Helo bawb! Hi everyone!
We hope 2026 is off to a good start so far.
We’ve already been busy here at Transform Wales.
Earlier this month, we published a post on what we expect to see for digital delivery in Welsh Government . It’s been months since they announced that the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) would be absorbed, and there has been no public news on what this change means in practice.
This matters. Welsh Government and CDPS are funded by public money, so these decisions should be made in public, not behind closed doors.
On a similar note, Jo wrote a detailed post on working in the open for leaders .
Many leaders accountable for outcomes, risk and public money in Wales still lead with hindsight: reporting, slide decks, governance papers. A polished narrative. And then the big reveal, once the work has already hardened.
Working in the open is about making work visible as it happens, in small, digestible updates that include what’s going well, what’s changing, and what’s been learned.
This is how we stop the cycle of making the same mistakes. This is how we build trust in public services. This is how we hold people accountable.
This month’s digital news in Wales
Why testing with Welsh-speaking users matters
Welsh Revenue Authority’s senior user researcher, Cath explains
why Welsh-language user research is essential to service quality. It shows how testing with Welsh-speaking users improves clarity, confidence and trust in bilingual services.
How Social Care Wales worked with CDPS on service patterns
The Social Care Wales team shares
what they learned from testing a service pattern on their “Apply to be a social care worker” service, with support from the Centre for Digital Public Services. The post explains how working with patterns helped the team map the journey, improve clarity on eligibility and next steps, and build repeatable ways of working for their Registration Transformation Programme.
Problems Worth Solving with Helen Thomas
An episode of the Problems Worth Solving podcast featuring Helen Thomas
, Chief Executive of Digital Health and Care Wales. Helen reflects on leadership, trust and the realities of delivering digital change in complex health and care systems.
Public Sector Product Canvas
The Public Sector Product Canvas
is a lightweight tool to help teams define the purpose of a public service, the needs it serves, and how success will be measured. It supports clearer thinking before delivery starts, without adding heavy process.
Rehumanising data: Why KPIs are failing citizens
In this episode of Changing the Change podcast, Joe Badman speaks
with guest, Ron who draws on decades of frontline policing and system leadership. The conversation explores relational practice, “rehumanising data”, and how designing services around people rather than process can improve outcomes while reducing crisis demand.
Roadmap for modern digital government
The UK Government has published a roadmap
setting out practical changes needed to improve how digital government works. It focuses on skills, leadership and delivery models rather than new technology alone.
Pre-election webinar series
The Wales Centre for Public Policy and the Institute of Welsh Affairs are running
a joint webinar series ahead of the election. The sessions aim to support informed discussion on Wales’ long-term policy challenges.
Upcoming events
SDinGov virtual conference, 11 March 2026
The SDinGov virtual conference
brings together public sector practitioners to share real examples of service design in government. The focus is on practice, learning and honest reflection.