The session grid at UK Gov Camp 2026 showed just how diverse and forward‑thinking public‑sector conversations are right now. With over 40 self‑organised sessions, attendees explored a wide mix of themes connected to digital, data, design, leadership, policy and community needs.

Here are some of the major areas covered on the day:

1. Leadership, decision‑making and workplace culture

Participants explored how public‑sector teams can lead more effectively, support each other and navigate complex environments. Sessions included:

• ethical decision‑making and informal influence
• whether a manager should be part of someone’s “threat model”
• improving wellbeing at work and strengthening the role of unions
• leadership skills, coaching and emotional intelligence
• keeping talented people in government

2. Design, delivery and improving ways of working

Many discussions focused on designing better services and improving processes. Topics included:

• making prototyping a team activity
• avoiding poor discovery practices
• improving agile delivery
• raising the quality of procurement
• getting suppliers involved earlier
• coaching‑based approaches to service design
• how to avoid announcing solutions before understanding the problem

3. AI, technology and data

Attendees were keen to explore how emerging technologies can support — and sometimes threaten — public services. Sessions covered:

• how to stay in control of AI
• agentic AI and future service models
• cloud AI, transcription tools and planning applications
• mitigating the social impacts of AI
• “data not documents” and improving how teams understand impact

4. Digital inclusion and accessibility

A strong theme across multiple discussions was the need to reach people who are often left out:

• identifying who cannot use digital services and why
• how to reach people who never search online
• whether current digital inclusion methods are effective
• recentring disability in digital design

5. Public‑sector reform and collaboration

Several groups focused on how government can work better:

• support for reformers
• better sharing between departments
• neighbourhood working and central–local collaboration
• learning from international governments
• digital sovereignty and reducing dependency on tech giants
• creating knowledge hubs and reducing duplicated effort

6. Creativity, innovation and community‑led methods

The day also included creative and experimental topics:

• participatory methods and using complaints for insight
• a megagame for digital transformation
• open‑source development in government
• Hopecamp, Failcamp and Transform Gov talks

The breadth of sessions showed how much passion and creativity exist across public service teams. The unconference format allowed people to bring what matters most to them, generating rich conversations that will continue well beyond the event.