TPXimpact is going to Edinburgh!

A crew from TPXimpact will be there all three days, for what feels like a reunion with our nearest and dearest to catch up, learn, and enjoy our community.

SDinGov this year will be the perfect opportunity for us all - as practitioners of design within Government - to share strategies, tips, tricks, horror stories of trying to do our thing and make an impact across all parts of the policy-making process. "Designers need to have a seat at the table during policy making" is the consistent refrain when we come together as a community. "We need to be involved much earlier in the process" is another. 

I'm looking forward to hearing how another year of hard work has affected our strategies for making this happen. But honestly, I want more than just a seat at the table or a token invitation to one meeting before the policy is set. I'm eager to learn where designers have taken the lead in the design and implementation of policy as part of fully integrated delivery teams—and how we can do more of it.

Some other things we expect / hope will come up in conversations across the 3 days:

• How can service designers and other UCD pros contribute to the biggest challenges the new Government wants to address? Planning, regional inequality, growth, devolution, fixing the NHS, hitting our Net Zero targets - what's our particular role in each of these beyond designing citizen-facing services?

• What will cross-government governance and quality assurance of design work look like under a Labour Government? There have been some exciting appointments into DSIT, and by September, we'll probably know more about what's likely to change for all of us designing services in Government.

• How do we do responsible, human-centred AI? How can designers be involved in understanding the implementation of AI within Government, end-to-end? Departments are prioritising AI to improve non-citizen-facing bureaucratic processes to achieve savings, but these changes need to align with other processes and will likely have human consequences too.

• And my own favourite topic: making Government itself work better. What is the future role of service designers in creating the tools and processes that make government more efficient, data-driven, effective and human-centred?

Some TPXimpact designers will be hosting talks during the week, and we’ll be there at our stand asking you to contribute to some of these tough questions. 

Join us for an unforgettable evening to kick-off SDinGov

We’re also hosting the opening night party! Whether you're arriving from near or far, we know the journey can be long, but it's well worth it! Join us the evening before the conference for a night of celebration, connection, FOOD and fun.

This is the perfect opportunity to unwind, socialise, and kick off the conference in style. We can't wait to welcome you and ensure you have a fantastic start to SDinGov 2024!