Department for Work and Pensions Customer Insight Conference
March 2008
ThePublicOffice team recently ran a 3-hour interactive session at the first DWP Customer Insight Conference which was attended by over 140 public servants working in the field of customer insight. This 'taster' session was designed to:
- Challenge and develop delegates' understanding of the nature and potential of customer insight in the design and delivery of DWP services
- To take their commitment to customer focus further and look at how customer insight can be gathered and used intelligently
- Show how video ethnography can be a powerful methodology in discovering the real needs of customers
ThePublicOffice at Kent County Council
February 2008
County Hall, Maidstone
In February of this year, ThePublicOffice ran two days of workshops for 100 Senior Managers from across the council. Participants came from children and adult services to libraries and KCC Members. ThePublicOffice environment was set up in County Hall so that other staff could engage with the content outside of the workshop sessions. Feedback from the project was overwhelmingly positive and Kent is using the motivation and outputs from ThePublicOffice to stimulate collaborative working focused on citizen-centred services connected to the establishment of their Social Innovation Lab.
“We had high hopes for what ThePublicOffice could achieve in Kent. We wanted it to bring to life the needs of service users in a fresh and interesting way; enable and establish new connections across the Council; and create the basis for real change. ThePublicOffice delivered this and more.
” Director of Social Innovation Lab, Kent County Council
The Cabinet Office
January 2008
Earlier this year, ThePublicOffice was included as a highlight within the Cabinet Office's IT Academy Foundation Programme. As part of a Government IT Landscape day, a group of Fast Streamers were joined by IT colleagues from local government and the private sector for a 2-hour collaborative session.
The Government IT Profession newsletter included the following in their write up of the day. “Another highlight was the opportunity to view the powerful videos which are available through ThePublicOffice, launched by Kable at GC07 last June... Support for the event was positive from each of the three sectors.
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Feedback from participants included:
“Very useful to refocus on what IT is really for!
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“A reminder of what and who we're working for — the public!
”
ThePublicOffice at GCExpo
June 2007
Earls Court, London
ThePublicOffice led a series of workshops with 100 top-level public service leaders from across central and local government within a specially designed 250sqm ‘installation’. These leaders were joined by inspirational provocateurs, including Geoff Mulgan, Sir Michael Bichard, Matthew Taylor and Ed Mayo.