Empowering Change: Wazoku Supports UK Civil Servants with One Big Thing Initiative

The UK Government has launched the "One Big Thing" innovation program, aiming to inspire civil servants to implement small but impactful changes that foster innovation across various departments. Running until February 14, 2025, this initiative will equip 470,000 civil servants with the necessary tools, skills, and motivation to generate and experiment with new ideas.

In collaboration with scaleup Wazoku, the program leverages an innovation platform designed to facilitate collaboration, track progress, and share innovations across different government departments. Joe Torjussen, Head of Innovation at the Civil Service Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office, emphasized that the focus on small, actionable changes creates a safe environment for civil servants to experiment and learn, ultimately leading to a more innovative and ambitious Civil Service.

The impetus for this program comes from the 2023 People Survey, which revealed that only 42.6 percent of civil servants felt equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to turn their ideas into impactful outcomes. Wazoku's platform incorporates AI functionality to ensure that all ideas, regardless of their success, are documented and celebrated as valuable learning experiences.

The program consists of several stages. Initially, civil servants will complete the Innovation Masterclass, an online course that teaches practical steps for ideation and innovation. Following this, teams will collaborate to share their ideas and agree on a "small change" to implement, with the platform facilitating these discussions and tracking their progress. The final stage encourages teams to experiment with their chosen changes, monitor their impacts, and reflect on the outcomes. Wazoku's platform will allow teams to submit case studies and share successes and lessons learned across departments.

Joe Torjussen reiterated the importance of building a culture of continuous improvement within the Civil Service, highlighting that empowering civil servants to be bold and creative is essential for enhancing service delivery and operational efficiency. He noted that innovation is not restricted to specific fields or roles, and all civil servants must creatively address the challenges they face.

Now in its second year, the One Big Thing initiative builds on the success of last year's kick-off program, which provided over half a million hours of data learning to 212,000 civil servants. The 2024 program aims to expand its reach to the entire UK Civil Service. Wazoku's experience working with various government departments, including the Ministry of Defence and HMRC, as well as private sector companies like Sanofi, A2A, and Asda, underscores its capacity to support this ambitious initiative.

Simon Hill, the CEO of Wazoku, emphasized the importance of the One Big Thing program, characterizing it as one of the most significant innovation initiatives ever launched by a government. He pointed out that this program harnesses the collective knowledge and expertise of civil servants across the UK, enabling the government to foster positive change and effectively scale the best ideas to enhance departmental operations. By engaging civil servants in a collaborative environment, the initiative not only encourages innovation but also aims to create a more responsive and efficient public service. Hill’s remarks underscore the potential of the One Big Thing program to reshape how government departments operate, making them more agile and attuned to the needs of the public they serve.