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About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

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Fail quick or fail big: getting policy right by design

Nesta at Plaid Cymru Conference
11 Oct 2025 11:00 – 12:00
Brangwyn Hall, Swansea

Too often, major government programmes are implemented before we know enough about the problem we’re trying to solve. The biggest risk is that ideas which work on paper don’t survive contact with reality, and by the time we understand what went wrong it’s too late.

Whatever happens in the 2026 election, Cymru will have a government drawn from a very different Senedd. But how can that government increase its chances of successfully delivering its agenda? The answer lies in changing the toolbox, not just the mechanics.

Nesta’s ‘Test and Learn Playbook’ outlines ways policymakers can increase their chances of turning bold ideas into successful delivery.

All policies are built on assumptions: about what people are trying to achieve when they knock on the government’s door, or how they’ll behave if we offer something new. Test and Learn approaches help to quickly gather evidence to refine our most critical assumptions, starting from the ground up. This can ensure policies are shaped by real-world practise, not just theory. Add this event to your calendar.

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Speakers

Andy Regan_final

Andy Regan

He/Him

Andy leads Nesta’s work in Wales, with a particular focus on influencing devolved policy around our missions, and promoting the use of applied innovation in policy making. He joined Nesta in 2021 as Wales Mission Manager in the Sustainable Future team, leading our partnership project with the Development Bank of Wales, and our work to influence devolved policy on heat. He later became a Senior Mission Manager, leading the mission’s GB-wide work on demand flexibility and Inclusion Andy has a background in energy policy in roles at Ofgem and Citizens Advice - where he co-chaired the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru. He joined Nesta from the independent think tank the Institute of Welsh Affairs, where he oversaw their policy and external affairs work.

Omar Idris

Omar Idris

He/Him

Omar is the design lead in the fairer start mission, helping to design and develop interventions, specifically looking at the application of AI to achieve the mission goals. Before Nesta, Omar's career began in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. He lead research and development and disruptive innovation initiatives for Procter & Gamble (P&G) across a global market and touching the lives of users across North America, Europe and India. Here he took opportunities from initial insight through to delivery, across both the Gillette and Venus brands. Working within Gillette's disruptive innovation team, Omar got a taste of social impact innovation, linking CSR to product initiatives, which acted as a springboard into further social impact innovation career moves. Since P&G, Omar has led the service design and innovation pipeline for Macmillan Cancer Support, building new services and partnerships to support people living with cancer and the wider health system. Beyond this, Omar has further innovation experience across, health, social care, housing and wider third sector. Working with a housing and care provider, he set up a spin-out innovation unit to tackle long standing social challenges for marginalised communities in south Wales.

Event information

11 Oct 2025 11:00 – 12:00