Innovation 2026 to showcase government transformation across two days in London
Civil servants from around the world will convene in London this week to share insights on how governments are transforming how they work to deliver services for citizens and help civil servants work more efficiently and effectively.
Taking place at the Excel Centre in London on 24 and 25 March 2026, Innovation is a unique exhibition and conference that brings together government leaders from across the globe responsible for the transformation and acceleration of their public sector organisations and services.
Across two days, the conference will provide unrivalled insights on government transformation. Sessions will cover themes including innovation in central government, innovation in health, innovation in local government, and innovation in defence, security, cyber and resilience.
Cat Little, civil service chief operating officer and Cabinet Office permanent secretary said she was “excited to be hosting Innovation”, adding: “Once again, this event will bring together public servants from across the UK civil service, wider public service, and from around the world to share examples of innovation, meet their peers and learn from each other.”
In a letter sent to colleagues in January urging them to attend the conference, Little wrote: “Inspired by the success of the last two years, I’m excited to be again hosting and speaking at Innovation. This groundbreaking gathering will again bring together public servants from across the UK civil service, wider public service, and from around the world to share examples of innovation, meet their peers and learn from each other.”
“We want as many of you as possible to join in these discussions, take the opportunity to meet colleagues, share groundbreaking examples of government innovation from around the world and help us be a truly modern civil service,” Little said.
She highlighted that the conference agenda has been steered by the priorities identified through consultation across government and in-depth interviews with permanent secretaries, undertaken as part of Global Government Forum’s study Rewiring the State: Unlocking Government Transformation.
Little will speak on the first day of the conference, providing a keynote speech for public servants, while other sessions on the first day on the central government theme will include a keynote address from Alar Karis, the president of the Republic of Estonia, and plenary sessions on how to build agile governments; driving greater productivity across government; and how government can crack data sharing.
View the full agenda and register to attend here
In the health theme, sessions on the first day will cover topics including how to implement a fresh mandate for digital leadership in the NHS; reducing digital fragmentation in healthcare; and maximising the value from digital health investments.
In the defence theme, sessions on the first day of Innovation include digital transformation in defence to rethink security for the future; smart procurement strategies for defence; and accelerating defence technology adoption.
Innovation 2026 is supported by knowledge partners including diamond partners Visa, Snowflake, Qualtrics; and gold partners CGI, Digital Modus, Salesforce, PA, Nortal, Deloitte, Rainmaker, Hippo, UK Defence Innovation, Thoughtworks, IBM, Tecknuovo, Netcompany, RedRock, AWS, and Global Relay.
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