LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026 Sessions Focus on Project Delivery, AI Governance and Product Thinking

Public-sector practitioners attending LocalGov Drupal Camp 2026 will have an opportunity to explore project delivery, artificial intelligence governance and product-led service improvement through a series of experience-based sessions scheduled for 11–12 June 2026 at Sheffield Hallam University. The event will bring together council teams, developers and digital service practitioners working with LocalGov Drupal.

Speaker previews released ahead of the event highlight a programme focused on practical implementation lessons rather than theoretical discussion. Across the featured sessions, presenters plan to share experiences from council projects, approaches to managing emerging technologies and methods for improving digital services. Several speakers also identified community learning and knowledge exchange as important aspects of the event.

Jayvik Patel, strategic digital services manager at Luton Borough Council, will present a session titled “From Zero to Beta to Launch in 180 Days(ish).” According to Jayvik, the presentation will provide an account of Luton Borough Council's LocalGov Drupal journey, including delivery preparation, project decisions and lessons learned during implementation. The session is aimed at content designers, product managers and developers who are planning or delivering LocalGov Drupal projects.

Jayvik said attendees can expect discussion around the questions organisations should ask before beginning a project, lessons learned from the council's experience and early considerations for content governance. He described the session as a practical walkthrough intended to help participants understand both successful decisions and areas where a different approach might have been beneficial. Jayvik also said he is looking forward to learning how other organisations are approaching content design, governance and agile ways of working within LocalGov Drupal projects.

Artificial intelligence governance will be the focus of a separate session led by Greg Harvey, an open-source enterprise architect. Greg said the presentation is intended for organisations seeking guidance on where to begin with artificial intelligence adoption or how to manage its use within their organisations. The session will examine approaches to selecting large language models and planning artificial intelligence infrastructure.

According to Greg, key topics will include ethics, portability and affordability, with particular attention to budgeting considerations for government organisations. He said attendees can expect a discussion about making artificial intelligence infrastructure as future-proof as possible while selecting appropriate language models. Greg also noted that he is looking forward to meeting community members, customers and first-time attendees during his first LocalGov Drupal Camp.

Another session will examine how Essex County Council has approached LocalGov Drupal as a product rather than solely as a content management system. Sucharitha Revanuru will discuss how the council has focused on user needs, outcomes and continuous improvement through its digital services. The presentation is intended for organisations interested in extending the value of LocalGov Drupal beyond content publishing.

Sucharitha said the session will include examples from Essex County Council, including campaign landing pages, embedded contact forms, accessibility improvements, navigation changes and the use of analytics and user feedback to support decision-making. Planned takeaways include applying product thinking to digital services, prioritising work according to organisational goals and user needs, and using feedback data to guide continuous improvement.

Like the other speakers, Sucharitha highlighted the opportunity to learn from peers across the LocalGov Drupal community. She said the event provides a chance to hear how other councils are using the platform, exchange experiences and gain practical perspectives from organisations facing similar challenges.

Taken together, the speaker previews point to a programme built around practical experience, operational lessons and community knowledge sharing. While the session topics range from project delivery to artificial intelligence governance and product management, each presentation focuses on approaches that organisations can apply within their own LocalGov Drupal initiatives.