Service Designers Connect

Making virtual meetings work

Tue, May 19 · 6:00 PM BST

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Online

Online

Service Designers Connect #20

What’s this session about?
Well, back in May 2024 we had a 'workshop' about workshops. So it felt only right to have a 'virtual meeting' about virtual meetings. Yes, we know, very us :-)

But let’s be honest. Most virtual meetings suck.

People get distracted, or confused. Energy levels drop, and it can feel like nothing meaningful was achieved.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Join us for our 1st interactive online session with Dave Gray, co-author of the newly updated Gamestorming 2.0, who’ll share practical techniques for designing virtual meetings that actually work, where people stay engaged, connections feel real, and the time is well spent.

Dave will be sharing how to...

• Keep people focused and energised throughout a session
• Design meeting experiences that spark genuine collaboration
• Move from vague conversations to tangible, meaningful outputs
• Make remote work feel less isolating and more productive

What you’ll get out of it

• Practical techniques you can use straight away
• A clearer way to think about meeting design
• Confidence to run sessions that people actually want to attend
• Connections with others figuring out the same challenges

Who should come along?
Anyone who runs, facilitates, or sits through virtual meetings. You could be a designer, researcher, project manager, educator, or anyone who wants to make online collaboration feel less draining and more worthwhile.

About this session
🎫 This is a free online event, but places are limited. All attendees will have the opportunity to win a free copy of Gamestorming 2.0!!!

About our facilitator
Dave Gray is a self proclaimed 'Possibilitarian' and the co-author of Gamestorming, a bestselling guide to creative collaboration which has sold has sold more than 100,000 copies and has been translated into 16 languages.

His newly updated Gamestorming 2.0 features 95 games and three new chapters, with a focus on making group work more engaging and productive, in person and online.

Dave can be found on the web at:
http://xplaner.com

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Innovation in Health Care

Thu, Jul 23 · 6:00 PM BST

Fothergill House, 16 King Street, Nottingham, GB

What’s this session about?
Join us for an evening exploring innovation in healthcare, featuring insights from two practitioners working at the forefront of change.

Dr Mark Simmonds and Ali Fawkes will share lessons from their lived experience designing, testing and scaling health innovations: from digital patient records and hospital transformation, to co-designed health-tech programmes grounded in real patient lives.

Expect practical insights, honest reflections, and a focus on creating solutions that truly improve outcomes for both patients and professionals.

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What does it take to turn digital health systems into something that actually improves care?

Dr Mark Simmonds, Deputy Medical Director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH)

Since 2015, Mark has led the clinical development of Nervecentre’s mobile-first Electronic Patient Record, shaping how digital tools can support safer, more efficient, and higher-quality care.

In this talk, he shares what he’s learned from leading large-scale, real-world transformation programmes, from real-time hospital operations to Front Door redesign and how these approaches have scaled across multiple Trusts.

Mark will reflect on the practical insights behind making data-driven healthcare work in complex environments: what unlocks better clinical flow, where digital programmes succeed (or struggle), and how to design systems that genuinely support frontline staff and patient outcomes.

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Accelerating the development of respiratory health technologies using co-design and UCD

Ali Fawkes, Head of Social Innovation at Humanly

Traditional health tech testing shows whether a product can work, but often misses whether it fits into the messy reality of people’s lives. In respiratory health, this gap has led to limited real-world impact from new innovations.

In this talk, Ali shares insights from Humanly’s collaboration with Asthma + Lung UK to design and run an Innovation Accelerator focused on helping people with lung conditions to move more. Central to the programme was deep, meaningful involvement from people living with these conditions, shaping both the accelerator itself and the testing of new products.

Ali will explore the approach, what was learned, and the impact — offering practical lessons for creating health technologies that balance clinical effectiveness with real-world usability and desirability.

https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/our-research-impact/involving-people-lived-experience-research/asthma-behavioural-insights

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About our Speakers

Dr Mark Simmonds | LinkedIn

Dr Mark Simmonds is a consultant in Critical Care Medicine and Deputy Medical Director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) where he has been a leading figure in digital transformation. Since 2015, Mark has clinically led the development of the mobile‑centric Nervecentre Electronic Patient Record, shaping a data‑driven approach to improving care quality, operational flow and clinical safety.

His digital leadership has underpinned major programmes that have spread across multiple Trusts including Integrated Discharge, real‑time hospital operations and Front Door transformation.

Mark’s work has contributed to national recognition through multiple HSJ Patient Safety and Digital Award finals and a Building Better Healthcare award. Most recently, Mark was SRO for Nervecentre Patient Administration, Theatres and Outpatients programme which, in November 2025, was the first end to end delivery of this novel EPR.

Ali Fawkes | LinkedIn

Ali Fawkes is Head of Social Innovation at Humanly and brings extensive experience in leading inclusive research, service design and innovation projects across health, employment, disability and social care. She specialises in designing and facilitating approaches that surface insight from diverse perspectives, particularly in complex settings where inclusion and accessibility are essential.

Before moving into human-centred design in 2015, Ali worked in specialist education and advocacy roles, including at the University of Cambridge and VoiceAbility. This brings an unusual depth of practical experience in how organisations work with people whose needs are often underserved by standard approaches.

Ali is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a recent finalist in the Innovation Awards for Innovation Thought Leader of the Year, and a regular speaker at conferences including Service Design in Government and UX Healthcare. She holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University of Kent, a PGCE and Master’s in Education from the University of Cambridge, and a British Sign Language Level 1 Award

Bringing back creative research methods

Thu, Nov 19 · 6:00 PM GMT

Nottingham Trent University, Newton Building, Level 2, Hooley Room, 10 Goldsmith St, Nottingham NG1 4BU, Nottingham, GB

What’s this session about?
Over the past decade, a quiet shift has happened. As research moved online, creativity got left behind.

Semi-structured interviews became the default, and with them, we lost the richness and diversity of methods that help us uncover what people really think, feel, and do.

Becky Mallaband and Rebecca Partridge are on a mission to change that.

In this session, they'll share how a more creative approach to research (both in person and online) can help you go deeper, surface tacit knowledge, and get far more valuable insights from every session you run.

After attending this session, you'll leave with:

1. A clearer understanding of the different levels of knowledge and why they matter
2. See methods in action that you can try straight away
3. Fresh thinking about your own practice and where creativity could take it further

Who's this for?
Anyone who conducts research or is interested in Human-centred Design, whether you're just starting out or looking to shake up your existing practice.
Anything else?
This will be a fun session and a safe space to have a go, ask questions and chat over drinks and nibbles!
About our speakers
Becky Mallaband is an expert is in User Centred Design (UCD) and she is currently the Head of Design School at NEC Digital Studio (formerly Snook), which seeks to build UCD capability and confidence in individuals, teams and organisations.

Becky also has a PhD in UCD, and 10 years’ experience working in academia, where she taught and conducted research in UCD, before moving into the Civil Service, leading a research team. Becky is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds a postgraduate diploma in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education.
Rebecca Partridge is a Senior User Researcher NEC Digital Studio (formerly Snook). Her expertise is in creative participatory design research. She has a PhD in research through design in healthcare and over 12 years of experience in the field of user centred design. She is passionate about diversifying the methods that we use for research and design, and the value that participatory methods bring to qualitative research enquiries.