This is huge and something that we can’t ignore.  Reliance on devices is up 75% since pre-pandemic, so we have a responsibility to reflect on how all these devices are powered and the impact this has on the environment.

We also know that the ‘conscious consumerism’ market is now worth £41 billion – people are looking for carbon neutral goods, products or services. We as individuals have a choice of who we want to support and where we buy these things and it looks like we’re starting to make those choices.

Individuals v organisations

But, if we are individually conscious of how commercial products, services and experiences impact the environment, are we also organisationally conscious of how digital public services, products and experiences impact the environment?

Do we bring the same level of scrutiny to our work?  Probably not is the answer for most organisations.

What can organisations do?

Last week the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) shared a blog post with 10 top tips with the steps organisations could start taking to reduce their carbon footprint.

As well as practical tips we could all take now within our current teams and organisations, it also included suggestions of ‘next’ steps that organisations could take along with their wider partner network such as reducing the number of steps in the user journey online and lightening the data load on websites.

Sustainable design should be considered as part of the ‘next’ category, using accessibility principles to deliver efficiency to users. If services are easy to understand, easy to use and presented in the clearest format, they’ll be more efficient in every sense.

Another important element that should be on an organisation’s ‘next’ list is their current hosting service – ask your supplier about their renewable energy plans and explore whether your provider is running on the most efficient tech-stack. If these plans aren’t already in their service roadmap, you could consider switching to a green host over time.

Strategic planning

Of course not everything can fall in the ‘now’ and the ‘next’. We also need to look at more strategic steps around partnerships, skills and capabilities as part of our longer-term plans.  We can start with three key elements :

• Align strategic requirements with sustainability considerations –  create contracts that put sustainability at the top of the agenda, especially when those commissions require long term partnerships.

• Build internal systems thinking skills that allow you to consider the consequences of your choices around designing digital services from a big picture perspective – the four future roles suggested by the Design Council in Beyond Net Zero are System Thinker; Leader / Storyteller ; Designer /Maker ; Connector / Convenor.

• Co-create solutions for developing net zero digital services, working with partners to scale and share solutions that are good for users and the planet.

And that last bullet point is something that we’ve been working on as part of the Tech Net Zero discovery with CDPS by collaborating and bringing together a team of experts in different fields – us in Perago from the service design and user research perspective and M-Sparc with their in-depth knowledge of sustainability and net zero.

Together, we’ve created a team that will offer CDPS firm recommendations on how they can help public services in Wales reach Net Zero by 2050 through digital and the technology choices they make.

We all need to start thinking about how we could design digital public services to be more environmentally conscious and support Wales’s net zero ambitions.  Even if we just start with the ‘now’ and challenge our organisations to do the same, we create the environment  that will lead us to the ‘next’ and the ‘later’ strategic steps. And this starts with us.  As a company we’re challenging ourselves to reach Tech Net Zero as we support others to do the same.

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But what about the workplace?  Are there simple tips that we could all take on board to reduce the energy used in the workplace?

Back in June I shared a blog post about Digital Leaders Week and what I’d learnt over the course of the week.  One of my personal highlights was a session on Tech Net Zero with my colleague Cory Hughes.  This was one of a number of talks focused on ‘Green Tech’ that, along with getting me thinking about tech net zero, organisations and green tech, shared some great tips on saving energy in the workplace.

So what are these tips?

At this point, I give credit to Danny Weston , James Cannings and Cory Hughes, who shared most of these during their Green Tech talks in Digital Leaders Week.

At Perago we often structure roadmaps for change using a ‘now’ ‘next’ and ‘later approach’.  It’s a way to initially plans change and break it down into manageable chunks without getting too hung up on dates. I’ve looked at these tips in the same way, what you can do now, what you should then consider and finally the actions you can pick up in the longer term.

Top tips in the workplace

Now (we can take as individuals)

1. Bookmark pages that you use frequently, don’t use search engines every time

2. Send less e-mails. If everyone in the UK sent one less ‘thank you’ e-mail per day – it could save 16,433 tonnes of carbon each year

3. Data centres consume about 3% of the world’s electricity – delete unnecessary data and keep archive files, images and videos offline.

4. Send large files via a link rather than e-mail

6. If your laptop is charged, disconnect the power until you need to charge it again rather than leaving it plugged in to prolong the battery life
7. Use a Website Carbon Calculator to calculate the carbon used by your website – https://www.websitecarbon.com/

Next (relevant to people responsible for websites)

6. Do an audit of your website using Google Analytics and assess if some pages have very low viewings. Could you reduce the number of pages on your website?

8. Use WebP images files rather than .jpeg or .png, and reduce the number of videos and images on websites

9. Consider the amount of steps in the user journey – halving the steps in the user journey will half the carbon footprint

10. Consider the amount of data on a page – halving the page weight on websites will half the carbon footprint

The later

We also need to look at the long term, strategic steps that should be considered. They may require the support of other people or financial support or long term strategies.

Cory discussed some of them in her session during DL Week and will be sharing more in our next blog post.

If you would like advice on digital transformation, or would like to discuss a piece of work, please get in touch – hello@perago.wales

More thought leadership

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This year’s lecture was called ‘How Digital Transformation supports Purpose-Led Financial Services’ and was delivered by Will Carroll, Chief Executive of Monmouthshire Building Society and Sarah Williams-Gardener, Chief Executive of Fin Tech Wales.

One of the benefits of Digital Leaders is the range of sectors and experiences it brings together and it was great to be able to take some time to focus on the impact and opportunities for digital in Wales’ financial sector. 

There’s an increased recognition that digital is not all about technology. More than ever digital is shaping the way services are delivered, how we step up to the challenges we face in the world today and how we meet the ever-changing needs of users.

It can often be too easy for us to think about digital within our own silos, whether that’s by sector or experience. But regardless of sector the services we deliver need to work for the people who use them.  We want our services to be seamless, using digital and technology to deliver enhancements and efficiency, in particular when those services cross organisational boundaries and sectors.  Whether it’s usability, access, convenience, skills or innovation – we need to be working together to share learning so that whatever service the user needs, be that from the private, public, financial or third sector – they become seamless to the end user, making carrying out their business as easy as it can be. 

In his introduction Will spoke about Monmouthshire Building Society’s focus on digital as part of their overall strategy, with COVID increasing the demand for digital banking services by 48% bringing enhancements for members, efficiency through automation and enriching business intelligence.

Sarah set out the aim for Wales to be globally recognised as a centre of FinTech excellence through developing an ecosystem, digital skills and funding for start-ups and innovation. Sarah also talked about the ambition to move beyond simply creating financial services to ‘FinGood’ considering the ethics, social inclusion and climate impacts.

Both spoke of the need to break down barriers to digital and the importance of sharing learning and knowledge within the Finance sector and beyond.  There was a real sense that this was just a starting point with the clear ambition and desire to support Wales’ digital community and grow skills, knowledge and confidence in digital in Wales.

You can watch the lecture on catch up here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMzZdEy-GvQ

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Whether you’re loving being face to face again or prefer the option to work from a place that suits you, we think our Digital Leaders Wales event will work for you. 

What’s involved 

On Friday 24 June (12.30 – 1.30) we’re hosting a free, hybrid event for Wales that brings you: 

• Two in person locations (North and South Wales) 
• An online platform 
• Online and face to face networking 
• Welsh to English translation 
• A buffet lunch 
• A celebration of digital innovation across Wales 

 We wanted to create an event that everyone felt part of. We also wanted to showcase the brilliant things happening within digital in Wales and give like-minded people the chance to meet.

Bookings are now open for this free event via the following link: 

https://forms.office.com/r/L3VuFBBsYz 

We’ll be hearing from our Chair in Wales Victoria Ford, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS and Chair of the Cross Party Working Group for Digital, Rhun ap Iorwerth AS and seeing some of the excellent digital work happening across Wales.  

We’ll then be giving everyone the chance to link up through sector and subject specific networking sessions, from digital products to communicating digital; FinTech to Public Services. We hope there’ll be something for everyone.   

The content will be the same whether you’re in Anglesey, Cardiff or online thanks to the support of the Welsh hybrid events platform Haia.  

Many thanks to Lee Waters ASMS for his sponsorship of the Senedd location in Cardiff and to M-SParc for use of the Menai Science Park facilities in Anglesey. 

Whether you’re an experienced digital leader or just want to find out more about digital, we’d love you to join us. 

Thank you  

A huge thank you to Monmouthshire Building Society, the Centre for Digital Public Services, Haia, M-SParc and Perago.  Their support means we can offer this event free of charge, making it even more accessible. 

This will be a bilingual event with live simultaneous translation. 

Book your place 

Bookings are now open for this free event via the following link: 

https://forms.office.com/r/L3VuFBBsYz 

Dod â ni ynghyd:  Digital Leaders Cymru  

Ar ôl dwy flynedd o ddigwyddiadau ar-lein, rydym yn barod i ddod ag arweinwyr digidol ledled Cymru ynghyd i ddathlu y gwaith digidol arloesol sy’n digwydd yng Nghymru, adeiladu rhwydweithiau ac annog cydweithio. 

 Boed yn well gennych gael sgwrs wyneb yn wyneb neu weithio o adref, rydym yn gobeithio y bydd y digwyddiad hwn yn gweithio i chi. 

Beth sy’n digwydd 

 Dydd Gwener 24 Mehefin (12.30 – 1.30) byddwn yn cynnal digwyddiad hybrid, am ddim fydd yn cynnwys 

• Dau leoliad i gwrdd wyneb-yn-wyneb (gogledd a de Cymru) 
• Platfform ar-lein 
• Sesiwn rhwydweithio
• Cyfieithu ar y pryd  
• Cinio ysgafn 
• Dathliad o’r gwaith digidol arloesol yng Nghymru 

Rydym eisiau creu digwyddiad y bydd pawb yn teimlo’n rhan ohono. Rydym eisiau dangos y pethau gwych sy’n digwydd yng Nghymru a rhoi cyfle i bobl â’r un meddylfryd i gyfarfod. 

Archebu eich tocyn am ddim 

https://forms.office.com/r/L3VuFBBsYz 

Byddwn yn clywed gan ein cadeirydd yng Nghymru, Victoria Ford, Dirprwy Weinidog Newid Hinsawdd, Lee Waters AS a Chadeirydd y Pwyllgor Trawsbleidiol Digidol yng Nghymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth AS ac yn cael cip ar ychydig o’r gwaith digidol gwych sy’n digwydd yma yng Nghymru. 

Bydd cyfle wedyn i bawb sgwrsio mewn sesiynau rhwydweithio yn ôl sector / pwnc, o gynnyrch digidol i gyfathrebu digidol; FinTech i Wasanaethau Cyhoeddus. Rydym yn gobeithio y bydd rhywbeth at ddant pawb. 

Bydd y cynnwys yr un peth, boed yn Ynys Môn, Bae Caerdydd neu ar-lein diolch i gefnogaeth y platfform digwyddiadau hybrid Haia. 

Diolch yn fawr i Lee Waters AS am noddi’r lleoliad yn y Senedd, Caerdydd ac i M-SParc am gael defnyddio eu hadnoddau yn Ynys Môn. 

Boed yn arweinydd digidol profiadol neu awydd dysgu mwy am y maes, byddem yn falch iawn o’ch gweld. 

Diolch 

Diolch yn fawr iawn i Gymdeithas Adeiladu Sir Fynwy, Haia, y Ganolfan Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Digidol, M-SParc a Perago. Mae eu cefnogaeth hwy yn golygu y gallwn ni gynnig y digwyddiad hwn am ddim, a’i wneud yn fwy hygyrch i bawb. 

Bydd hwn yn ddigwyddiad dwyieithog, gyda chyfieithu ar y pryd yn cael ei gynnig 

Archebwch eich lle 

Mae bellach yn bosibl archebu ar gyfer y digwyddiad yma, sydd am ddim, trwy ddilyn y dolenni isod: 

https://forms.office.com/r/L3VuFBBsYz 

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The post Bringing us together: Digital Leaders Wales appeared first on Digital Leaders.

Of course an introductory programme doesn’t mean everyone will end up with all the skills they need, but what it does mean is that they have a grounding, a shared understanding and a point from which to get started.

The approach

We worked with the Centre to understand their work and their teams so we could create content and an experience that was both relevant and useful. Although this was a high level, introductory programme we identified three audience groups and made sure we could tailor the content slightly to add the most value. These were:

Leaders – we tailored our core package to focus on the role of leaders in service transformation. This session was delivered to the Wales Cooperative Centre’s senior leadership team and Board members

All colleagues – this was our core package and we worked with the team at the Centre to make sure our case studies were relevant and the tone and level of content appropriate. Leaders also joined these sessions.

Those involved more directly in change – those more directly involved in delivering change had a more detailed offer. We adapted our core package to become an introduction to a two-day service design course that we delivered a week after the introductory session.

Principles

Rather than a one size fits all training approach we have a set of key principles we work to when we’re designing and delivering our training programmes. These are the things we believe add the most value for individuals and to organisations.

In context – organisations won’t be looking at digital and services in isolation. You need to provide the context of the environment they’ll be working in. Here in Wales that means an understanding of the purpose of the Digital Strategy for Wales and the support that’s out there for delivering public services in Wales such as the Welsh Digital Service Standards.

Relevant – if delegates can’t place the learning in the context of their own lives, experiences and work then it is unlikely to have an impact.

Consistent – context and tailoring is important, so are consistent messages, themes and models.

Interactive – whether our training is online or face to face the biggest value comes from interaction, whether with us or between delegates.

Based on real examples – keep it real. Hypothetical examples are okay, real examples bring learning to life.

Learning from doing

In line with agile ways of working, the most value comes from getting the product in the hands of your users, learning and iterating. This programme was no exception. Here’s what we learnt:

• The challenges of online learning
  • Many of us have been working in an online world for nearly 2 years now, but that doesn’t mean everything is easier remotely. Creating engaging content and the opportunities to spark conversation and interact were key to our approach. Even with that we had to adapt our sessions to allow enough time away from the screen for people to remain focused. We also added additional breakout sessions to make sure everyone had the opportunity to get involved. It’s also harder to get everyone back after a break when you can’t chase them up from the coffee machine, but luckily the teams at Wales Cooperative Centre were punctual and ready to go after each break!

• It’s okay to have different levels of experience in the room
  • After our first session we found some people were far more comfortable with the content than others. So we made a point of explaining at the outset that it was okay if you didn’t ‘get’ all of it or if some parts were of more interest to you than others. The important part was being part of the conversation, getting the principles and finding out which areas were of most interest to you and your work. A programme delivered to a whole organisation will never have content that will be 100% useful to 100% of people. But it can provide an experience and a grounding that is 100% relevant.

• Lived experience adds value and makes the learning real
  • We’re fortunate in Perago that we’ve had years of hands-on experience of what works and what doesn’t in the world of digital. We’ve got the scars to show and the stories to tell. Putting the learning in the context of our lived experiences helps with understanding and context. What was even more powerful was when the delegates shared their experiences and learning and were able to speak up and make it part of the session. This worked really well with the groups at the Wales Cooperative Centre and became an integral part of the learning.

• A whole organisation experiencing the same learning is really powerful
  • One of the key cultural challenges with digital is the risk of putting up barriers and leaving parts of an organisation behind. New ways of working, different ways of thinking and new terminology can easily isolate colleagues. By investing the time in training the whole organisation everyone has a common starting point and a confidence to think differently about service delivery.

• Not everyone needs the detail on everything
  • This kind of programme allows a taster, a base understanding that can bring everyone up to the same level. It allows people to start thinking about digital differently and in the context of their own work and experiences. That will be enough for some right now, others will need and want to find out more and that’s good too. Being open about that and letting people find their own place is the start of sparking a different way of thinking and working.

Originally posted here

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The post 5 training tips to get your organisation digital appeared first on Digital Leaders.

The second focus was on delivery.  Actions not words. No one wanted a strategy that would sit on a shelf and attract dust.  There had been enough talking, we needed to see actions and outcomes.

Have those differences led to action on delivery? 12 months on we wanted to see how far Wales had come in achieving its digital vision to improve the lives of everyone through collaboration, innovation and better public services.

That’s why we’ve chosen to focus our Digital Leaders Wales events for 2022 on the digital strategy and its 6 missions:

Mission 1: digital services

Deliver and modernise services so that they are designed around user needs and are simple, secure and convenient.

Mission 2:  digital inclusion

Equip people with the motivation, access, skills and confidence to engage with an increasingly digital world, based on their needs.

Mission 3: digital skills

Create a workforce that has the digital skills, capability and confidence to excel in the workplace and in everyday life.

Mission 4: digital economy

Drive economic prosperity and resilience by embracing and exploiting digital innovation.

Mission 5: digital connectivity

Services are supported by fast and reliable infrastructure.

Mission 6: data and collaboration

Services are improved by working together, with data and knowledge being used and shared.

A conversation with Lee Waters

Last Thursday was the first of those events and we invited the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, to join me for a conversation about the strategy, progress to date and what comes next.

It was brilliant to see over 100 people from across sectors join us for the online discussion. This meant we were able to bring attendees into the conversation and have some good, open debate about where Wales has got to and what’s next.

The areas we covered included:

• Public service delivery

We looked at whether the strategy has started to shift the way public services are delivered in Wales, whether the right digital leadership roles are in place and whether we’re seeing services being designed from a user perspective rather than around organisational boundaries. Lee also gave his priorities for the next 12 months for digital to provide better outcomes for the people of Wales.

• Public procurement

With an aim to drive economic prosperity in Wales there was a feeling that there’s a stronger role for public procurement to play, with a need for procurement specialists to understand what the strategy sets out to achieve and how we can exploit digital innovation in Wales. We asked Lee about the role of public procurement in delivering the strategy and how can we make sure that it is understood and implemented by procurement specialists.

• Digital connectivity 

With the internet of things opening up a wealth of opportunity for using tech and data to improve lives, from smart beaches in Ceredigion to managing housing stock in local authorities.  We discussed Welsh Government’s role in ensuring Wales is connected digitally as well as through its physical infrastructure

• Data and collaboration

We explored the need for data driven decisions and an understanding and better use of the data that exists across Wales.  There was a recognition of the need for a better general awareness of open data sets and the skills needed across all sectors to take forward sound, actions based on analysis of trends.  

• Funding mechanisms

Many organisations and sectors that provide services, particularly local government, third sector and housing, rely on funding to deliver their services.  We looked at whether the funding mechanisms in place in Wales help or hinder organisations in understanding the root cause of issues and allowing them to innovate to deliver better services. 

Questions from the floor included the role of the Centre for Digital Public Services, funding and innovation.

Watch the recording here

If you missed the session you can watch it on catch up here: 

What’s next?

We’ll be sharing more about future events soon, a mix of online and face to face to allow as many people as possible to get involved, share and learn.  You can keep up to date with Digital Leaders in Wales by following us on Twitter @DigiLeadersWal or by signing up to the Digital Leaders mailing list here: https://digileaders.com/join

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The post The Digital Strategy for Wales – 12 months on appeared first on Digital Leaders.

The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of digital in delivering modern services at pace. This is more than delivering individual services, it is about improving lives for the people of Wales and building the local economy at a time when this is more important than ever.    

I’ve worked in digital transformation for over 15 years.  Back when the Government Digital Service was first set up I was Head of Communications at the DVLA in Swansea and led the work there to really open up how the organisation communicated with both the people who used its services and internally with colleagues.  We introduced new channels and new ways of thinking to support the move to online services and begin the shift in culture and direction needed to really improve service delivery. Fast forward 15 years and I am now fortunate to be part of the founding team at Perago. We’re a digital transformation and service design company based in Swansea.  Our roots are in public service delivery in Wales. Back in 2017, we were told there wasn’t a market for what we do, that there was no desire in Wales to take a user-centred approach to deliver services and that we’d be better off working in England or further afield if we wanted to build a business that could grow and thrive. That wasn’t for us. Four years on and not only are we still here working in Wales, but we’ve also grown year on year. We’ve moved from a solely associate model to creating jobs, jobs in Wales, jobs in digital in Wales. And we’re continuing to grow and we have more ambition than ever before.

Sharing knowledge and experience is personally important for me. I was a member of the expert digital panel that produced the Systems Reboot report and have championed the need for digital transformation in Wales. A new focus from the Welsh Government and the Office of the Chief Digital Officer and things have started to happen.

 In June the Centre for Digital Public Services was launched. The pace and focus of the Centre have been brilliant. I’m fortunate to have been involved in the delivery of the initial outputs from the Centre and have been delivering their communications and engagement. It’s been an opportunity to demonstrate pace and working in the open with blogs, knowledge-sharing events and building communities. In March 2021 the Welsh Government launched its Digital Strategy for Wales with the vision, Digital in Wales: improving the lives of everyone through collaboration, innovation and better public services.  The strategy sets out six missions that will create a digital Wales.

There’s a long way to go, and there’s a lot to do. But things are changing. Digital Leaders can really play a part in this; sharing good practice and learning, building communities and supporting the shift in digital thinking in Wales.  It’s also why I am really delighted to be the new chair of Digital Leaders in Wales – I want to play my part in bringing people together across sectors to share and learn, but also to showcase the digital talent that exists across Wales.

I’m excited about the opportunity this brings to everyone who wants to make Wales a better place and am grateful for the team at Digital Leaders for giving me the opportunity to lead on this collaboration in Wales.  Following on from the success of June’s DigiLeaders week, we’d love you to get involved.  If you’d like to find out more, or share your knowledge and experience, then please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.

Digidol yng Nghymru – y cyfle

Dros y misoedd diwethaf, mae symudiad wedi bod yn y maes digidol yng Nghymru, yn arbennig yn y sector gyhoeddus. Ni fydd pawb yn ei weld eto, ond mi fydd y rhai sy’n gweithio yn y maes yn dechrau gweld newid momentwm mewn uchelgais, ffocws a chyflymder cyflawni.

Mae’r pandemig wedi dangos rôl greiddiol digidol wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau modern yn sydyn. Mae’n golygu mwy na chynnig gwasanaeth, mae’n ymwneud â gwella bywydau pobl Cymru ac adeiladu’r economi leol mewn cyfnod pan fo hynny’n bwysicach nag erioed.

Rwyf wedi gweithio yn y maes trawsnewid digidol ers dros 15 mlynedd. Yn y cyfnod pan gafodd y Government Digital Service ei sefydlu, roeddwn yn Bennaeth Cyfathrebu gyda’r DVLA yn Abertawe. Yno, mi wnes i arwain y gwaith o gyfathrebu’n llawer mwy agored – gyda’r bobl oedd yn defnyddio’r gwasanaethau ac yn fewnol gyda chydweithwyr.  Mi wnaethom gyflwyno sianeli newydd a ffyrdd newydd o feddwl er mwyn cefnogi’r newid i wasanaethau ar-lein a chychwyn newid y diwylliant a’r cyfeiriad oedd angen ei ddilyn er mwyn gweld gwelliannau wrth ddarparu gwasanaeth. Gan neidio ymlaen 15 mlynedd, rwyf bellach yn falch o fod yn rhan o’r tîm gychwynnodd Perago. Rydym yn gwmni trawsnewid digidol a dylunio gwasanaeth wedi ein sefydlu yn Abertawe. Mae ein gwreiddiau mewn darparu gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yng Nghymru.

 Nol yn 2017, dywedwyd wrthym nad oedd marchnad i beth oeddem ni’n ceisio ei wneud yng Nghymru, ac nad oedd awydd yng Nghymru i ddylunio o amgylch anghenion y defnyddiwr wrth ddarparu gwasanaeth.  Dywedwyd wrthym hefyd yn byddai’n rheitiach i ni weithio yn Lloegr neu ymhellach os oeddem am adeiladu busnes oedd am dyfu a ffynnu. Doedd hynny ddim yn opsiwn i ni.

 Pedair mlynedd yn ddiweddarach, a nid yn unig ein bod wedi llwyddo i weithio yng Nghymru, rydym wedi llwyddo i dyfu flwyddyn ar ôl blwyddyn. Rydym wedi symud o fod yn fodel gydag ymgynghorwyr cysylltiol i fod yn creu swyddi; swyddi yng Nghymru, swyddi digidol yng Nghymru. Ac rydym yn dal i ehangu, gyda mwy o uchelgais nag erioed.

 Mae rhannu gwybodaeth a phrofiad yn allweddol i beth ydym ni yn ei wneud ac ar lefel bersonol mae’n bwysig i mi hefyd. Roeddwn yn aelod o’r panel digidol o arbenigwyr gynhyrchodd yr adroddiad ‘Newid y System’ ac wedi bod yn eiriol dros yr angen am drawsnewid digidol yng Nghymru. Gyda ffocws newydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru a swyddfa y Prif Swyddog Digidol, mae pethau wedi dechrau newid.

 Ym mis Mehefin cafodd y Ganolfan Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus ei lansio. Mae ffocws a chyflymder gweithredu’r Ganolfan wedi bod yn wych. Rwyf yn ffodus o fod wedi bod yn rhan o sefydlu’r Ganolfan ac wedi bod yn gyfrifol am y gwaith cyfathrebu ac ymgysylltu.  Mae wedi bod yn gyfle i ddangos sut mae gweithio yn agored trwy golofnau blog, digwyddiadau rhannu gwybodaeth ac adeiladu cymunedau.

 Yn Mawrth 2021, lansiodd Llywodraeth Cymru eu Strategaeth Ddigidol i Gymru gyda’u gweledigaeth, Digidol yng Nghymru: gwella bywydau pawb trwy gydweithio, arloesi a gwasanaethau cyhoeddus gwell. Mae’r strategaeth yn cynnwys chwech cenhadaeth fydd yn creu Cymru ddigidol.

 Mae na dipyn o ffordd i fynd, a llawer i’w wneud. Ond mae pethau’n newid. Ac mi all Arweinwyr Digidol chwarae rhan allweddol yn hyn: yn rhannu arfer da ac yn dysgu, adeiladu cymunedau a chefnogi y newid meddylfryd i un digidol yng Nghymru.

 Dyma’r rheswm hefyd pam mod i wrth fy modd o dderbyn y cynnig i gadeirio Arweinwyr Digidol yng Nghymru – dw i eisiau chwarae fy rhan yn dod â phobl at ei gilydd ar draws sectorau er mwyn rhannu a dysgu, ond hefyd i ddangos y talent digidol sy’n bodoli ar draws Cymru.

 Dwi’n gyffrous wrth feddwl am y cyfleoedd sydd yna i wneud Cymru’n le gwell ac yn ddiolchgar i’r tîm yn Arweinwyr Digidol am roi’r cyfle i mi arwain y cydweithio yma yng Nghymru.  Yn dilyn llwyddiant wythnos Arweinwyr Digidol ym mis Mehefin, byddem yn falch iawn o’ch gweld chi yn cymryd rhan.

 Os hoffech chi wybod mwy, neu os hoffech rannu eich gwybodaeth neu’ch profiadau, mae croeso i chi gysylltu â mi. Byddwn yn falch iawn o glywed gennych.

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UK
The data deluge in Formula One has lessons for Public services. That was the view from the Cognizant’s partnership with the Aston Martin Formula One team, in this fascinating look into the most technological sport on the planet.

https://youtu.be/1qNl-BrL5HU

Scotland
Taking lessons from Mars exploration this fascinating talk from a former Nasa expert put the case for the business opportunity for Scotland in growing it’s Space Economy

https://youtu.be/XVjVpwcyNFE

Wales
Wales set out a national strategy to improve, engage and include the whole country in its plan to emerge from the pandemic, but how can they do it? We found out in the annual lecture from a local government perspective.

https://youtu.be/JWI6S2tGRa4

Northern Ireland
That AI is transforming the utilities sector was the underpinning idea investigated in this lecture as we looked at how the water industry in Northern Ireland is transforming itself into a digital first business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAXmjfE8_HQ

The post Space, Data, AI and Formula One debated in the 2021 Annual Lectures appeared first on Digital Leaders.

To help start to understand this we’ve kicked off a short piece of work to look at some of the challenges and how the Centre could offer support around communicating digital transformation.

What does this look like?

Working with the local authorities involved with our digital squad project on accessing adult social care, we’ve partnered with Perago to:

• Understand the barriers to communicating digital service delivery
• Explore how communication teams can support ‘working out loud’ in digital change
• Test the concept by providing hands on practical support
• Share good practice

Early days

We’ve started our conversations with the teams at Neath Port Talbot Council (NPT). It’s still only a few days in, but the work and conversations so far have given us a really good insight into the planning that NPT has done around their digital services and the impact of Covid on these plans.

As well as a focus on planning, insight and strategy, we’ve also covered off:

Channels – it’s sometimes a challenge to identify channels that are easily accessible by all colleagues due to the wide variety of roles and work locations. Understanding what channels work best for what content and which audiences is key. We’ve spoken about working more with video (both recorded and live) to help portray complex messages. We’ve also spoken about using other Office365 products like Teams Live Events to increase leadership visibility and facilitate Q&A sessions.

Content – authentic, timely engaging content is always key, but the teams are also considering how content is categorised to help the ‘cut through’ of important messages. We’ve discussed developing a few themed items or regular features to help develop consistent content with a rhythm and routine.

Style and Tone – people like hearing from people so we’ll be exploring more about how we bring out the people behind the digital services and their users. There’s a lot of good work being done by good people – to make it appealing to the broader audience (internal and external) it may work to share a bit more of the personalities involved in delivery of digital.

Next steps

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be working closely with the team at Neath Port Talbot and picking up conversations with Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent to get a wider view of the challenges and needs of the teams delivering digital services.

Nita Sparkes from Neath Port Talbot Council’s digital team said, ‘This is a great opportunity for us and I’m really looking forward to seeing the output from this work and how it will help us to strengthen our comms strategy for the digital transformation / service design work currently underway.’

We know there’s some great work going on in public sector organisations in Wales and their comms teams and this year has been more challenging than ever. As part of this work we want to look at how we can share ideas, approaches and challenges. If you have any thoughts or ideas on communicating change around public services in Wales or have any good examples you’d like to share then please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

Originally posted here

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Thankfully, for many people digital technology can provide some comfort. It means they will still be able to see friends and family, shop for groceries, find health information and participate in activities to keep them occupied.

For 1 in 10 of us however, this is not the case. And for older people, the proportion who are digitally excluded is much higher than that. Many people, particularly those who are elderly or vulnerable, will be lonely and isolated. Accessing vital services, such as their GP or hospital specialist, is now a huge challenge.

Thanks to funding from Welsh Government, the Wales Co-operative Centre is proud to be helping to make life a little easier for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We are working with Welsh Government and NHS Wales to assist with the urgent distribution of tablet devices to health and care settings across Wales to help people get connected.

Welsh Government is providing funding to buy more than a thousand new tablets to distribute through this new device loan scheme. It will be delivered as part of the Digital Communities Wales initiative, a programme led by the Wales Co-operative Centre.

There is an urgent demand for tablets to enable people to speak to their GP during this awful pandemic.

The tablet computers will support the ‘Attend Anywhere’ service, which is being rolled out rapidly across the Welsh NHS. Attend Anywhere is an easy-to-use video consulting service that enables people to have health and social care appointments from home or wherever is convenient. It will mean that residents and patients will be able to have remote consultations with their GPs and other healthcare providers, that might otherwise have been difficult or event impossible.

The devices will be sent out to care homes, hospices and ward settings in the coming weeks. An experienced team from Digital Communities Wales will provide remote training and support to key workers on how to use and operate the technology with people in their care.

The distribution of the devices will be agreed in partnership with health boards who know where the devices are needed in their area. We cannot respond directly to requests from people and organisations because at the moment we must prioritise our support to where the need is greatest for health and care reasons. It is a hugely exciting initiative that will enhance the lives of many vulnerable people across the country and help our NHS at this challenging time. We are delighted to be helping to make it happen.

Digital Communities Wales – Digital Confidence, Health and Well-being is a Welsh Government project which is delivered by the Wales Co-operative Centre. The project began in July 2019 and will continue until June 2022.

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