Transform Gov - the digital government podcast

Episode Highlights:
Crisis Management: Maria's resilience was tested through the COVID crisis and the Ukrainian refugee crisis, where she played a pivotal role in managing the response efforts. Tune in to hear how she used "energy buckets" to build team resilience.
Data Security Challenges: Discussing the ongoing data security issues faced by the HSE, Maria underscores the inevitability of cyber threats and the critical role of the CISO.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration: The Ukrainian refugee crisis required seamless collaboration across multiple departments and organisations, including EY and Microsoft. Discover the complexities of aligning diverse teams to support refugees, such as ensuring access to cancer treatment centres.
Managing Expectations: With a large stakeholder group, prioritising needs and managing expectations were crucial. Maria highlights the importance of plain English communication and open conversations to align everyone's efforts.
AI in Healthcare: Maria emphasises that AI must be driven by clinicians to support healthcare effectively. She shares her involvement with Spunout, a charity using AI to support young people's mental health. She also tell us about the innovative Fastrack to IT apprenticeship program.

💡 Key Takeaways:
The human element is the hardest and most important part of major projects, requiring honest communication and alignment.
Data quality and governance are foundational for successful AI initiatives.
The importance of practical education pathways, like tech apprenticeships, to bridge skills gaps and support lifelong learning.

Join us as Maria McCann shares her invaluable experiences and insights into the world of digital transformation in government

Find out more www.digitalgovawards.com
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How do you redesign a public service used by people from almost every country in the world?

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Paul Rooney and Roshan Wijesinghe from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration about the Department’s digital contact centre for immigration services.

This is a story about far more than technology.

The Department was dealing with high volumes of applications, fragmented helpdesks, repeated queries, multiple languages, anxious users and staff under pressure. The response was not simply to “build a portal”. It was to redesign the service around users, staff, language, culture, trust and delivery.

The conversation explores:
Why the project was service-design-led, not technology-led
How the Department moved towards a more joined-up applicant view
Why translation is not the same as localisation
How plain English, tone of voice and visuals helped make the service easier to use
How personas helped the team understand both immigration applicants and internal staff
How Microsoft Dynamics, automation and AI-supported tools are helping staff manage information and queries
Why AI is not being used to make immigration decisions
How identity verification helped tackle appointment-booking abuse
Why business-led change management was critical
What other public sector teams can learn from the project

For CIOs, digital leaders, service designers, customer service teams and anyone working on AI or transformation in the public sector, this is a practical look at what digital government really requires: clear purpose, better data, better communication, staff involvement and strong safeguards.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more at www.digitalgovawards.com

Digital government, public sector transformation, Department of Justice, immigration services, AI in government, public sector AI, Microsoft Dynamics, digital contact centre, service design, multilingual services, digital identity, change management, GovTech, Ireland eGovernment Awards, Transform Gov, customer service, public service reform
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What if your next hospital appointment happened from your kitchen table?

In Part 2 of Transform Gov, Professor Derek O'Keeffe explains how Ireland is using digital technology to rethink healthcare delivery — from remote islands to nursing homes, prisons and beyond.

You'll hear how:

*Patients can be monitored safely at home.
*Chronic diseases can be managed before emergencies happen.
*Virtual hospitals are reducing unnecessary admissions.
*AI and robotics could become everyday healthcare tools.

This isn't science fiction.

It's already happening.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more about the Ireland eGovernment Leadership Summit and Awards at:
www.digitalgovawards.com

If you enjoy the episode, please like, subscribe and share.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:33 Why chronic disease is changing healthcare
04:49 Why hospitals aren't designed for chronic illness
07:24 The idea behind the virtual hospital
09:44 Monitoring patients at home
10:58 Virtual wards explained
15:20 The island healthcare project
17:06 Why islands became the perfect test bed
18:37 A patient, a ferry and lambing season
20:06 Scaling the project across Ireland
21:41 Nursing homes, prisons and remote care
24:23 International interest from Australia
25:21 AI, robotics and the future of healthcare
27:48 Why innovation requires resilience
29:02 Final thoughts
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What if the biggest challenge in healthcare wasn't medicine...

...but getting the right people to work together?

In Part 1 of this fascinating conversation, Professor Derek O'Keeffe — consultant endocrinologist, engineer and founder of the Hive Lab at the University of Galway — explains why solving healthcare problems often starts outside the hospital.

From delivering medicines by drone after Storm Ophelia, to creating smart connected medical devices and bringing engineers and clinicians together, this is a story about practical innovation that is already changing lives.

In this episode:
• Why Derek calls himself a "physicianeer"
• Why healthcare is full of engineering problems
• The remarkable drone medicine delivery project
• Why regulation is often a bigger challenge than technology
• The story behind the "digital stent"
• Why the best innovations start with a real human problem

This isn't a conversation about gadgets.

It's about using technology to make public services work better.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more about this year's Leadership Summit and Awards at:
www.digitalgovawards.com

If you enjoy the episode, please like, subscribe and share.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:35 What is a "physicianeer"?
03:20 From engineering to medicine
05:12 Why healthcare is full of problems to solve
08:15 Why technology isn't the difficult part
10:48 "The technology is easy. The people are hard."
11:24 The idea that led to medicine delivery by drone
13:18 Aviation, pharmacy and regulation
16:05 Building the Hive Lab
18:42 Collaboration between engineers and clinicians
21:15 The digital stent project
24:10 The garden hose moment
26:40 Why innovation often stays in the drawer
28:50 Making technology work for people
31:00 Final thoughts
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Justin Gleeson explains how a small team from government, Maynooth University and Ordnance Survey Ireland came together in March 2020 to create the platform that millions of us watched every evening behind Tony Holohan.
A fascinating story about what can happen when technology, data and public service all pull in the same direction.
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