Report after report recommends Civil Service Reform - but it never happens. Here's why:- ukcivilservant.substack.com/p/civil-serv... Includes references to writing by @andrewgreenway.bsky.social , @samfr.bsky.social & @iandunt.bsky.social

I think @philtinline.bsky.social has hit in a really important idea here – working out why we keep getting trapped in doom loops is going to be crucial in the next few years. Working out how to escape them, even more so.

If you read one thing today make it this. Fantastic read.

The Civil Service has a new Cabinet Secretary at a time where the bureaucracy faces a stark choice between reform and Reform. It needs a new story for state capacity, a Northcote-Trevelyan review for the C21st, and new institutions to break inertia. andrewgreenway.substack.com/p/in-permane...

Very good post about a very bad thing.

Bad It's unusual to come across a truly bad new digital service these days. People now praise the online passport service for speed and ease of use, the same for Jobseeker's, voter registration. Most online public services delivered since the establishment of the Government Digital Service are at…

Louise Casey blunt on grade inflation in the civil service - compares decisions grade 5s make now to those fast streamers used to make…

I am writing a policy pamphlet. Here are all the ways to demonstrate I don't really have a policy answer, that I need to avoid: a. You call for a "national conversation or debate" b. You suggest that what is needed is “a change in culture” 1/

Universal Credit is a model for how to do government right (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/universal-...

you know things are going well when they break out the turnip photos

Obviously it's Reddit and that attracts Reddit people but I do think it's funny how "a simple single government website and functioning passport service" are things people genuinely feel quite patriotic about and are such easy wins if you roll that out even further. www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/c...

My favourite bit of the whole Carswell piece 👇 Niche, for sure, but to anyone who has actually been to a single one of the weekly meeting of permanent secretaries, let alone more than 100, the idea that this meeting takes all the major public policy meetings is utterly hilarious

📣OUT NOW – Impactful Devolution 02: Local govt for the digital era Last week the PM set out plans for digital change across Whitehall. Our new report with @publicdigital.bsky.social sets out how digital can drive reform in local govt. Read it here ⬇️ www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/imp...

On 3/24, join us & @niskanencenter.bsky.social for a discussion on how to address the critical but often overlooked issues with implementation across the Executive branch. Feat: @marcidale.bsky.social @pahlkadot.bsky.social & @andrewgreenway.bsky.social www.popvox.org/events/imple...

James is always worth reading, and this longread is particularly worth the time, especially if you're an optimist about governments taking state capacity seriously.

You should know that a big part of 18F's work was to make sure multi-million to multi-*hundreds*-of-millions dollar contracts at fed *and* state level didn't go to shitty enterprise IT consultancies that *repeatedly* delivered tech that didn't work, was late, or didn't even do what it needed to

Hats off to the 10% - TEN PER CENT - of the UK population who can summon up some strong opinions about King Stephen of Blois

My proposal for this grey February Monday is that political reporters should be abolished. They're far too addicted to the psychodrama, they don't have expertise in any policy areas, they bigfoot their expert colleagues on any story that involves an MP, and this creates too noise and little light.

‘We have to get over the feeling that any failed pilot is a waste of money. It is not, as long as you've learned something by doing it.’ NAO chief Gareth Davies on the need for innovation in public services and how the NAO will support this www.thetimes.com/article/9e71...

A truly dreadful piece of writing that neatly demonstrates why he had no respect at all from the rest of the senior civil service.

Loads of interesting stats in this just-published State of digital government review. Not least that 50% of digital and data recruitment campaigns failed in 2024. What matters now are crunchy actions to follow the crunchy analysis. www.gov.uk/government/p...

At GDS for launch of the digital government blueprint. Will try and live post on this thread 🧵

I've written this thread up as a blog post with some more details: Why some DVLA digital services don't work at night dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...

This is miserable behaviour, @transportforlondon.bsky.social Miserable. traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/

NHS App back in the news and I'm not one to miss an opportunity to reheat my favourite graphic. (Other icebergs are available) What's fascinating in the app's case is that it probably needed a simple 'solution-first' strategy to provide the political drive to do the alignment in the background.

The unmissable double act of @pahlkadot.bsky.social and @andrewgreenway.bsky.social published this @niskanencenter.bsky.social report on re-invigorating state capacity just before Xmas. Deliberately US centric, leavened by some UK flourishes. public.digital/pd-insights/...

I really enjoyed this IFP Statecraft interview with @andrewgreenway.bsky.social & @pahlkadot.bsky.social, which is surprisingly positive about the potential for UK state capacity. We need more of this! Full interview here: www.statecraft.pub/p/what-can-t...

There's been recent focus on hiring designers from big-name tech companies (lnkd.in/eEjxq8EQ). Their skills are impressive, no doubt. But in today’s climate of cost-saving, organisations need designers with the hard-earned experience of a transformation. www.katherinewastell.com/blog/designi...

Amy is consistently one of the most interesting and thoughtful thinkers/writers about the civil service. V good thread

Wondered what 'test and learn' means? I've written this to unpack and explain it public.digital/pd-insights/...

Went to the speech this morning. A few thoughts. TL;DR - I thought it was really good, but of course lots of tricky challenges to work through. 🧵

I just finished shortlisting 215 applications for the NHS App Lead Product Manager role. My back hurts. My eyes hurt. My brain hurts. But here are some things I noticed plus some tips in case you ever want to apply for a role like this in future.

Patient records and the NHS App are in the news again. Me and @mattstibbs.bsky.social wrote down some thoughts. TLDR: the perfect architectural approach won’t solve for fundamental environmental challenges that need addressing. public.digital/pd-insights/...

I've written up what we mean when we say 'Be Bold'. public.digital/pd-insights/...

'Taking the time to do things right isn’t anti-innovation – it is what is required to get deep-rooted change in social systems.' My piece on AI and public services in this week's @newstatesman.com www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024...

Some news about Data Bites… After 5 years, 49 events, 199 presenters, five PMs, 10 Cabinet ministers for data in govt & more bad jokes than any of us would care to remember, Data Bites is leaving @instituteforgov.bsky.social I’m delighted to say it has a new home at… @publicdigital.bsky.social!

TLDR: Public services could and should work much harder for the public. But that won’t happen through more design thinking or liberal sprinklings of AI. It won’t come through better “data sharing” either, which = photocopying data. Or just digitising services as they exist today.

Wrote some words about how universities need to out-run the giant snail, or risk a soggy descent into mediocrity. www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/chang...

Peter Kyle (DSIT Sec of State) opens Talks about his mum's experience of hospital scans not detecting lung cancer (www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...), notes AI scanner that can now work in 7 seconds. That belief in tech that will make lives better will guide this govt's approach

Early days, but optimism is definitely in order. public.digital/pd-insights/...

My colleague @andrewgreenway.bsky.social and I have just published 'The Radical How', a NESTA-funded paper making the case for governments changing how they do change. https://public.digital/2024/02/21/why-we-should-radically-change-how-we-do-change

I have so many many questions....why make this, who paid for it, and were they aware of how sexist, misogynist and down right patronising this was when they made it? A brief illustrated history of cross-government collaboration in Microsoft 365 technology.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/14/a...

No more Big IT. "We have to redesign government so it that it can redesign government services." article by Mike Bracken in the FT this morning, free to read link here: www.ft.com/content/6b1f...

There's been lots of comment on Post Office Horizon so far - but Mike (and some of us from @publicdigital.bsky.social ) have published some thoughts on avoiding a sequel: public.digital/2024/01/12/a...