find out more about One Team Gov Leeds
An update on the OneTeamGov Leeds movement and fortnightly meet-up, which takes place every other Wednesday.
OneTeamGov is a movement about improving public services and changing the way we work.
In many ways, it reminds me of the Global GovJam. There are loose structures, guidelines, principles. The culture makes people feel safe. Safe to share, collaborate, and try new things. No one organisation owns these events, there is freedom to create the future together.
The simple act of different people coming together triggers new actions from new connections — new meet-ups, new moments.
The Leeds movement
Leeds OneTeamGov meet-up started in November 2017. Sharon had been to a London meet-up and thought we could do it here.
Read more in Sharon’s post:
Meet-ups ran in different locations and between September 2018 to February 2019 they ran at Leeds City Council. We then moved to Platform (by Leeds train station) as many people find it easier to get to.
We also ran a Leeds Digital Festival social event and visited DWP at Quarry House.
Meet-ups only last an hour and are not always easy to get to for everyone, so we experiment.
Rochelle from NHS Digital and I ran a OneTeamGov User Research Unconference that came from a need identified at the meet-ups. As Rochelle said: “People, irrespective of organisation or experience, are struggling with the same issues and as a group, we can be a great support for each other.”
Defining moments
This year, people have written lovely things about Leeds meet-ups. This helps us define our value and shape how we might develop future meet-ups.
In January, Azrael, a fast streamer and analyst working in HMRC’s Cyber Security Team at the time, wrote this post:
Azrael spoke of the value of the meet-ups for individuals, teams, and organisations:
“It’s through individuals, through us, that our organisations are connected. To bust silos, we have to build bridges.”
In June, Helen, a Data Scientist at the Food Standards Agency, wrote about attending the meet-ups:
Saying:
“It embeds a confidence and a resolve to bring about change and look for ways to make things better, and a commitment to positive practices such as working in the open, and including everyone in the conversation.”
In July, Tracey, a Business Analyst at DWP Digital, shared:
The post reflects on both Wellbeing Camp and Leeds meet-ups. Tracey feels comfortable at meet-ups and is building new connections with Leeds City Council. She said:
“This has emphasised the need to share and reuse what we know with others to enable more joined-up services for people.”
Future meet-ups
What comes next is up to the group. We plan to visit HMRC, NHS Digital, and hold events at different times and places.
Check out:
For all the information about when and where we will ha holding sessions, and invite friends and colleagues who might be interested in joining us.
We welcome feedback for future meet-ups — and thank everyone involved so far.
