Completing the first Leading Modern Public Services programme

In my previous post, I shared the exciting launch of the Leading Modern Public Services programme in Wales, run by the Centre for Digital Public Services in partnership with TPXimpact. 

Since sharing details of our first two days, we’ve run day three of the programme remotely, with a focus on digital, culture, people and the underlying conditions needed to successfully deliver digital transformation. Our virtual sessions included great talks from Joanna Goodwin, Head of User Centred Design and Delivery, and UX and Interaction Designer Liam Collins. 

We’ve now rapidly reached the end of the first cohort, and in December we came together for the group's final days of training at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David in Swansea. 

From reconnecting over shared experiences to tackling real-world challenges through hands-on design sprints, these final days together were a celebration of the power of active learning, collaboration, and a distinctly Welsh perspective. 

Designed to equip public service leaders with the skills and mindset to implement digital transformation, the programme has delivered more than just lessons… It has forged connections and sparked innovation.

Day four: Service standards to design sprints

A morning of inspiration

Our final stretch began with an energising welcome and a reconnection activity to help the folks in the room settle in and say hello to each other, helping set the tone for the day.

The spotlight then shifted to the Digital Service Standards for Wales, an important cornerstone of the programme.

Participants were joined by the fantastic Heledd Morgan, Director of Implementation and Impact from The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales they dove into Standard 1, exploring how designing services with a focus on current and future wellbeing aligns with Wales’ commitment to sustainability and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. The session underscored the importance of creating services that respond to the needs of people today while safeguarding the wellbeing of future generations.

Jeremy Evas, Head of Project 2050 at Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government, led a lively discussion on Standard 2, highlighting the imperative of designing services bilingually from the start. Plus delivering the whole session in Welsh and English, flowing seamlessly between the two, with our trusty interpreter Eiri from Nico. Jeremy’s insights not only illustrated how linguistic inclusivity enriches public services but also tied these standards back to the participants’ ongoing work, helping them connect the dots to the challenges they had tackled earlier in the programme.

Design sprints: From insight to action

After a well-deserved break, the cohort rolled up their sleeves for a design sprint—a hands-on session that typified the programme’s learning by doing ethos. 

Starting with assumption mapping, participants revisited challenges identified on days one and two, grounding their work in user insights and reframing these challenges into actionable How Might We statements.

Fuelled by a lunch of sustainable vegan options, the afternoon saw participants generating bold ideas using the "Speedy Sixes" technique. Solutions started to take shape through the Solutions Canvas, as the cohort collaboratively explored features, functions, and the systems needed to bring their ideas to life.

Day five: Graduation day

Prototypes and possibilities

We started the day off with the teams sketching the story, the product or the system, through storyboards, maps and drawing the functions and features as prototypes. These visual tools brought their ideas to life, helping the cohort articulate the user journey and the systemic changes required to implement their solutions effectively. It was inspiring to see leaders pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in Welsh public services.

Presentations

The final day of the programme culminated in design sprint presentations, where participants shared their prototype solutions. 

Ideas ranged from innovative digital tools to enhance service delivery to shifts in how public services approach inclusivity and sustainability. Each presentation reflected not only the creativity of the cohort but also their commitment to pragmatic, user centred solutions.

The feedback session was a celebration of diverse perspectives forming round shared problems, the room was a hum of enthusiasm and the ideas presented were a brilliant mix of innovative, tangible and actionable. The ideas ranged from collaboration spaces to data sharing and tackled the complexity that comes with this within the public sector space.

A network for the future

This programme isn’t just about skills—it’s about building a network across Wales. One of the first cohort’s reflections captured this beautifully:

By the end of the programme, leaders aren’t just equipped to implement digital transformation—they have hopefully become champions of collaboration, innovation, and the Welsh Service Standards. They are also now part of a growing community dedicated to creating public services that truly serve the people of Wales.

Leading Modern Public Services is an example of the value of creating space for leaders to learn, collaborate and share knowledge outside of their teams and organisations. As I said at the very end of our final session:

“Two months ago you met each other for the first time, we’ve only had 5 days together, and look at you now! This is how much you can achieve in a very short amount of time."

Throughout this first cohort, we’ve seen digital leaders in Wales come together to connect dots, share learnings from failures and wins, and see the sector as a whole that can support each other to move forward and thrive.

The next cohort of the programme starts in February in Llandudno and there will be a third cohort in Cardiff later in 2025. You can reach out to learning@digitalpublicservices.gov.wales for further information and other CDPS courses available.

The TPXimpact Academy is growing. 2025 will see the launch of new courses, ranging from longer format embedded academies to shorter masterclasses and everywhere in between. Interested? Please feel free to say hello Tash.Willcocks@TPXimpact.com