Digital Leader of the Year

I am passionate about delivering meaningful social impact. With 15 years’ experience in-house at charities, leading digital transformation and user-centred design, I’m proud to head up the third sector portfolio at Healthia (formerly Mace & Menter). I work alongside a talented team with a shared goal: creating better experiences to deliver better outcomes.

Throughout my career, including recent projects with Macmillan, With You, Breast Cancer Now, NHS Gloucestershire and the V&A, I’ve focused on developing new or enhancing existing services for patients, staff and carers, both on- and offline. Service design and research have been key tools, enabling informed decision-making and de-risking transformation.

Service design is also critical in breaking down internal silos that can slow progress. I’m passionate about helping more charities embed service design and research capabilities, and I aim to support organisations in recognising the value of design thinking by fostering a collaborative, one-team approach on all my projects.

The Institute of Coding (IoC), led by the University of Bath, is a national collaboration of universities, employers, and charities dedicated to closing the UK’s digital skills gap and driving social mobility. Our core mission is to make high-quality, inclusive digital education accessible to all, with a special focus on underrepresented and marginalised groups. Since our launch in 2018, we have developed over 150 courses in collaboration with 35 UK universities, enrolling over 1 million learners. Our efforts have yielded a significant impact: 47% of our learners identify as women (compared to the UK tech average of 25%), 54% come from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, and 32% were unemployed at the start of their training. By removing financial and structural barriers, we are transforming the face of the UK tech workforce and creating new opportunities for those traditionally excluded from digital careers.

GoCodeGreen's core proposition is to use technology to make technology itself greener. Our pioneering platform is designed to measure and identify actions that reduce the energy demands of software, thus reducing the creation of millions of tonnes of CO2e. By improving the efficiency of ICT, we reduce energy consumption and also extend the lifespan of the embodied carbon in devices and infrastructure. Our approach is based on the principles of reduction and efficiency, which are essential for quickly reducing energy consumption. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol's ICT Sector Guidance forms the foundation of our platform, which treats software and its supporting technology value chain like any other product. This allows for detailed calculations and action plans across all lifecycle stages to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon impact. Already, we have identified significant carbon reduction opportunities, with savings of 15,000 metric tonnes of CO2e and cost savings for our clients.

I really hope to be able to show all schools, learners, educators, in-fact even all adults, how when trained and supported, we can all choose the right tool, for the right activity, for the right outcome, for us, in that moment in time (our city slogan). This means say if Bobby is in a Science lesson, he knows that he could record his learning through Class Notebook, or he could use dictate, or he could record what he's doing and create a blog - he has the skill set to do this. Similarly, a teacher knows how to safely use generative AI to support their workload and make all learning accessible for their class or a parent/carer who is one of the 16.4% classed as illiterate (National Literacy Trust) has the tools available to succeed.

Ideally, this would be supported by the DfE so that ALL areas are supported, but if not, I'm already starting on our Outreach work for the surrounding area and trickling my experts out without diluting our city offer.

I would then like to go global as I don't think education, especially around technology to support SEND, should be limited due to a digital financial divide and I would love to be able to give back to the world around me. I want to support people with their own literacy skills in their mother tongue, make work places more accessible (especially for those with SEND) and break down barriers and stereotypes: improving outcomes for ALL.

I am passionate about being a role model for staff, particularly women, and leading by example. I support professional registration and membership for each member of staff through the British Computer Society and FEDIP (the Federation of Informatics Professionals). I am also Fellow of the BCS, which recognises IT leaders who innovate and inspire the next generation.  
I work with local universities to engage with students and recently delivered a session on the Digital Transformation Masters residential programme for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where s I am a Professor of Practice.  
I work hard to be a positive role model, not only in my achievements, but in the way that I demonstrates the values of DHCW and take a compassionate and forward-thinking approach to leading our organisation. 

Zero Gravity is a social mobility tech start-up revolutionising opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds in the UK. Our proprietary tech enables us to reach and empower these students, guiding them to top UK universities and careers. We continue to grow exponentially - a small team of 25 people tripling our user and revenue numbers every year - whilst driving the social mobility movement for over 20,000 students from low-income background and boosting their lifetime earnings significantly.

My core proposition is to do everything I can to support evidence based policy and tech enabled delivery in public service. The primary impact has been in 1) attracting, hiring and promoting phenomenal talent 2) delivering extremely high quality data and AI products, quickly and well, especially in high impact policy areas or in times of crisis 3) intervening in tech procurement to ensure we are procuring the right solutions that also offer value for money 4) providing free training and upskilling to thousands of people 5) engaging a wide range of civil service colleagues through shared voluntary endeavour, especially big government hackathons 6) training and guiding senior civil servants and political colleagues in how to effectively work with data and evidence to make better decisions 7) building strong brands to draw people together under a banner of Data and AI for the Public Good.

Evidence House: https://www.linkedin.com/company/evidence-house/
Incubator for AI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100365443/

Priya’s visionary leadership in driving the responsible and inclusive adoption of decentralized identity technology. As the CEO of EarthID, she is committed to harnessing the power of blockchain to create secure, user-centric identity solutions that foster social, financial, and digital inclusion. Her work not only focuses on advancing technological innovation but also prioritizes ethical, equitable access to digital services. Priya’s dedication to promoting diversity, empowering women in tech, and leveraging technology for positive societal change defines her as a forward-thinking leader with a strong ethical foundation. Her leadership within the Government Blockchain focuses on utilizing blockchain for good. Her ability to influence both policy and practice, through contributions at G20 summits and international conferences, underscores her role as a thought leader in shaping the future of ethical technology.
Priya’s core proposition is a powerful blend of technical expertise, visionary leadership, and a steadfast commitment to using technology as a force for good. She is driven by a deep sense of purpose: to build a digital future that is not only innovative but also inclusive, ethical, and sustainable for all.

Professor Ifan Evans is a compelling advocate for digitally led transformation, reflected in an organisational purpose of "making digital a force for good in health and care". He combines academic and professional insight to make the case for digital as an enabler and driver of change, and for using data and information to improve the quality of health and care services. Health and care faces major challenge as described in the national strategy document A Healthier Wales, which he wrote when in Welsh Government. But all health systems struggle to make change happen. Ifan's experience of leading the digital pandemic response reinforced his belief that digital and data is the most promising route to sustainable health and care delivery - for example more change in 6 months than the previous 6 years, and Ministers using real time data to inform policy and delivery decisions.

Sarah’s leadership at Leeds Teaching Hospitals has been instrumental in shaping a forward-thinking Clinical Digital strategy for Nursing, Midwifery, and AHP practices. Her objectives include the development of a new office model for the CCIO team, enhancing clinical workforce engagement, improving digital literacy through skills and training, and driving productivity and efficiency using Lean Methodology. Understanding the complexity and scale of LTHT, Sarah advocated for the adoption of the "What Good Looks Like" (WGLL) framework, aligning LTHT’s digital strategy with national best practices. This initiative serves as an NHS England Global Digital Exemplar Blueprint, setting a benchmark for other Trusts to implement. Within her first two months, Sarah conducted an extensive discovery phase, engaging with over 150 stakeholders to map out the digital landscape at LTHT.