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Last week, more than 100 engineers and developers from across central and local government came together at Opencast HQ for GovDev North 2026, the northern edition of the Cross-Government Software Engineering Community's conference. In this blog, Francis O'Brien, Senior Software Developer at Opencast, reflects on the day, sharing highlights from the sessions, the conversations that took place, and why communities like GovDev North are so important for supporting and connecting people across government technology teams.

In this blog, Opencast Senior Service Designer Dr Angela Orviz reflects on her presentation at SDinGov 2026, exploring why service designers need a deeper understanding of data and analytics ecosystems. She discusses the shift from siloed transformation to ecosystem thinking, the challenges of data transformation in government, and the role service design can play in supporting more strategic decision-making.

In this blog, Emily Allinson, Head of Capability Development at Opencast, explores the impact of new technology on citizens, the changing nature of their experiences, and the implications for how they engage with government. It takes a forward-looking view, based on the assumption that current trends continue and citizens increasingly turn to AI first when accessing government services and information.