6—8 March 2019
John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh
Submitter Information
We strongly encourage all submitters to read the following information before submitting your session proposal(s).
This page is also available as a PDF, you can download it here.
About Service Design in Government
Returning for its sixth year, Service Design in Government is the original government service design conference, allowing participants to connect and learn from their peers and leaders in the industry.
The conference has a strong practical focus and attracts industry practitioners and decision-makers involved in the design of digital services.
The event provides three days of inspiring government service design learning from a dynamic mix of stimulating keynotes and practitioners working at at the ever changing edge of the industry.
The event is aimed at people who want skills that they can use and ideas they can share.
Our previous events have attracted people with the following roles:
- Business Architect
- Content Designer
- Delivery Manager
- Designer
- Product designer
- Operations Manager
- Product Manager
- Project Manager
- Service Architect
- Service Designer
- User Researcher
- UX Designer
Session Types
We’re happy for you to stand up and present a session about your experiences or something you’ve done, but we also strongly encourage interactive sessions that generate conversation with the audience, group discussion or hands-on experiences.
Suggested session types:
Case Study
A presentation and discussion of real-life (not theoretical) experiences of the application (or misapplication) of service design techniques. Case studies include some discussion of lessons learned and an indication of how novel the work is.
Hands-On
Participants learn a new approach, tool or technology through using it to solve one or more practical exercises. Please include any software/hardware requirements in the session description.
Tutorial
A session focused around some specific tool, technique or issue. Primarily led by the speaker, tutorials usually include some elements of interactivity or individual/group exercise.
Workshop
An in-depth working session on a specific topic. May include paper presentations.
Discussion
Utilising a more informal format, discussion sessions may be Goldfish bowl, Library, Lean Coffee style or something else that allows the participants to bring thoughts, ideas, questions and problems on your topic or within your defined remit for you to facilitate discussions. Be sure to indicate which type of discussion you propose when submitting.
You can submit as many sessions as you like!
Speaker support
Tickets
We have a limited number of free speaker tickets that we can make available for our events as we have to cover all speaker costs with the income from tickets. We allocate these tickets in relation to session duration as below*.
For 45 minute sessions, only the first named speaker pays no conference fees. Additional speakers must purchase a special low cost ticket.
For 60 or 90 minute sessions, only the first two named speakers will pay no conference fees. Additional speakers must purchase a special low cost ticket.
For sessions longer than 90 minutes, only the first three named speakers will pay no conference fees. Additional speakers must purchase a special low cost ticket.
* If you would like more detail on why we allocate speaker tickets this way, please get in touch.
What's included:
- Participation in the full event programme
- Lunch
- Refreshments on arrival, at scheduled breaks and throughout the day
- Free wi-fi at the conference venue
- Participant pack
Anything not listed above is not included.
Contact us about any specific requests.
Expenses
We aim to cover all speaker travel and accommodation expenses if requested. We provide standard supplies for sessions (post-its, markers, pens, paper and so on) and will cover costs or supply directly any additional materials you require to conduct your session (eg printing). If your session is accepted, we will propose a financial amount to you when we notify you - based on our understanding of your costs to come to the event.
Unfortunately we cannot accept requests for additional financial support after you have agreed that amount and we cannot pay expenses that we haven’t agreed to pay in advance of the event.
Part of the decision on whether to accept a session or not involves considering its financial costs. Please let us know on your session proposal whether you need any financial support to take part in the conference and, if possible, what you need e.g. how many nights accommodation, some indication of where you are travelling from. We can also talk to you about how you could travel and where you could stay.
We want to support all our speakers, so please let us know if you require more information.
Speaker Terms
Session reviews
After the deadline closes, our selection panel reviews anonymised submission information.
The review process usually takes between 3 and 6 weeks depending on the volume of submissions. We’ll contact both successful and unsuccessful candidates within the review period.
Programming
Inclusion of a session in the conference programme will be at the sole discretion of the conference organisers. By agreeing to have your session included in the programme you agree to participate in the conference and in all pre-conference quality control activities as deemed necessary by the conference organisers. You also agree to promote your session and involvement in the build up to the event. We will provide a range of assets to support any promotional efforts
The organisers reserve the right to remove a session from the programme at any time. Speakers no longer included in the programme will no longer be eligible for free entry to the conference and so will have to pay the current non-speaker rate if they wish to participate in the conference.
The organisers will not be responsible for payment of any kind on behalf of the speaker in this event.
Data policy
We need to hold information you provide on computer databases for administrative purposes. Summary information, which could include contact data, will be published for all session leaders.
Information about participants will be made available to organisations involved in administering, organising or supporting the event and this may include organisations outside the EC.
General
The organisers are not responsible for the views or opinions expressed by speakers, sponsors, or other participants.
If you are travelling from outside the EU, you should consider your visa requirements in relation to your visit to the UK and participation in our event.
Becoming a speaker
If you're ready to submit a session for consideration, please visit WeReview.