Emma Gawen, Managing Director, Public Digital, United Kingdom

1. How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organisation. 

I’m the Managing Director for Public Digital, a global digital transformation consultancy. We are specialists in digital government and public sector reform. We help our customers to focus their efforts on users - the people using technology - and to understand how their organisations need to be shaped to unlock maximum benefit. That could be to enable better access and outcomes for public services, and it could be to enable efficiency and save costs for the organisation. We work with public sector organisations, such as major government departments providing essential services for citizens, as well as multilateral organisations and major corporations. 

As examples of the sort of work we get involved with, in the UK we have been on a transformation project with the telecommunications giant, BT, aimed at improving customer experience and have unlocked a 23% increase in productivity through the work we’re doing. In Ukraine, we’re working with Bloomberg Philanthropies, to support the city of Kyiv to deliver effective and resilient digital services to its people.

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2. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year? 

Without question it’s our work in Kyiv. During the war it has become more important than ever that the city can offer services digitally to its citizens, and our focus has been helping them do so in a way that’s agile and user-led, for example through rethinking their website so that it’s more responsive to users’ needs.

Being called Public Digital, one might assume that we only work in the public sector, and while it’s certainly an important part of our work, it’s the public purpose we’re focused on, rather than the sector. Working with Kyiv is exactly what we mean by this public purpose, and it’s been a privilege to work alongside the city in this time of crisis.

3. What was one unexpected learning from 2024? 

This year has been one of transition for me. I went from running our consultancy practice in the Americas, into the role of Managing Director. In parallel, 2024 has been a year of significant growth for PD, with more people, more projects, a wider scope, and the ability to make a greater impact. 

As MD, I’m interested in the engine of a company - its people.  Growing at the pace we have this year, paying attention to the people who work for you is essential. PD is a really special place to work and I see my role as ensuring it continues to be one. So I suppose what’s been unexpected has been how much of my role is focused on people - but it’s something I relish. It’s the people that make a difference and it’s great to be more involved in that aspect.

4. What’s a tool or technique you’re excited to explore in 2025? 

Not a technique, but a new area we’re keen to explore and grow our business in 2025 is into the world of cybersecurity. In the last year, we’ve seen some major cyber attacks devastate public sector organisations - with the recent attack on Transport for London just one example. Public services are moving increasingly online, which brings with it not only increased risk but new and different risks compared with previous methods. Organisations need to take appropriate steps to minimise their exposure and - because no one can ever be completely secure - to prepare for a possible cyber attack; helping them do that is an area we are keen to develop further.

5. Everybody’s talking about AI today – give us your hot take on AI and what it means for the public sector. 

I think this year will be when we move beyond the initial excitement of using AI shallow uses like chatbots, and work out the deeper applications of the technology. The early excitement of AI seems to have been about user-facing large-language models answering questions, but there have been a spate of these services which just aren’t reliable. A recent experiment by GOV.UK found a generative AI application was ‘hallucinating’ with wrong answers - that’s just not acceptable when it comes to delivering public services.

We should be moving beyond the chatbots and looking to apply AI for analysis of deep data, for example. There are countless examples in the public sector where AI could provide really useful analysis of deep data - such as quicker diagnoses of medical imaging - we might well see this emerge in 2025. Ultimately, I think AI will come into its own in relation to areas of deep technical expertise. Unlocking the potential of AI comes from being much more specific about how you use it.

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6. What are your priorities for 2025? 

Alongside having that finely-tuned engine I referred to earlier, it’s about building on the growth we’ve enjoyed in 2024. While we have a strong core of UK public sector clients, we are really proud to work internationally and to be able to bring best practice across borders. Our public purpose, our expertise, and our people make us uniquely positioned to work with multilateral institutions, for example. We’ve expanded our commercial sector team this year and building on the great work we’re doing with the likes of BT and M&S, we’re looking to grow this part of the business particularly.

7. What advice do you have for public sector innovators? 

Look far and wide for inspiration and don’t be afraid to explore overseas. There’s a strong international community of people who will be happy to help, and organisations like PD can help you connect into that network. If you really want to innovate, tying innovation to political priorities is going to get you a lot further, so be strategic about where you put your effort. Seize the opportunity that periods of political transition can bring. Although unsettling, they can also provide a huge opportunity for innovation to meet new priorities.

8. Who inspires you today?

Viktoria Itskovych is the CIO of Kyiv City. She is someone who has demonstrated humour, ingenuity and commitment to make better services for citizens under very challenging conditions, and is truly inspirational.