How to get the *un* into *awards* #PDDAwards15

How to get the *un* into *awards* #PDDAwards15

by | Jul 5, 2015 | #PDDAwards15 | 1 comment

An unconference is a participant-led event that rejects the trappings of conventional conferences (such as sponsored presentations and top-down organisation) and whose content is generated by the people who participate. A typical format is an agenda set collaboratively at the beginning of the event and without a hierarchy of speakers at the podium. I’ve been using this format for a number of years now and find its generative and equitable nature both appealing and productive. I’ve written previously about value of the unconference format here. Putting the *un* into awards So as a lover of the unconference, I was most intrigued when comms2point0 ran their inaugural unawards in 2014 in the spirit of having an event that was accessible, fun and a little bit out of the ordinary. Inspired by the idea of unAawards and keen to support a growing community of ground up digital innovators a, who don’t often get the limelight, the People Driven Digital unAwards #PDDAwards15 were born. The lovely Anne Cooper and I joined forces and got to work convincing organisations to help us out with some modest sponsorship to cover our costs and help make it happen. There were a few things that we important to us – an event that was simple to enter, judged by peers, free to attend (recognising that people would have to get there under their own steam which was tricky for a few) was informal and was fun. The awards created a focal point, but we were equally keen to get people along to collaborate, share and learn, as well as be inspired. We wanted the entrepreneurial spark...
#PdDigital15 – next steps in serendipity

#PdDigital15 – next steps in serendipity

by | Jun 17, 2015 | #PdDigital15, NHS stuff | 0 comments

Towards the end of 2014 a question start niggling, and then an idea started brewing, and then that idea emerged into a fully formed thing (well an event to be precise) in May. You can find out more about #PdDigital15 and where it all started here. There wasn’t a grand plan for #PdDigital15 and its meandering journey has been informed as much by serendipity as by design. At the core of this path has been the central question: How can we unleash people driven digital health and wellbeing? It was this question that framed #PdDigital15 the event and it is also at the heart of the white paper that Michael Seres and I launched at a breakfast session at the King’s Fund Digital Health and Care Congress today. You can find my Prezi presentation here. The central point Michael and I endeavoured to convey is the message that burst out of #PdDigital15 conversations loud and clear – there is a groundswell of people who want to influence, collaborate, inform and codesign digital in health and care; there is need to balance regulation with support for creativity and ground up innovation; the system needs to recognise, support and enable this to happen but not dominate or own it; tensions between the disruptive potential of people led digital and the more conservative tendencies of services need to acknowledged and power shared. You can find the white paper and summary version here. We are taking our learning on tour during the rest of this year and if you’d like it to drop in to your event then do get in...
How does people-driven digital square up to NHS-led digital? #PdDigital15

How does people-driven digital square up to NHS-led digital? #PdDigital15

by | Apr 15, 2015 | #PdDigital15 | 0 comments

How does people-driven digital square up to NHS-led digital? This was a question considered by Paul Hodgkin in his final Power to the People column for E-Health Insider. You can find the full article here and below are a few snippets that illuminate some of the themes we are likely to be considering at #PdDigital15.   Citizen outspend the NHS on digital We spend a lot less in the NHS on digital technology that we do as citizens: So what have I learned? One signature theme is that NHS IT years are the reverse of dog years – if each human year is equal to seven dog’s years then the stuff that happens in the world of NHS IT is about 1/7th of that achieved by the citizenry. Just look at how much the NHS spends on IT kit compared with the citizenry. During the Connecting for Health campaign, the NHS spent around £1 billion per year on IT.   Meanwhile, the people – that’s you and me and pretty much everyone else – was spending a minimum of £400 per household per year on phones, broadband, tablets and PCs. With 25 million households that works out at a cool £100 billion over the same decade. NHS £1: Citizens £10.   Citizens doing it for ourselves Whilst the NHS is wrestling with huge barriers and challenges to digital technologies, citizens are doing it all anyway: Information governance, systems that don’t talk to each other, cultures that clash, organisations that compete when they should collaborate – all these are the very stuff of high transaction costs; which is just a...
Why people-driven digital health and wellbeing? #PdDigital15

Why people-driven digital health and wellbeing? #PdDigital15

by | Mar 29, 2015 | #PdDigital15 | 1 comment

Towards the end of last year I offered to run a session on people/citizen-led digital health for the Health 2.0 Europe which took place in London. My suggestion came about because I spent much of 2014 encountering many amazing digital entrepreneurs, but when it came to conferences they were rarely to be seen on the podium or as sponsors or with stands. We know that digital tools and services have to be born out of user-centred design approaches if they’re going to stand a chance of success; but we also need people accessing services to be shaping the discussion at conferences and events too. So back to Health 2.0… it took no time at all to pull together an amazing panel of people who had all developed digital tools and services out of their personal experience. The tracker session was full to the rafters and we had a lively and stimulating discussion as well as tons of interest in what our panel had to say.  This experience gave us an idea… why not shape an event entirely around the experiences and motivations of people who have done digital innovation from the ground up. Why not ask the question ‘how can the NHS unleash people-driven digital health and wellbeing?’ and see if we can collectively find answers to help shape the strategic direction of digital in health and social care and beyond. We chose the word people because this is all about everyday people sorting out everyday problems that they have directly experienced. We chose the word driven because it is people in the driving seat and many are really...