Looking back: CDPS year in review 2023 to 2024

Myra: 2 years after we started as joint CEOs, Harriet, what do you think is the most important thing about CDPS's mission?
 
Harriet: Well, states across the world are using digital solutions to help them address their most pressing problems and to deliver the services their citizens need in these really challenging times - CDPS's job is to help the public sector grow confidence and ambition and understanding of how we can do that better in Wales.

What are you proudest of?
 
Myra: I'm really proud of how we have setup an AI CoP of more than 90 people from all over the Welsh public sector - all different sorts of government bodies - who can come together, learn from each other, not work in silos and ensure we are using AI in the best possible way.

And we have a team of permanently employed digital experts. These teams have worked with policy colleagues and partner organisations to design better digital services. This includes with health partners - for example this year on digitising maternity notes and managing neurodiversity referrals. With local authorities and the Welsh Government on the applications process for free school meals, planning applications and taxi licensing... and always thinking about these services being bilingual and accessible. What do you think?
 
Harriet:  I think people in Wales agree that we can only address our biggest challenges by working together, and I'm really proud that CDPS has created really effective forums to make that collaboration happen - from the tight strategic group we have with Wales chief digital officers and their teams, the Standards Working Group, the new AI and automation steering group, our links with the Local Authority Digital Advisory Group, our join up with Cyd, the procurement centre of excellence - for our networking events for senior leaders - we're really starting to build that coalition of the willing across the country.
 
I'd just chuck in that we've trained over 1500 public servants since our digital training offer started, and we have 800 attendances from across the sector for our 5 communities of practice. And I'm really proud of having grown this unique team of 55 skilled people who are recognized as leaders, guides, supporters of modernisation across the public sector in Wales.
 
Myra: And what great things are we planning next year?
 
Harriet: A portfolio focused on real improvements to service users in Wales, working with central and local government to improve access to benefits; improving planning services which are so critical to making progress as a nation; working hard to help everyone across the sector understand what good looks like when you're delivering a service, and how you get there. Continuing to build those coalitions of the willing and forums where the whole sector can plan to work together to coordinate better digital delivery.
 
And carrying on work to grow the skills we need to speed up delivery and make good investment decisions.
 
Myra:  Finally we want to say thank you - to CDPS's amazing team, to our partners, supporters, stakeholders; to everyone who's shared their experiences with us and others as we bring together the digital mission across Wales.
 
Diolch! 

I’m Sharon Gilburd and I’m the Chair of the Centre for Digital Public Services.
 
This is our third annual review, and I’m excited to share with you just a few highlights from the past year, as well as our ambitions for the coming year.
 
The theme for the past year from the board has been maturity, with a focus on building digital skills in Wales and creating a framework for prioritising the work we do, both for impact and value for money.
 
The budgetary pressures facing the public sector are clear, and it’s vital that we work together to embed digital as an integral means of delivering the strategic priorities of the sector, with the shared aim of creating better public services for the people of Wales.
 
To this end, this year we’ve been collaborating with Digital Health and Care Wales, Welsh Government policy teams, the Welsh Local Government Association, and the Commissioners in Wales, amongst others.
 
I strongly believe if we are going to improve public services, at scale, then working in deep partnership is the only way to achieve it.
 
There is some really brilliant work going on, and we need find better, systematic ways of sharing this best practice.
 
We don’t need to start at the beginning every time. There are those in the sector that are already some way down the track and I see CDPS as playing a key convening role in enabling that sharing.
 
I’ve found it immensely rewarding to develop relationships with key stakeholders like Efa Grufudd Jones, the Welsh Language Commissioner, and Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner. CDPS will also come under the remit of the Future Generations Act (2015) this year.
 
We recently ran a ‘Future Proofing Public Services’ event with Derek, and CDPS has a valuable role to play in supporting our commissioners in their objectives. I’m proud that we’ve built a strong, permanent, skilled team, reducing our reliance on external contractors.
 
We have a team that actively reflect on what’s worked and what hasn’t, and they are willing to talk about it openly. The lessons learned section of the annual review is testament to this.
 
We agreed our business plan with our former Minister, Vaughan Gething, and we now have a robust framework to prioritise the initiatives we work on, targeting our resources for maximum impact.
 
I’m proud that we’ve now got a solid and stable foundation to build upon.
 
As we move into our new financial year, I’m really looking forward to working closely with our new Cabinet Secretary, Jeremy Miles.
 
This year will continue to be about collaboration and impact. Working on the right initiatives, in partnership, with shared objectives, sharing best practice, embedding digital to improve our public services for the citizens of Wales.

So I've been a board member for almost two years now and I've learned a huge amount both in terms of digital in a different context so I was a civil servant and now working for the BBC but broadening that out to wider public services and the work that the CDPS does, how they do it, some of the brilliant skills and techniques like trio writing, and it's just a real privilege to be able to work for an organisation that does that work in English and in Welsh and seeking to improve those public services.

The CDPS is a reasonably new organisation as a board we came in July 2022 so as part of that we've been kind of doing the normal getting to know each other but also setting out the strategy for the organisation, seeing through what that looks like and how that changes over time but yeah we, get on really well, there's that constructive challenge working with as the non-exec directors with the exec team and the SLT but overall we want the best for public service users.

I've learned a huge amount, and it's been great fun doing that learning I've learned about the huge amount of different organisations there are across the public sector that are all contributing towards delivering the digital strategy for Wales, so it's been interesting both to learn about those organisations but also to meet the people within them and talk about the challenges and opportunities that they think there are, and I've also learned about the everchanging risks opportunities and challenges there are across the public sector in delivering use centred services for Wales.