Dr Robin Pharaoh is considered as one of the early pioneers of ethnographic research for research and innovation in public services. He was a key architect of the Wigan Deal.

He now wears many hats with a particular specialism in research and innovation, community engagement, frontline service delivery in local government, digital identity, and digital privacy.

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Public Service Pioneers was a 2021 experiment exploring the virtual event space.

Arbrawf yn 2021 oedd Public Service Pioneers yn archwilio'r gofod digwyddiadau rhithwir.

Find this video on : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGIKkdoiSjKCIx6jP_OS1Iw/videos

Find the PSP Landing page here : https://ylab.wales/PSP2021

This was the PSP opening keynote video. Graham Leicester is the Director of the International Futures Forum. He is also a Senior Advisor to the British Council on governance, innovation, and education.

Bio: https://www.internationalfuturesforum.com/s/42

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Public Service Pioneers was a 2021 experiment exploring the virtual event space.

Arbrawf yn 2021 oedd Public Service Pioneers yn archwilio'r gofod digwyddiadau rhithwir.

Find this video on : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGIKkdoiSjKCIx6jP_OS1Iw/videos

Find the PSP Landing page here : https://ylab.wales/PSP2021

The Public Service Pioneers Podcast features five episodes of some of the most compelling talks captured during a March 2021 Public Service Pioneers event. Each episode is about 20 minutes in length, providing a shortened snapshot of a pre-recorded talk.

This episode is one on two with Mymuna Soleman, the founder of Privilege Café. Mymuna is in conversation with Dr Maha Bali (Co-Facilitator of Equity Unbound and Associate Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo) and Leah Lockhart (Freelance Design Researcher and Co-Facilitator of Design Justice Scotland).

This conversation explores a variety of topics linked with privilege and power and how they intersect and affect public services. It encourages listeners to reflect and question their own position and privilege and think about how they can go beyond being an ally and become an accomplice. Leah Lockhart shares how ‘public services have been created by certain people for certain people and we have a legacy and DNA that we carry with us. Overrepresented people populate public services and many have never been asked about their power and privilege’. This conversation will explore that reality and give listeners suggested next-steps.

The Privilege Café began in 2020. It is an online space to talk about privilege and to formulate actions on how to use privilege for good. This conversation was recorded February 2021. If you’d like to learn more about the Privilege Cafe, Equity Unbound and link with resources such as Lesley Ann Noel Critical Alphabet for design — click here to go to the Miro board where they are located.

The Public Service Pioneers Podcast features five episodes of some of the most compelling talks captured during a March 2021 Public Service Pioneers event. Each episode is about 20 minutes in length, providing a shortened snapshot of a pre-recorded talk.

This episode features Professor Donna Hall CBE, Chair of New Local and the Chief Executive who oversaw the Wigan Deal in conversation with Beverley Barnett Jones MBE, Associate Director for Practice and Impact of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. They agree that the biggest risk public services too often face is the risk of not doing anything.

This conversation is about the mindsets, conditions and values that underpinned the transformation which became the Wigan Deal. The Wigan Deal is lauded for its outcomes and innovative practices, but the road travelled was uncharted. As Prof Hall says herself, it was about ‘crafting a different kind of offer by listening and learning what people really want[ed]’.

This conversation was recorded in December 2020. If you would like to connect with more resources click here. The additional talks include the conversation we recorded between Prof Hall and Dr Robin Pharoah—the anthropologist behind the term ‘blank mind’ and who guided the team in Wigan.

Public Services Pioneers was a virtual experiment into community building that aimed to bring together some of the most interesting voices working to make UK public services better. The content seeks to unite people working in public services, whether designing, delivering or researching.

This episode features Katy McNeil, the founding Programme Director of Connecting Scotland in conversation with Adam Lang, Head of Nesta Scotland. Listen to learn about Connecting Scotland’s unique origins, growth, mindsets, challenges and enablers.

Over the course of their conversation Katy and Adam explore how the belief that ‘if everyone moves online, digital inclusion becomes everyone’s business’ united and galvanized Connecting Scotland’s rapid move from idea to reality: what began as a call in March 2020 then brought 50 people together in April, which then led to 5 million pounds in May, and by early 2021, almost 600 organisations got involved over all 32 Scottish Local Authorities.

This episode featuring Katy and Adam was recorded in January 2021. If you’re interested in reading more about Connecting Scotland and looking through a compilation of the social media posts mentioned click here. If you would like to follow Connecting Scotland’s journey you can continue to do so through their website.

The Public Service Pioneers Podcast features five episodes of some of the most compelling talks captured during a March 2021 Public Service Pioneers event. Each episode is about 20 minutes in length, providing a shortened snapshot of a pre-recorded talk.

The Public Service Pioneers Podcast features five episodes of some of the most compelling talks captured during a March 2021 Public Service Pioneers event. Each episode is about 20 minutes in length, providing a shortened snapshot of a pre-recorded talk.

This episode is the first of two with Mymuna Soleman, the founder of Privilege Café. Mymuna is in conversation with Abu-Bakr Madden Al-Shabazz, a social and cultural historian and managing director of ACAP Academy CIC. Listen to learn about the origins of the Privilege Cafe and explore if and how public services may push out diverse voices.

Mymuna begins the episode by sharing how Privilege Cafe arose from her desire to explore with others what it meant to express herself in a room full of privilege. Since its humble inception the cafe has hosted over XX conversations with hundreds of participants and hosted people from across the globe. The episode continues with Abu-Bakr encouraging listeners to take a historical journey to understand what our public services are linked to and have been built upon.

This episode was recorded in February 2021. If you’d like to learn more about Mymuna, the Privilege Café, Abu-Bakr and his work, visit here.