In 2022, only 4% of people were employed in digital roles throughout the public sector, highlighting the need to embrace technology, upskill internally and produce better outcomes for everyone. The way to do it is by employing public sector employees as ‘change agents’.

Usually recruited from within the organisation, change agents help to manage the relationship between the organisation and the individual for a smooth digital transformation. The best change agents have extensive experience in department processes and technology and can offer moral support to those cautious of change.

Full-time change agents can be expensive and may divert some of the best and most productive people from a team. So organisations should make smart decisions about how a change agent programme is staffed, managed and supported.

As part of Microsoft’s Innovate Together programme, the Change Agent programme aims to train at least one person in every public sector service to be a catalyst for change. Delivered through expert training sessions and an online community of UK public sector change agents, the programme will provide a platform for the rapid exchange of ideas and solutions to maximise your journey to digital transformation.

This article offers insights into the powerful role of the change agent and allows you to register for the next Change Agent training programme in June 2023, open to those from Local Government organisations.

Delivering transformation benefits on the ground with a change agent

A change agent supports strategic transformations to deliver benefits locally on the ground. They also act as transformation conduits from a technology and a culture perspective. On one hand, they need to supply the central team with regular progress reports and flag up potential issues. On the other hand, they need to win over colleagues and support them in embracing new technologies and ways of working that may be unfamiliar to many.

Using technology to overcome complexity

Given the right training, change agents can match an organisation’s needs with the technology that it already has and advise on other opportunities. The Change Agent programme provides training on a whole host of transformational technologies such as AI and Power Automate, along with insights into how to leverage the tech you are likely already using day to day, from Microsoft Teams to SharePoint.

The training also equips participants with an understanding of the principles of change, how to lead and support change, different learning styles and meeting accessibility requirements through technology; providing attendees with the confidence, theory and practical examples to embrace and lead change within their own organisations.

Confidence in these ‘softer skills’ is crucial in enabling change within a complex industry, which is why one day in the five-day Change Agent programme option is dedicated to providing attendees with the skills to enable change. This content is delivered by industry experts; supporting colleagues to adopt digital tools requires empathy and an understanding of human psychology as well as knowledge of the products being used.

The programme also offers a bespoke version for managers within local government, providing them with sessions on how to support their teams with change, as well as technology specific sessions. This is imperative to fostering a culture of change through a top-down approach.

What really brings the training to life is the real-world examples of how other public sector organisations have leveraged these technologies as the catalyst for change within their own teams. After completing the sessions, the change agents are invited to join a digital community of alumni to further share best practice, providing access to a wider support network at anytime, anywhere.

Even where organisations across the public sector provide completely different services, most have shared common problems and therefore benefit from understanding what technologies others have implemented to resolve these issues. For example, many have a similar approach to technology-enabled time and task management, automation of document ingestion, and reporting. Collaboration between change agents should therefore be encouraged, even if that means overcoming competitive instincts.

How change agents enable transformations that differ in scale

Whilst all public sector transformations differ in scale and scope, the success of a change agent depends on a close understanding of how people respond to – and eventually accept – the introduction of technology into their working life. Leaning on a community of change agents continues to be an invaluable resource to previous alumni.

Large scale transformations could include the introduction of a new HR system. For a smaller transformation, a change agent might help a local council save time on admin by enabling the adoption of some simple digital tools. The Change Agent training programme looks at a wide range of common problem statements and the technologies that help to address some of those issues, with digital breakout rooms to discuss and collaborate.

The first key to achieving measurable benefits from change lies in finding opportunities for efficiencies that might start small or incrementally but can then scale across an entire organisation. The second key is to persuade colleagues to collaborate with the transformation programme and embrace technologies that empower them to do more with less. This usually begins by showing them that change is possible, even on a small scale. This is why change agents benefit from training in technology acceptance strategies throughout the course.

Acquiring change-agent skills

Change agents can be full-time professionals who are qualified to optimise a large-scale programme, or enthusiastic volunteers who work within their teams to deliver measurable results on the ground.

Giving these proactive individuals a forum to update their skills and coordinate their efforts adds value to any organisation’s transformation effort by enhancing its collective intelligence. In other words, a coalition of change agents is greater than the sum of its parts.

Change agents can benefit from learning new skills and putting them into practice at the same time. This is often more efficient than attempting to accelerate onboarding with an intense training schedule at the outset. Enabling new recruits to gradually build their confidence through practice lessens the risk of overwhelming them with too much information. Not all change agents are volunteers; some are nominated by their manager to gather insights on the transformation programme, or to develop their career.

The Microsoft Change Agent programme

This free programme is a national initiative designed to support local and regional government (LRG) in its digital transformation efforts. It is open to Microsoft customers, and offers a five-day version aimed at the ‘change agents’ within an LRG organisation, and a two-day version for managers.

The training employs industry experts from Microsoft and Socitm, and experienced local authority staff to help prepare delegates in theories of change, using a wide variety of Microsoft technologies to address common industry problem statements. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn and engage with others in similar roles across LRG. The programme also provides an opportunity for participants to join a collaborative network of Change Agent alumni practitioners, while learning about digital transformation technologies such as Power Platform, Power Automate, and Power BI.

Read more about our Change Agent programme and partnership with Socitm in the Financial Times – Equip the public sector with digital skills for better government.

Find out more

Microsoft Learn for government
Microsoft Adoption Score
Microsoft Enterprise Skills Initiative
Digital Skills Hub

About the author

I am an Account Technology Strategist (ATS) at Microsoft, with an MSc in managing and leading IT systems change. I help customers understand how Microsoft products can solve business problems, and I lead the Change Agent programme within the Innovate Together programme. I’m passionate about technology acceptance and supporting scalable, sustainable change across public services.

The post Digital public services: How to drive transformation with change agents appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

In March, we rolled out Microsoft Teams for free to assist throughout COVID-19. Recently, the NHS announced it chooses Microsoft 365 to create a truly joined-up service. Both of these mean that innovations such as Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist are far easier to adopt and use. A core requirement for Dynamics 365 Remote Assist is Microsoft Teams. Therefore, having the licenses and end-user adoption has allowed NHS Trusts to start deploying in days with limited friction. Often those familiar with HoloLens will say to others, “It’s heads-up Teams” and there is an immediacy of understanding.

Built-in security

To deploy new technology during challenging conditions, it was critical that its security met the needs of the NHS. Being natively integrated with Microsoft security technologies (like Azure Active Directory), the HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist can provide a security solution for connectivity. Leveraging Microsoft Intune to provide remote Mobile Device Management to easily configure and manage the devices. Azure Active Directory Conditional Access helps secure user access to the service. These allowed the NHS to meet their security needs whilst providing an excellent end user experience.

Conditional Access meant that the staff using the device could pick up a headset and have the minimum number of username/password prompts to quickly get working, whilst keeping the account secure with Multi-Factor Authentication against unwanted authentication attempts. Additionally, Microsoft Intune provided the ability to restrict the applications on the device to only a permitted list (Multi-app Kiosk Mode) to both minimise training time, and increase device security. Connectivity to the internet was achieved by using existing Wi-Fi networks with Microsoft Intune deploying security PSK or certificate based Wi-Fi profiles to the devices as appropriate for the secured networks available in the use locations.

It’s all about the data…

With any system collecting video or audio data, strict data governance requirements come into play to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality. Since the NHS had already adopted Microsoft Teams, this was simple to achieve. All the video and audio data collected through Dynamics 365 Remote Assist is subject to the same regulatory processing and storage requirements as Microsoft Teams. This means that the solution can be approved with the data protection teams confidently. They know that the data would be protected and meet the requirements already approved and in place.

Licences Required:

To implement the above design one of the following sets of licences is required:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist
• and ONE of the following
  1. Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3
     • OR
  2. Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security (EM+S) E3
     • OR
  3. Azure Active Directory Premium P1 AND Microsoft Intune AND a suitable Microsoft Teams licence (for example Office 365 E3)

Best practice tips

Colin Brown, CCIO at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has shared that to support the purchasing of the HoloLens 2, a key enabler was digital leader discussions. Because they already have a full Microsoft tech stack, the IT department commitment was straightforward. They had early expert engagement with their Infection Prevention Team so were able to develop a standard operating protocol. This was to ensure the headset could be protected and cleaned in a virus-laden clinical environment.

Some additional great tips:

• Ensure a good deployment of Office 365 and Microsoft Teams.
• Ensure good co-design of use cases in acute provider, community, wider health and care systems, and between clinical leaders and IT.
• Develop conversations with consultant enthusiasts and digital leaders.
• Spend the time to get the first couple of end-users up and running on their first Dynamics 365 Remote Assist call. Once they have done a couple, they’ll start using it consistently.

How do you acquire HoloLens?

We have partnered with Insight who are one of our key mixed reality partners and an authorised reseller of the HoloLens 2. They can also advise on solutions, provide deployment, and managed services alongside custom development for apps on the HoloLens 2.

Insight’s Dynamics 365 Remote Assist Fast Start offering for the NHS

Insight has packaged the best practices and created a free Remote Assist Fast Start for NHS organisations who purchase HoloLens 2 through Insight.

This is designed for organisations considering Dynamics 365 Remote Assist with HoloLens 2, with mobile devices, or have HoloLens but haven’t started to actively deploy. The goal is to help get you going with minimum fuss. They’ll be using the best practices that we have garnered to get you up and running quickly.

This includes an introduction to HoloLens 2, Dynamics 365 Remote Assist overview, typical use cases in healthcare, technical considerations, and licenses. In addition, they will work to understand where you are at in your Teams deployment, walking you through steps for implementation.

Most importantly, they will take you through the HoloLens 2 out of the box experience, through to your first Dynamics 365 Remote Assist call.

Once you get set-up through this process, we will look forward to integrating you into the NHS Teams collaboration site that we have, for community Q&A and in sharing best practices.

Find out more

How HoloLens and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist helps the NHS provide patient care

Defining and implementing Dynamics 365 Remote Assist use cases

Measuring patient and clinical effectiveness

What’s next: How can other NHS Trusts get involved?

About the author

Leila has been working on the commercial mixed reality business for the last five years and is based in the UK. She’s been working with some of the most advanced customers and partners in the world, helping them identify, pilot and deploy technologies that have a profound ability to transform their business.

Prior to joining the mixed reality team, she held several senior positions at Microsoft including leading consumer and commercial business units such as Server & Tools and Windows in the UK and Central & Eastern Europe.

The post HoloLens and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist: What technology is needed to get started? appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

As a digital agency, we specialise in voice and TV app development, but with a focus on research and development. During the hack, we learnt some valuable lessons. We wanted to share these to help other digital agencies and businesses who want to use their expertise for environmental good but aren’t sure where to start.

Identify the problem

It is no secret that the UK loves a takeaway. The delivery market has been booming in recent years, especially due to popular delivery services like Deliveroo, UberEats, and JustEat. Recently, these services have seen an even bigger surge, and have been providing a valuable service delivering groceries and essentials items to people across the country.

An often overlooked downside to takeaways and deliveries is the huge amounts of packaging waste generated by the industry. There’s often an array of cardboard boxes, polystyrene trays, and plastic containers leftover after ordering.

Government data shows that recycling figures are actually falling. One of the barriers to recycling is the confusion of what can and can’t be recycled. This is made more difficult as local councils and boroughs each have different rules and processes.

Finding the solution with AI

We wanted to use our tech expertise to benefit the environment. We also wanted to explore AI capabilities as a solution. As the increase of disposable takeaway containers continues to grow, our team thought about ways to engineer solution to help the public recycle.

That’s when we came up with Sort It Out. A chatbot that would tell users how to recycle their takeaway containers by analysing a photo. It would integrate an API with Azure AI services to make it easy and fun for people to access information on how best to get rid of their rubbish. In turn, it would encourage them to dispose of that waste responsibly and sustainably.

At the hack event, FX Digital set out to create a working API that would integrate with Microsoft’s Azure Cognitive Services. Here they discovered different ways to deploy Microsoft AI to create a sustainable solution to this environmental issue.

Deploying Microsoft AI effectively

First, the team built an API that retrieves the user’s coordinates. It then determines the area where the user is currently located using a popular map app and Postcode API.

Next, the team trawled the internet for as many different images of different takeaway packaging as they could find, from cardboard pizza boxes to polystyrene kebab trays. The team used these to train the AI model to recognise different packaging types.

They used Azure Blob storage services to temporarily store imagery submitted by users. Doing this reduces the size of the calls being done across multiple APIs. If these images were permanently stored, they could also be used to retrain the model and advance its machine learning. However, the team instead opted for a data dump of different container types. We did think about storing user images, but GDPR constraints may impact the storage of this data so opted out of that method.

The API was further developed to analyse a dataset and determine whether or not the container is recyclable in the user’s current borough, by pulling through information from local council websites. This presented a challenge, because the information on council websites is updated regularly. Unfortunately councils in the UK do not have an API that is easy to browse. Instead it is all consolidated in one csv file (our dataset) which the team pulled from the government database. Without the time to develop a more advanced solution, the csv file had to be added and updated manually.

Finally, we developed the function to analyse the picture sent by the user to the chatbot. Here, they used Azure’s Cognitive Services Custom Vision. Utilising AI to determine what type of container the object is (e.g. box, cup, bottle) and what material it is made of (e.g. cardboard, glass, plastic) and then tell the user how they can dispose of the rubbish.

Moving forward

We learned valuable lessons from experimenting with AI. We realised this technology could be deployed to create innovative solutions. With the growth of the takeaway industry showing no sign of abating, the environmental burden must be shared by the takeaway industry, the Government and ourselves, the consumer. We all have the responsibility to ensure that we dispose of our waste responsibly and recycle as much as possible.

During the Microsoft hack event, the FX Digital team was able to utilise AI to create an API which is now being used to develop the Sort It Out chatbot. Although environmental projects are not FX Digital’s core business, we realised through this experience that we can use our expertise and AI technology to provide a service that could make a real difference to the environment.

Since finishing the hackathon, the team have been inspired to use their Friday afternoon personal development time to see the project through to completion. The ultimate goal is to have a chatbot that gives the user a smooth and informative experience, leading to better information and an increase in recycling. This chatbot could be used by delivery services to promote recycling with their users.

Sort It Out has inspired our team to use AI to benefit society in a small way. We hope other businesses may be inspired to do the same.

Find out more

Learn more about FX Digital and follow updates about Sort It Out

4 skills organisations can embrace to use AI for social good

Discover more ways AI can be used for social good

Sign the Partner Pledge to drive a sustainable and ethical tech sector

Tools to empower your development team

Watch the on-demand session: The 8 principles of sustainable software engineering

Listen to the Environmental Variables podcast series 

About the author

Ramsey is the Marketing Manager at FX Digital, a digital agency specialising in TV and Voice App Development. Working in an agency obsessed with Research and Development, you will often find him writing articles about the latest and greatest developments in new and emerging tech, from Voice technology to Connected TV, AR and AI. Ramsey and the team at FX Digital are always seeking new ways to solve complex issues. He believes marketing is a powerful tool to educate and inform, as well as spark debate and discussion, hoping that it results in innovation.

The post How to use AI to promote environmental sustainability appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

In July, I began a new role at Microsoft, which has meant that I have spent most of the summer feeling like the new girl at school.

It can be an unsettling feeling, after a long time knowing exactly what to do in almost every situation, to suddenly feeling that you know very little. Almost nothing makes sense and you’re quite unsure of where you can add value.

It is, however, also incredibly exciting (not to mention quite tiring!) to spend most of every day learning.

Be a learn-it-all not a know-it-all

Microsoft’s embrace a ‘learn-it-all’ culture – as opposed to a ‘know-it-all’ – encourages everyone to regularly take time out of our working week to learn something new, and experiment with innovative ideas.

We know these might fail. But even in failure, we’ll have learnt something. Whilst we have been living this growth mindset culture for some years now, it’s rare that we get the opportunity to be immersed in learning almost all the time.

Whilst most of us in the Western world have been fortunate enough to have access to education, globally, it remains out of reach for 72 million children – 54% of them girls. These girls can only dream of the most basic education, let alone worrying about ‘upskilling for the future’.

But upskilling for the future is essential if we’re to harness the value that technology offers us. Already, we’re beginning to see how technology like digital whiteboards is transforming the classroom experience. I have colleagues working to improve education from the ground up in remote areas. And, in my extended role as Vice-Chair of the Women@Microsoft UK board, I’m proud to be able to help introduce new learning opportunities to women here in the UK, both inside and outside Microsoft.

Introducing Data Science bootcamps

I’m not only passionate about encouraging personal development in others. Here at Microsoft, I’m privileged to be able to continue my own learning journey.

The Internet of Things is one area I’ve focused on, learning about the technical aspects behind this incredible, transformative technology. Not only that, I’ve written my very first machine learning model, taken a neuroscience leadership course, and have completed the second module of my Social Psychology degree.

Not everyone has access to these learning opportunities. I wanted to bring some of them to women across the UK – and that idea led us to our Data Science Bootcamps. Launched on International Women’s Day, these bootcamps were designed to give women a first step into the world of data science. I did this for two reasons: I wanted to bring the learning from the inside out, and also there are simply not enough data scientists in the UK for us to really leverage the data-driven world we now live in.

We held nine bootcamps across eight locations. 660 women applied for positions. With only room for 100, we accepted 120, expecting a drop out, and 96 turned up. Of the 96 people that attended, 52 have completed at least their first certificate in Microsoft’s online data science course. Some have gone on to complete many more, and are well on their way to their first qualification in the subject.

Of course, there’s a lot more to data science than an online course of 10 modules, but this gives learners the basics from which to build.

As Maggie Woodward, who attended the Glasgow bootcamp, hosted by our partner, Incremental Group told us:

‘Although this module, and the rest that make up the Microsoft certification in Data Science, can be studied online, it was far more beneficial to attend this bootcamp to learn and share with like-minded peers, as well as hear the experiences of senior women in the field of data science. The staff and office at Incremental were very welcoming, and although we covered a lot, it didn’t feel rushed. It was great to get the certificate of completion, and a proud addition to my CPD. Best of all, a few months after attending, my employer advertised an opportunity for a Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science. Armed with my learning from the bootcamp, as well as the industry knowledge from our hosts, I created a strong application that was accepted. I’m looking forward to starting my degree this September.’

Skilling up for the future

Our ultimate goal with these bootcamps is to enable women returning to work, or transferring from other fields, to learn a new skill, and find a new role somewhere in the world of tech.

While these positions exist at Microsoft HQ, working with our partners means those attending the events could look for local work in these fields. Whilst the women who attended these events have been busy continuing their studies at home, we’ve been planning a series of ‘Careers Fairs’ with each of the partners that hosted an event. This gives them an opportunity to re-engage with their host partner, understand more about potential available roles, get CV tips and advice, and generally set themselves up to pursue a career in data science.

Our initial Data Science Bootcamps were very much a pilot scheme. We’ve learnt so much from these events – because, after all, we do see every experience as an opportunity to learn – and we’re now keen to give even more women a boost in the tech world.

If you like the sound of exploring data science and would be interested in attending a future bootcamp, email womenindatascience@microsoft.com.

Until the next bootcamp, I’m going back to an online course learning more about IoT Edge and Azure Sphere. I hope you have the opportunity to learn something today, this week or this month. If you don’t know where to start, Microsoft Learn is a great first step!

Find out more

Microsoft Learn

AI Business School

Digitally transforming Healthcare: Learn the how to, the what and the why

What we get wrong about people

How to navigate squiggly careers in today’s digital workplace

About the author

Ella is a business development manager for IoT at Microsoft EMEA, where she also enjoys an additional role as Vice-Chair of the Women @ Microsoft UK board. Working in technology, Ella spent a lot of time in the early part of her career being the only woman in the room. Determined to re-address the balance in any way she can, Ella is passionate about creating inclusive environments, harnessing the power of both genders, and inspiring the next generation into technology. She is a STEM Ambassador and a Modern Muse. 

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