition 2025, focusing on Public Sector Innovation and Transformation.
The IGPP, in collaboration with Socitm, the Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation, set up this conference to reimagine how the public sector operates and serves citizens. It aims to explore how people, places and communities must be at the centre of digital transformation, to achieve improved outcomes for everyone.
In 2022, the government launched the ‘Transforming for a Digital Future’ roadmap, aiming for a fully modernised and efficient digital government. This conference proposed to “tackle head-on the barriers and challenges of transforming public services to meet that aspiration”.
This event brought together transformation and tech leaders in government, as well as the wider public sector, alongside academics and senior leaders to hear policy updates and address the challenges of transforming the public sector.
The day began with an opening keynote on driving digital transformation in public services, which discussed how using digital strategies are reshaping local government and gave insight into the practical approaches for using technology.
Then there was a talk on the strategic vision for digital transformation, looking at the City of London Corporations new digital, data and technology strategy. This was followed by a talk on how to optimise spending to fund transformation, focusing on driving citizen outcomes while doing more with less. There was then a question and answers panel to give further insight to the previous talks.
After a break, there was another talk on how governments are adopting AI for information governance at all levels, and how to ensure you won’t be digitally left behind.
This was followed by a talk on supercharging business value and the ‘70% Fail to 70+% Succeed’ Initiative, looking at success and return on investments (ROI) from IT and digital transformation. There was then another question and answers panel for these speakers.
After lunch there was a talk about a case study from an NHS Children’s Hospital, exploring how to streamline feedback and enhance data security in the public sector.
There was then a talk that focused on Haringey Council’s transformative journey to a digital future, and how they rapidly adopted digital strategy and the obstacles they faced in that process.
This was followed by a talk on improving services through people, culture and digital innovation, which looked at how to build understanding and engagement, and empower communities through digital transformation. There was another questions and answers panel after this.
After a break there was a final panel discussion that focused on the core of the conference’s aims: shaping the future of digital public services. This looked at the emerging role of technology in public sector transformation and the key lessons learnt from successful collaborations.
The 2025 GovTech Show and Exhibition provided useful and interesting insights into the implementation and integration of technology into government operations. It explored the importance of collaboration between government, sectors, academia and communities, and exemplified the strategies that have been used to transform public services.
Convene would like to thank IGPP and Socitm, as well as all those in attendance, for making this conference such an engaging look into public sector innovation and transformation.
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