Turning the Spotlight on Mental Health during a Global Pandemic
Mental health during COVID-19. Well, there’s a topic I didn’t anticipate writing about this year. The current global atmosphere may feel like the opening credits of an apocalyptic thriller, however despite ‘Contagion’, and ‘I am Legend’ trending on Netflix, there is one storyline Hollywood forgot to narrate. The unscripted little brother to any global health crisis; its […]
Patterns and insights for distributed design teams
Paper by Philip Cash, Elies Dekoninck, and Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen Distributed design teams are commonplace, with globalisation, where parts of the value chain are offshored or outsourced. Today, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-co-located design teams are everywhere. Shared understanding is central to a design team’s performance and to the success of distributed development […]
Empowering key workers in the NHS
What do frontline NHS workers need to use their time more effectively – especially in this COVID-19 crisis? A way to cut through red-tape and quickly communicate their needs to those who can help. In partnership with Ropes & Gray and Methods Analytics, we have built a prototype for a simple communication tool: a survey […]
Digital Transformation – Time to burn the boats?
In a new blog article published at Digital Leaders, Professor Alan Brown asks whether the recent acceleration in digital transformation is a significant permanent step forward or a temporary blip. Here is a short introduction: ——————– The global economy is struggling to cope with the unprecedented challenges of the last few weeks as we proceed […]
Innovation in a time of crisis is all about speed…but also requires direction
An important and thoughtful piece this week by Roan Conway from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) reminding us that speed is just one of the levers for innovation. https://medium.com/iipp-blog/purpose-driven-innovation-in-a-time-of-covid-19-296e9d05cb He points out that a lot of the rhetoric from the UK government is quite rightly about the urgent need for […]
Call for proposals for DEAS Network+ Covid-19 Charity/Voluntary Sector Projects 2020
The DEAS Network+ are inviting proposals for Covid-19 related Digitally Enhanced Advanced Services (DEAS) based research with the potential for rapid impact in the voluntary and charity sector. Proposals should be up to £5k (FEC) with projects lasting 6 months or less. Proposals may come from any discipline. An explanatory webinar will take place on […]
Post-COVID: re-organising Localism around 3 digital principles
On Tuesday, I keynoted a senior leadership session for Birmingham City Council. The session was for leaders, councillors, and senior executives – about 35 in total – to discuss post-COVID re-organisation and management. We discussed a range of pressing issues confronting the Council. These included: data trusts, data security, supply chain resilience, efficiencies, and cross-silo […]
Helping Out in Digital Jersey’s COVID-19 Challenge
We are delighted to announce that Professor Alan Brown has been announced as a judge in Digital Jersey’s COVID-19 hackathon taking place this week. Professor Brown joins a distinguished panel that will be assessing the entries to decide who is awarded support from a £30,000 prize pool. Jersey is home to many skilled digital professionals […]
Community and Public Service Post-COVID
On 17th April I participated in a TechUK panel of people considering the impact COVID-19 is having on local public services, together with the themes that will be very important in shaping our Place-based post-COVID future. I was joined by Paul Brewer, Director for Digital & Resources, Adur & Worthing Councils, Helen Gerling, Managing Director, […]
Living through a digital revolution – what’s next for large established organisations?
Just published at Digital Leaders, Professor Alan Brown has been considering the implications of the current crisis on digital transformation at Large Established Organizations (LEOs). For LEOs the impact of moving to digital ways of working is a complex journey. With all such change, major barriers must be addressed, especially for LEOs. Overcoming inertia, dealing […]
