Past sessions
Each fall, the world’s leading public servants, tech innovators, and academics gather in Canada's Capital for the annual FWD50 conference. FWD50 spans multiple days of packed content, from keynotes and workshops to breakouts and meeting rooms, as well as other community meetups we run throughout the week. Every year we tackle a different theme on the most pressing challenges in digital government and curate our content accordingly. Browse all our past sessions from over the years using our interactive agenda.
April 15
2:00 PM
Everything's a product
Product Managers play a unique role in any organization. They own the roadmap, which is both a plan for what will be, leading to a grand, perfect vision and a constantly-changing set of priorities trying to satisfy myriad stakeholders with conflicting needs. See More.
2:30 PM
What might have been
The demise of 18F abandoned many promising initiatives. See More.
3:30 PM
How to level up government
Most change is gradual and incremental. But there are times in history when technology offers a step-change: The printing press; broadcast media; computers. See More.
4:00 PM
4:45 PM
Transforming government services with empathy: a case study on the launch of civilrights.justice.gov
Before 18F was dismantled by DOGE, they were responsible for some of the U.S. federal government’s most human-centered products. See More.
Principal Product Designer, 18F, Technology Transformation Services
General Services Administration
5:15 PM
Punching Above Our Weight: How a Tiny Team is Delivering a Government-Wide Spend Controls Service
Small teams aren’t supposed to deliver massive, cross-government digital services—but we are. Get Approval to Spend is transforming how the UK government approves billions in spending, and we’re doing it with a tiny team, a tight deadline, and a complex mix of policies to align. See More.
6:00 PM
Addressing Mental Health Crisis Through Cross-Sector Collaboration
A behind-the-scenes look at how the digital product team at MindBeacon, a digital mental health platform, partnered with Ontario Health during the pandemic to deliver free mental health support to Ontarians. See More.
6:45 PM
7:00 PM
Product Management in Government: Bridging Policy Intent with Effective Implementation
This presentation explores the essential connection between policy design and practical implementation in creating effective government digital services. See More.
Assistant Director, Product
Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
8:00 PM
That's a wrap
Join Alistair as he wraps up the day and tells you more about what's in store for FWD50 this year. See More.