OneTeamGov One Team Gov

We chat to Sam Shah; Director of Digital Development at NHS England, and part of NHSX - a new unit driving forward the digital transformation of health and social care.
Starting his professional life as a clinician, Sam chats to us about his experiences in the health service and what inspired him to take special interest in technology. We hear about his work in the private sector, where he learned from how the retail, banking, and communications sectors tackled common issues around digitisation.
We talk about Sam’s passion for public health, and improving outcomes for patients by focusing on what matters to users. Sam shares his thoughts on the value of service design in policymaking, and the importance of influencing he mechanisms behind public services.
Finally, we hear what happened behind the scenes after Kylie challenged the requirements on an NHS job description, and why Sam was so determined to help the health service be as inclusive as possible!

We chat to Molly Watt, Accessibility and Usability Consultant at Sigma.

Molly has Usher Syndrome, a genetic condition that leads to deaf blindness, which she developed at a young age. We hear from Molly about her experiences of school as someone with accessibility needs, and the challenges she experienced with inaccessible ways of teaching. We get an insight into her trip to Apple HQ in Cupertino, and why this inspired her to pursue a career in accessibility consultancy.

We learn about the importance of inclusive design in web services, and why people need to stop associating accessibility with disability. Molly shares her passion for helping people, and we hear how the Molly Watt Trust charity is helping many people with usher syndrome to access the technology they need.

An must listen for anyone designing and delivering inclusive public services!

We chat to Julia Salasky, founder and CEO at CrowdJustice; a crowd funding platform working to democratise justice by helping people access the courts and the legal system. 
A graduate of prestigious universities, and a former “magic circle” lawyer, Julia tells us about why she decided to leave her enviable career as a lawyer for the United Nations to found her own tech startup. We how her experiences working in the justice system inspired her to do something radically different, in using technology to disrupt the traditional market.
We hear what it was like to be a pregnant solo female founder, and how Julia embraced this as as asset in working with investors. Julia shares her thoughts on diverse hiring and on tackling the underrepresentation  in the legal sector. Finally, we find out whether working in law really is like being in Ally McBeal!

We chat to Vimla Appadoo, Service Designer at FutureGov and organiser of SheSaysManchester. A rising young star in the U.K digital and technology sector, Vim is passionate about the tech for good agenda and bringing user-centred services to the forefront of public sector innovation.

We hear about Vim founding her consultancy at the age of 21, and discuss the disparity in how young men and women experience their early careers. We explore the application of service design methodologies in government and why it's important to be conscious of power and privilege.

And finally, we take inspiration from hip hop legend 2Pac and grime artist Stormzy, and hear about Vim's adventures in boxing and powerlifting. An energising start to your weekend!

We chat to Aimee Whitcroft, Open Data Establishment Lead at the New Zealand Transport Agency, and co-founder of GovWorks NZ. Beginning her career in science and academia, we hear about Aimee’s passion for knowledge and continual learning.

With an impressive energy for side hustles, we chat about Aimee’s many community projects including organising open source meet-ups, government hacks, and Nerd Nite events. An advocate of ethical and human-centred technology, we discuss what it means to embed kindness in our smart cities, and rebalance societal power structures.

And finally, Aimee shares an amazing story of how she became one of the first women to drive the full 11,000 miles of the Mongol Rally - what better way to start off your weekend than with inspiration for adventure!

We chat to Areeq Chowdhury, founder of WebRoots Democracy and Head of Think Tank for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology at Future Advocacy.

Beginning his career in U.K. government and Parliament, we hear what inspired Areeq to found his think tank WebRoots Democracy at the age of 21. Areeq shares his expertise on the topic of online voting, and argues for the urgency of engaging the modern generation of voters in political participation.

We discuss the role of technology, social media, and artificial intelligence in shaping recent elections, and how the balance of power is shifted towards the individual by providing independent and secret means to vote. Areeq also highlights the role of accessibility in providing fair and inclusive access to democracy.

Finally, we get Areeq’s thoughts on what he would change about U.K. parliament, and add AOC to our official OneTeamGov drinking game. MLF, you’ve got company!