Edge of Government Series
How to Scale Government Innovation Without Losing the Edge
In partnership with the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026
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Speakers
What to do next
- Catch up on the 15-minute highlights above, or dive into the full recording
- Explore the Edge of Government hub to learn more about our partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, including the Edge 50 list, case studies, interviews and masterclasses.
- Register for the final masterclass in the series: Turning Pushback Into Progress For New Ideas
Resources
Event Description
Many government initiatives show promise at the edge but struggle at the last mile. Early results, user feedback and prototypes are rarely enough on their own when an initiative meets the realities of finance, procurement, human resources and audit.
This masterclass provides a roadmap for securing support for edge initiatives as they move from experimentation to permanence, and turning standalone acts of innovation into a core government capability. You will learn how to build the infrastructure, leadership buy-in, and team habits that allow innovation to happen again and again. We will explore how to transition from being a lonely innovator to a leader who creates the space for others to explore the edge.
Explore the Edge of Government hub to learn more about our partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, including the Edge 50 list, case studies, interviews and upcoming masterclasses.
Image credit: Unsplash
Speakers
Abeer Tahlak
Executive Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation
UAE
Angus Bargh
CEO, Open Plan
New Zealand
Fabio Zaffagnini
Creative Director and Founder, Rockin'1000
Italy
Abeer Tahlak, who supports the vision and agenda set in the UAE government to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations within both her roles as Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation & previously the Director of Possibilities at the Ministry of Possibilities where she supports the Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs of the UAE in leading & managing the operations & the teams within both organizations.
Angus Bargh, the founder of Open Plan, which develops and manages an ecosystem of open, federated geospatial tools on behalf of the charitable foundation, Digital Built Aotearoa. This includes the National Forward Works Viewer and the NZ Underground Asset Register – national platforms designed to shift the infrastructure sector from siloed information to shared visibility of planned works and underground assets. A Chartered Professional Engineer, Angus previously played senior leadership roles in delivering the horizontal rebuild following the Canterbury earthquakes. That time shaped his conviction that open data, knowledge-sharing, and purpose-built technology are essential to building future-ready communities.
Fabio Zaffagnini, an Italian entrepreneur and creative mind best known as the founder of Rockin’1000, a global community that brings together 1,000 musicians for large-scale stadium concerts around the world. His career spans science, technology and creativity, including research roles at Italy’s National Research Council and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, as well as founding an immersive technology startup. Fabio is also an international speaker, a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award honoree and a European Commission expert in product design. His work is driven by creativity, innovation and bringing people together in meaningful ways.
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