How smart public services are winning back users — with one simple design shift

About this episode

This episode discusses how smart public services are adapting to post-COVID user expectations through Universal Design.

COVID changed how people engage with online services — permanently. The organisations that adapted are now seeing better engagement, better access, better outcomes . The rest are still catching up. In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Aoife Prendergast of Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) , whose team won the Universal Design category at the Ireland eGovernment Awards 2025 . What they discovered is something every CIO, digital leader, and public service provider needs to hear: People have changed. Since COVID, expectations have shifted: always-on bite-sized easy to use Most services haven’t caught up. Aoife’s team did. They spotted the gap, redesigned using Universal Design, boosted engagement — and unlocked new funding and global collaboration. This isn’t compliance. It’s whether your service gets used at all. Key Topics Universal Design in public services Digital transformation in higher education Public sector accessibility strategy Citizen engagement post-COVID Service design and UX in government Inclusive digital services Ireland eGovernment Awards Ireland TUS (Technological University of the Shannon) Accessibility vs usability Hosted on…

People in this episode

Host: Maeve Kneafsey

Guest: Aoife Prendergast

Topics covered

• Universal Design in public services
• Digital transformation in higher education
• Public sector accessibility strategy
• Citizen engagement post-COVID
• Service design and UX in government
• Inclusive digital services

Keywords

• Universal Design
• digital transformation
• public services
• citizen engagement
• accessibility
• service design
• UX
• Ireland eGovernment Awards

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Technological University of the Shannon

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