Festival of Innovation 2026

The world is moving fast. Global shifts, technological disruption, and sky-high citizen expectations are rewriting the rulebook for public services. Governments are under pressure to deliver not just faster and fairer services, but ones that are more inclusive, secure, sustainable, and future-ready. The challenge? Leading with purpose while delivering tangible wins that people can actually feel. 

  

Innovation in government today goes beyond modernising legacy systems. It is about creating trust, unlocking long-term value, and putting people and purpose at the heart of every decision. It means equipping public servants with the skills, confidence, and creativity to navigate change, harness AI and digital technologies responsibly, strengthen cyber resilience, and design services that meet the evolving needs of citizens, communities, and cities. 

  

GovInsider’s Festival of Innovation 2026 brings together visionaries, doers, and disruptors from across the public sector for two days of bold ideas, real talk, and hands-on collaboration. Across keynotes, panels, rapid roundtables, and interactive workshops, we will tackle the big challenges: breaking down silos, scaling micro-innovations, designing human-centric services, advancing sustainability, and building coalitions that span ministries, agencies, and communities. 

 

This conference will explore burning questions such as: 

• How can we drive bold innovation in a risk-averse, bureaucratic environment? 

• What leadership mindset will help public services thrive in 2030 and beyond? 

• How can governments innovate at scale without exhausting teams or losing public trust? 

• How do we build a workforce ready to embrace and champion new ways of working? 

• How do we ensure innovation benefits every citizen, not just the digitally savvy? 

 

Key audience profiles: 

1. Frontliners - Committed to customer service, public facing interactions and daily operations.

2. Policy Geeks - Focusing on regulation, public policy, governance, ethics and public trust. 

3. Thinkers and strategists - Setting the innovation agenda within the public sector in accordance to national goals. 

4. Techies - Leading the development of systems, digital infrastructure and cyber security, project owners.