FWD50 2025

April 15th | June 3rd | September 16th | November 3-4th | January 20th

6

days of online and in-person content

62

speakers from 11 countries

5,000+

members on Access, our free content and community platform

2000+

in-person and online participants

A year of digital resiliency

2025 was a year like no other in recent history, particularly for digital government. From geopolitical ruptures, to the rapid rise of generative AI and the resulting workplace displacement, nothing was certain. So we leaned in to practical lessons: Analytics, product management, communications, and policy-led change.

April's online event

talked about how to think like a product manager. And given recent changes at the US-based 18F consultancy, we invited alumni to talk about their work as an independent arm for government modernization.

June's online event

dove into the AI pipeline, from source data to resulting automation. We welcomed bestselling author Andrew MacAffee, AI pioneer Hillary Mason, and many others for a packed online day.

September's online event

focused on the need to understand and shape narratives around modernization, recognizing that the work doesn't end at launch. Science fiction author Malka Older and her team also delivered a workshop on narrative spotting.

Our two-day in-person event

took place in early November, with sessions on analytics, metricsm and policy-first transformation.

January's online event

We added an extra day in January 2026 thanks to our partners at Public Digital that tackled the timely topic of digital independence and open, portable components as an antidote to foreign and private sector dependency.

Our community and event platform, access.fwd50.com, hit a milestone: Over 5,000 members use it to view past recordings and join online events. It's free to anyone, and contains hundreds of recordings from our events.

The FWD50 2025 Events

January 20th, 2026

November 3rd-4th, 2025

September 16th, 2025

June 3rd, 2025

April 15th, 2025

What others are saying

FWD50 has been a guiding light in our digital transformation journey—like a lighthouse helping us navigate through complex and ever-changing waters.

I've gone to a lot of government tech conferences around the world. FWD50 stands out globally, both for the careful curation of speakers, the challenges placed to the participants and the bold hope that we can build a better world together.

FWD50 is a place where many of us government staff, especially the changemakers can recharge. It's a time where we can all share our struggles but also a time to share fresh ideas, have deep conversations and gain a greater understanding of the challenges we all face.

Does a world class job of providing real education on the topics that really matter for public sector transformation!

FWD50 once again made it clear what government needs to do to truly transform. We’re fortunate to have this platform driving such clarity and collaboration.