Better Public Services events

Public Service Transformation Week 2023 took place from 23 – 27 October. The week saw Public Service organisations across the country host over 30 individual events for their staff and wider Public Service audiences. The programme featured webinars, workshops and in-person sessions focussed on Public Service innovation, creative problem solving, service design for and with the public, advancing the use of data and AI, citizen-inclusive research and much more.

The Public Service Transformation Conference on Monday 23 October saw over 350 Public Service leaders and innovators gather in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre to share ideas and examples of best practice and identify opportunities to work together on scaled-up solutions to challenges.

The conference was opened by Minister Donohoe who said he said he was pleased to see “all the work underway to transform how we deliver our public services and the huge impact technology is having on how we design and deliver services to citizens’.

The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform hosted the Annual Conference of the Quality Customer Service Network in Farmleigh House on Thursday, 7 December 2023. The theme of the event, which was opened by Minster of State Ossian Smyth, was 'Human-centred Service Delivery in a Digital Age.’

The conference explored the key drivers of customer service excellence with leading Irish organisations and discussed what is important to customers today. Attendees learned about the recently launched Action Plan on Designing Better Public Services and work underway to bring a design-led approach to Public Service delivery. Also discussed was the delivery of digital public services with insights from the UK’s Government Digital Service and Ireland's Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).

To find out more about how we are working to improve how the Public Service engages with customers, visit the Quality Customer Service Initiative (QCSI) page.

On Thursday, 22 February 2024, Minister Paschal Donohoe opened the Better Public Services Conference: Shaping the Workforce of the Future which took place in the Printworks Centre in Dublin Castle.

The conference focussed on Building a Workforce and Organisation of the Future, which is a central theme of the Better Public Services strategy. The ambition of that strategy is to create a Public Service workforce that is diverse, agile and inclusive, that is skilled for the future and that is an employer of choice for current and future employees.

The event, which saw approximately 400 Public Service leaders and HR professionals attend either in-person or online, was MCed by Sineád Burke – CEO of Tilting the Lens. The day featured sessions on key trends for HR and the People Profession in 2024, tackling inequality and work in society, approaches to integrating Irish language into Public Service workplaces, the new Public Service Apprenticeship Plan and navigating the landscape of future skills needed to deliver better public services.

Further Better Public Services events, focussed on achieving Digital and Innovation at Scale and Evidence-informed Policy and Services, are planned this year and will be promoted across the Public Service soon.

Thekla Talks is a seminar series which presents a variety of research and policy topics for critical discussion. Organised by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the talks are a space for dialogue among policy-makers and thought leaders, with input from the wider community of academics, experts from within public financial management, economics, public sector innovation and disciplines beyond, on leading-edge issues in Irish public policy.

The most recent event in the series focussed on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will influence the future of the Public Service and is available to watch back on YouTube (above). Featuring a panel of policy-makers and experts, the discussion examined how the the new EU AI Act will impact the Public Service, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by AI.

On Wednesday, 12 June, Minister Paschal Donohoe and Minister Ossian Smyth opened the Better Public Services Conference focussed on delivering Digital and Innovation at Scale in the Printworks Centre, Dublin Castle.

The event welcomed leaders, innovators and change-makers from across the Public Service to explore how Government can deliver on its ambition of tackling big societal issues and driving change through digital and innovation under the Better Public Services transformation strategy.

The conference featured an inspiring line-up of speakers exploring issues such as digital inclusion, the potential for emerging technologies like AI in the Public Service, design-led approaches to developing services and delivering seamless user experiences for the public via the ‘Life Events’ digital government programme.

On Thursday, 5 September, Minister Paschal Donohoe opened the Better Public Services Conference: Evidence-Informed Policy and Services in Dublin Castle.

The conference brought together Public Servants from organisations across the country, along with international experts and thinkers, to explore how the Public Service can deliver more effective human-centred policies and services designed with evidence and insights from data and research.

The event was an opportunity to discuss progress on and facilitate further collaboration under the Better Public Services transformation strategy and was centred around three key themes:

• harnessing data to strengthen policy development and service delivery
• using innovative approaches to drive transformation in policy and service delivery
• achieving impact and building trust and legitimacy

The conference was the third in a series of flagship events organised as part of Government's efforts to advance the Better Public Services strategy.

Public Service Transformation Week 2024 took place from 21 – 25 October. The theme of this year's event was ‘Transformation in Action’.

Transformation Week highlights the breath of innovation and transformation happening in our Public Service, under the Better Public Services strategy. Public Service organisations taking part showcase projects and initiatives which are delivering enhanced and more inclusive services for the Irish public.

There was a particular focus on initiatives that are centred on scalability; underpinned in the Action Plan for Designing Better Public Services; promoting cross-collaboration; holistic and human centred in nature and using data to inform transformation.

Over 40 events took place, 77% of which were online and which reached an audience of 2,000 across all networks. The highest attended webinars were on the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Public Services Record Management and Design.

Other events which took place included:

• The launch event with a spotlight on design-thinking and digital transformation in Local Government – hosted by this Department, the Local Government Management Agency and local authorities
• Enhancing patient well-being through virtual rehabilitation – hosted by the HSE
• Taking a design-led approach to leadership – hosted by the Central Bank
• Using Artificial Intelligence to improve customer service – hosted by Revenue
• Building a culture of better data – hosted by the Office of Government Chief Information Officer
• Connecting with citizens through technology – hosted by the Citizens Information Board
• Exploring how digital literacy transforms lives – hosted by Solas
• Moving towards a bilingual Public Service – hosted by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

Public Service Transformation Week was the fourth flagship event organised by the Department in 2024 directed on delivery of the Better Public Services strategy. It follows events focused on the strategy’s themes of Digital and Innovation at Scale; Workforce and Organisation of the Future; and Evidence-Informed Policies and Services designed for and with our Public.

Recordings of a selection of events which took place during Transformation Week are available at this YouTube playlist.