Welsh National Conference

A warm welcome awaits when you sign in for your delegate pass. Start as you mean to go on and get networking, as well as helping yourself to refreshments – including breakfast pastries.

Sarah will make us all welcome, run through the practical housekeeping, set the scene, share her thoughts.

Sarah Lackenby, Head of Digital & Customer Services, Swansea Council & Socitm Chair

Lindsey Phillips, Chief Digital Officer, Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)

As data becomes the foundation for modern public services, you have to balance innovation with trust, security and resilience.

Explore how high-quality, well-governed data can enable secure and affordable opportunities at scale, while maintaining digital sovereignty and public confidence.

Drawing on practical experience, BT will share how your organisation can strengthen data governance, apply AI to high-value service challenges, embed security and oversight by design, and build the skills and capabilities needed to scale sustainably along with how they operate as an organisation.

You’ll gain insight into how trusted data and responsible AI can unlock more efficient, resilient and citizen-focused public services.

Colin Bannon, CTO, BT Business and BT International

After Colin’s finished his presentation, there’ll be time for a conversation around your table. Explore how you’re balancing innovation, governance and public trust in our increasingly data-driven world.

You might consider these starting points (you’ll have better ones on the day):
Where are you seeing the greatest opportunities from data and AI?
What governance or cultural barriers are slowing progress?
How do we maintain public trust while embracing innovation?

Meet and hear from your colleagues in the 2026 Cardiff Empowering Women cohort. This final session of their course is sharing research, outcomes and recommendations to project briefs set by TechnologyOne in September:

Explore one aspect of Ways of Working and consider how it affects women entering or progressing within public service DDaT roles. Design a practical initiative, campaign, framework, toolkit or set of recommendations that could help an organisation create more inclusive and effective ways of working.

1. Flexible and hybrid working
2. Leadership, culture and progression

For some, this will be their first public presentation. It’s a big stage but you’re the ideal audience to listen to and support teams Glass and Mint.

Caerphilly County Borough Council; Isle of Wight Council; North Herts Council; North Kesteven District Council; Wiltshire Council.

After the project presentations, continue the conversation around your table and reflect on what inclusive, sustainable and effective ways of working could look like where you are.

Which recommendations felt most relevant to your organisation?
What helps or hinders progression into DDaT roles?
What one change would make the biggest difference to your workforce?

Connect with colleagues and gather your thoughts from the morning so far over refreshments and snacks.

How can your organisation shift focus from the delivery part of ‘service delivery’ to services that genuinely enable your users and residents?

Let’s look at practical ways to listen to people, make services easier to access, and use their insights to drive improvement.

You’ll take away lessons and ideas to create more inclusive, responsive and effective services.

Michael Jones, Head of Service, Conwy Council

Go from presentation to conversation. Share experiences from your own organisation and explore practical approaches to creating services around people’s needs rather than organisational structures.

How do you currently listen to residents and service users?
What’s the biggest barrier to truly user-centred services?
What have you tried that genuinely improved customer experience?

Reflect on the session you’ve just heard. What are the key insights, opportunities, or challenges that resonate with your organisation? What actions, ideas, or conversations will you take back to your organisation for wider discussion and consideration?

Sarah Lackenby, Head of Digital & Customer Services, Swansea Council & Socitm Chair

Digital transformation’s about people, services, and outcomes.

Technology Enablement provides the foundations to make that change happen.

You’re under growing pressure to improve services, increase productivity, and deliver better outcomes with limited resources.

Technology can help, but only when it’s used to support meaningful organisational change.

Panelists will share practical experiences, discussing what works (what doesn’t) and how organisations can ensure technology investments deliver real value for you and your communities.

Chaired by Lisa Smith, IT Business Services Manager, Flintshire County Council with:

AWS; Beam; BT

It’s time to make new connections, say hello to people you’ve not seen for a while, and reflect on the morning over lunch. Keep the conversation going and enjoy further food for thought.

Our afternoon chair is Mat Henshaw.

Mathew Henshaw, Assistant Head of Service – Digital and Technology, Gwynedd Council & Socitm Vice Chair

What happens when the theoretical becomes real?

Follow the journey through detection, response and recovery. Experience the difficult decisions, operational challenges and lessons encountered along the way.

You’ll come away with honest and practical insights to better inform your current plans for people, processes and services to respond effectively and recover with greater resilience.

Ryan James, Chief Information Security Officer, Merthyr Tydfil Council

Toby Grainger, Head of CymruSOC, Welsh Government 

After you’ve heard everything, take some time to reflect with colleagues around your table on the realities of responding to a cyber incident and what resilience means for your organisation.

How prepared do you think your organisation is today?
What part of the response would be most challenging?
Which lesson will you take away and apply immediately?

The skills Welsh public services will need for the next decade.

Technology is changing not just how councils operate, but the skills needed by the people who deliver public services. As we move from traditional IT towards digital services, automation and AI, what capabilities will our future digital professionals need, and how must the wider public-sector workforce evolve alongside them?

In this interactive session, digital leaders will be joined by a Director of Social Services to explore the changing relationship between technology, people and public-service delivery. Participants will identify the skills that matter most, question whether our current recruitment and education pathways are keeping pace, and develop recommendations that could help shape future skills development in Wales.

This is a working session with a tangible outcome: a collective set of priorities to inform conversations with educators, workforce partners and Welsh Government.

Nickki Johns, Head of Digital, Vale of Glamorgan Council 

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services, Vale of Glamorgan

Matt will pick out his highlights from the day in the closing remarks.

Mathew Henshaw, Assistant Head of Service – Digital and Technology, Gwynedd Council & Socitm Vice Chair

The conference is done so take your last opportunity to make new connections over tea and coffee before you head home.