Talking 5 with Local Public Services member Julia Brennan
This month's Talking 5 guest is Julia Brennan, Director of Local Government, Housing and Communities at Transform
Each month, techUK's Associate Director for Local Public Services, Georgina Maratheftis, interviews a member active in the local government space about their vision for the future of local public services and where digital can make a real difference to people and society. This month we talk to Julia Brennan, Director of Local Government, Housing and Communities at Transform, about using AI and data grounded in people, trust and community outcomes.
Welcome Julia. Firstly, tell me more about you, your career and how you got to this position today?
My route into local government transformation has been anything but traditional. I originally studied Russian before living and working in both Moscow and Kyiv with the British Embassies. It gave me an early understanding of politics, systems and the importance of relationships and place. I then moved into a range of commercial and development roles focused on building revenue and partnerships in emerging markets before eventually returning to the UK public sector space and eventually consulting.
Today, at Transform, I work with councils and public sector organisations across local government, housing and communities, helping them rethink transformation, service design and the future role of local public services. Increasingly, for local government that means helping organisations navigate AI, devolution and reorganisation in a way that remains grounded in people, trust and community outcomes rather than technology alone.
The golden thread throughout, is a fascination with how organisations adapt to complexity and how people interact with systems and culture.
What is the greatest opportunity for local government when it comes to digital?
Using digital, data and AI to fundamentally rethink how councils understand and support communities, rather than simply digitising existing processes.
Councils sit closest to the realities of people’s lives, which puts them in a unique position to design services around place, relationships and lived experience. The opportunity now is to use technology to create more intelligent and connected local systems, where services work together more effectively, needs are identified earlier and frontline staff are freed up to focus on human interaction rather than administration.
But for me, the real opportunity goes beyond technology itself. Successful transformation depends on trust, culture and leadership just as much as digital capability. AI should help councils become more preventative, responsive and insight-driven, but it must remain transparent, explainable and grounded in real community outcomes.
There’s also a huge opportunity for greater collaboration across local government, with councils sharing learning, approaches and capability rather than solving the same problems in isolation. The organisations that will create the most value will be those that combine strong data foundations with participation, trust and a clear focus on outcomes for residents and places.
What is your vision for the future of local public services and places?
I see a future where local public services are far more integrated and community-powered, with councils acting not just as service providers, but as stewards of place.
The current period of devolution and local government reorganisation creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink how councils are designed and how they connect with communities. The risk is that we simply create larger organisations with the same operating models. The opportunity is to redesign services around the lived realities of communities.
Technology and AI will play an important role in enabling this future. Used well, it can help councils better understand local need, improve coordination across services, support earlier intervention and strengthen responsiveness to communities.
My hope is that we move towards local systems that feel more joined-up, more human and more preventative, where services are shaped with communities rather than simply delivered to them. Ultimately, the councils that succeed will be those that combine technology, participation and trust most effectively around the places people call home.
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina is techUK’s Associate Director for Local Public Services
Georgina works with suppliers that are active or looking to break into the market as well as with local public services to create the conditions for meaningful transformation. techUK regularly bring together local public services and supplier community to horizon scan and explore how the technologies of today and tomorrow can help solve some of the most pressing problems our communities face and improve outcomes for our people and places.
Prior to techUK, Georgina worked for a public policy events company where she managed the policy briefing division and was responsible for generating new ideas for events that would add value to the public sector. Georgina worked across a number of portfolios from education, criminal justice, and health but had a particular interest in public sector transformation and technology. Georgina also led on developing relationships across central and local government.
If you’d like to learn more about techUK, or want to get involved, get in touch.
Programme Manager – Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Luke Newcombe
Programme Manager – Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Luke joined techUK in September 2025 as a Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions.
Luke works closely with members and stakeholders across industry and government at local, regional and national levels to support collaboration, drive innovation and strengthen tech-enabled public services. His work supports the development of strong local and regional tech economies by helping organisations to engage with public sector challenges, explore emerging technologies and build impactful partnerships.
Prior to joining techUK, Luke worked at Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government’s export development agency. He began by advising SMEs on export strategy to the UK and later focused on connecting Irish businesses with multinational organisations to foster strategic partnerships, drive international growth and support economic development.
Luke holds an MSc in Political Economy from the University of Amsterdam and a BA in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
techUK brings together key players across the cyber security sector to promote leading-edge UK capabilities, build networks and grow the sector. techUK members have the opportunity to network, share ideas and collaborate, enabling the industry as a whole to address common challenges and opportunities together. Visit the programme page here.
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Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Jill leads the techUK Cyber Resilience programme, having originally joined techUK in October 2020 as a Programme Manager for the Cyber and Central Government programmes. She is responsible for managing techUK's work across the cyber security ecosystem, bringing industry together with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Jill also provides the industry secretariat for the Cyber Growth Partnership, the industry and government conduit for supporting the growth of the sector. A key focus of her work is to strengthen the public–private partnership across cyber to support further development of UK cyber security and resilience policy.
Before joining techUK, Jill worked as a Senior Caseworker for an MP, advocating for local communities, businesses and individuals, so she is particularly committed to techUK’s vision of harnessing the power of technology to improve people’s lives. Jill is also an experienced editorial professional and has delivered copyediting and writing services for public-body and SME clients as well as publishers.
Annie is the Programme Manager for Cyber Resilience at techUK. She first joined as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.
In her role, Annie supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector. Annie also coordinates events, engages with policy makers and represents techUK at a number of cyber security events.
Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.
Olivia Staples joined techUK in May 2025 as a Junior Programme Manager in the Cyber Resilience team.
She supports the programs mission to promote cyber resilience by engaging key commercial and government stakeholders to shape the cyber resilience policy towards increased security and industry growth. Olivia assists in member engagement, event facilitation and communications support.
Before joining techUK, Olivia gained experience in research, advocacy, and strategic communications across several international organisations. At the Munich Security Conference, she supported stakeholder engagement and contributed to strategic communications. She also worked closely with local and national government stakeholders in Spain and Italy, where she was involved in policy monitoring and advocacy for both public and private sector clients.
Olivia holds an MSc in Political Science (Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from University College London (UCL).
Outside of tech, Olivia enjoys volunteering with local charities and learning Norwegian.
