CDPS to join Welsh Government: time for a delivery-first evolution

Welsh Government has announced a package on AI and digital transformation – and, importantly, that the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) will be integrated into Welsh Government by April 2026. That’s the headline that matters for delivery across Wales. (More on the AI elements in a future post.) 

How we got here (and Perago’s role) 

Perago called for a centre of digital expertise for Wales in a paper we submitted to Julie James MS in 2018. That work helped prompt the creation of an external Digital Panel, led by Lee Waters, on which we served. The panel’s work culminated in System Reboot: Transforming public services through better use of digital (2019), a report based on the approach we set out and which proposed the centre that became CDPS. 

Perago then supported the set-up and supported the first year development of CDPS, and we’ve continued to champion delivery practice and capability building across Welsh public services. 

What System Reboot said (and why it still stands) 

The core premise of System Reboot remains sound: put users first and organise for delivery. In practical terms, that means: 

• Clear leadership and accountability: a ministerial lead, a Chief Digital Officer for Wales, and empowered digital leaders in organisations. 

• Wales-specific service standards with independent assessments, working in the open, and using data well. 

• A shared delivery hub and pooled multi-disciplinary teams (“squads”) that can be deployed where they’ll have the biggest impact. 

• Spend controls and incentives tied to standards, plus exemplar services that prove value across boundaries (e.g. health–social care–housing). 

• A time-boxed roadmap with visible milestones, benefits and risks – reported transparently. 

Since then, progress has been made: Wales now has a Digital Strategy (2021); Digital Service Standards for Wales exist and CDPS has been building guidance and communities of practice; and the first CDO network in Wales has been developed. With this in place, CDPS has supported organisations across Wales. But more is needed to turn strategy into consistent improvements at the front line. 

The next opportunity lies in showing how skilled multi-disciplinary teams can work with organisations to design, develop and deliver services in Wales. This would make the risks clearer and help leaders plan and mitigate them as we move forward. 

Why merging CDPS into Welsh Government can be a good thing 

Bringing CDPS functions inside Government could streamline leadership, align policy with delivery, and cut duplication – if we use this moment to double down on delivery rather than dilute it. The written statement is explicit about integration to “streamline and strengthen” capability. The challenge now is to make that real on the ground. 

What a delivery-first evolution looks like 

1. Pick and deliver exemplars that matter to people. Identify 3–5 exemplar Welsh public services that cut across organisational boundaries, redesign them end-to-end using user-centred design and agile delivery, and publish outcomes (waiting times down, take-up up, cost-to-serve down). This was System Reboot’s intent – prove it works, then scale. 
2. Make the Standards bite. Keep the Digital Service Standards for Wales and introduce lightweight, independent assessments for new or redesigned services funded with public money. Provide practical support through a service manual and communities of practice to make meeting the standards achievable. 
3. Stand up a deployable delivery hub. Maintain a shared pool of practitioners (product, delivery, deisgn, engineering, data) that can embed in teams for fixed periods, pairing with internal staff to transfer capability while delivering. Publish a rolling pipeline and the results, including lessons! 
4. Back Welsh SMEs with proven delivery experience. Move away from over-reliance on interims and the assumption that everything must be done in-house. Use procurement to support Welsh Government Foundational Economy by growing and sustaining specialist firms that bring repeatable delivery methods, coach teams, and leave organisations stronger. System Reboot explicitly pointed at updating frameworks and targeting growth in digital and SMEs – let’s do it. 
5. Own the roadmap and report in the open. Publish a 12-month delivery plan aligned to the Digital Strategy for Wales – with quarterly, public progress updates on benefits and lessons learned. 

Our commitment

Perago exists to help organisations turn strategy into services. We lobbied for a centre of expertise, helped shape the blueprint, and supported CDPS’s early build. We’ll now bring the same energy to a delivery-first evolution: pairing with teams, co-delivering exemplars, strengthening leadership and governance, and building in-house capability – while drawing on Wales’ ecosystem of expert SMEs to get results that matter for people. 

This merger is a pivotal moment for public services in Wales. If you’re leading change and want to make delivery real – whether through an exemplar service, a focused 90-day plan, or strengthening your organisation’s capability – now is the time to act. Get in touch and let’s make it happen.