Reflections on Our First Digital Voices Board

What started as a small idea that felt like a bit of a mammoth task has now grown into something I’m really proud of. The Digital Voices Board began as one of my many musings related to giving care-experienced young people a direct say in how we design technology that supports them.

Getting to this first session took a lot of work. It’s tested my skillset and pushed me far beyond my usual role as a designer. I found myself doing everything from planning and facilitation to liaising directly with young people, coordinating logistics, and juggling a fair bit of admin along the way.

It was overwhelming at times, but honestly, so worth it.

This week, we finally brought it all together - 20 care-experienced young people from across the UK joined our first-ever Digital Voices Board session to test and share feedback on our new AI Digital PA tool. And they didn’t hold back (which is exactly what we hoped for!).
The Digital Voices Board is all about co-design - making sure that the young people who actually use these tools have a real say in how they’re created. It’s about listening, learning, and building tech that genuinely makes life a little easier.

Why the Digital Voices Board matters

The board provides a platform for young people to share their experiences, feedback, and ideas directly with the people designing the technology that supports them. It ensures that our digital solutions are human-centred, practical, and aligned with real-life needs.

What happened in the session

 Participants explored the Digital PA’s capabilities, including how it provides support for common questions, access to services, and mental health guidance. They offered constructive feedback on:

• Tone and Personality: Making the tool feel more human, empathetic, and personal.
• Functionality and Accuracy: Ensuring responses are reliable, local, and easy to navigate.
• Personalisation: Allowing the experience to reflect individual needs.

Key insights

• The Digital PA is seen as a time-saving tool for Personal Advisors, enabling them to focus on more meaningful, in-person interactions.
• Care leavers value accuracy, local relevance, and a personal touch in digital tools.
• Collaboration with young people uncovers insights we would not have identified internally, helping to refine design, tone, and messaging.

Sessions like this remind me why co-design is so powerful. When we listen to lived experience, we see things we might otherwise miss. We don’t just build better products - we build better understanding.

Thank you

I’m so grateful to everyone who joined us and shared their views so openly. Your honesty will help shape the next stage of this project and make sure the technology truly works for you.
And a huge thank you to Michael, our brilliant Project Manager for helping to facilitate the session and keep everything running smoothly.

What's next?

We’ll be taking the insights from this session into the next round of development — refining the tone, improving accuracy, and making the Digital PA as supportive and human-centred as possible.
We’ll also be inviting Personal Advisors to a future session to gather their perspective too, helping us balance both sides of the experience.
Let's not forget, this all took place during Care Leavers Month because this is exactly what it’s about: giving young people a platform to be heard and shaping the services that support them.

Here’s to more listening, more learning, and more co-design!