Public spending on tech and consultancy is so dull as to be invisible – but failing to measure it is a mistake

When we evaluate public policy we reach for the rational lexicon, but this risks creating cold and ineffective public services

Brexit is already transforming much more than the UK’s relationship with the EU. But amid the uncertainty and acrimony, can politicians, officials and voters seize the chance to make change for the better?

Three government departments collaborated to organise a major international conference on illegal wildlife trade in London last month. Conference director Andrew McCulloch explains how they did it

Now court documents have disclosed the backstory to this year’s pay guidance, civil service bosses need to rework their script, says the FDA general secretary

Philip Hammond heralded an end to austerity, but with growing pressures set to squeeze services further, his Budget can’t meet the public’s expectations

The chancellor laid out the projections for wage growth across the country on Monday, but didn’t mention civil service pay increases are below inflation. He could change this

Black History Month reminds us that celebrating differences helps people understand other people’s experiences and illustrates the opportunity to create a culture where everyone can help push the civil service, and the government, forward

More questions than answers for local government and devolution in a Budget that prioritised paving over short-term cracks rather than addressing long-term challenges, says Charlotte Morgan, a policy researcher at New Local Government Network

Trade unions may have lost their court challenge to the government’s pay guidance for civil servants, but the process has revealed details about the decision that was unknown before, says Prospect’s deputy general secretary

Sir Jeremy Heywood reflects on his civil service career as he announces he is to step down as Cabinet secretary to focus on his treatment for cancer

When the history of Brexit is written, it will be some of this country’s political leaders, not its civil service, that will be subject to the harshest scrutiny, says the former DWP perm sec

The government faces tough choices on spending, and it’s time it involved the public in that discussion

As the OneTeamGov LGBT* gender identity and sexual orientation event kicks off in Manchester, Jonathan Mills, executive team gender identity and sexual orientation champion at the Department for Work and Pensions, writes about why providing a space to bring LGBT communities together and share ideas.

Norman Strauss recently argued in CSW that there was a need to create a new ministry for the opposition to help change the civil service and share its expertise more widely across society. In this response, Catherine Haddon, a senior fellow and resident historian at the Institute for Government, sets out why she thinks such a proposal is flawed

The Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Inquiry shows what can happen when these values are undermined, writes the FDA chief

HMRC has been at the forefront of the government’s smarter working agenda, and is attempting to change the culture across one of government’s biggest organisations. There are lessons for other departments in the progress so far, says Luke Heselwood

Parliament’s important role of policymaking is not well understood by all civil servants. As its work on Brexit increases, it is time to change that

The civil service has many skills but finds itself resistant to change. It needs to disseminate itself more widely across society – and a new ministry for the opposition could do it, according to Margaret Thatcher’s former policy advisor Norman Strauss

The lack of consultation over civil service pay has meant that trade unions have had to turn to the law to get the government to the table. It shouldn’t be this way, says the head of the FDA

The civil service values two types of knowledge, writes former senior civil servant Andrew Greenway, and understanding of policy is trumped by the skill of navigating Whitehall itself

Allegations against the former Scottish first minister have hit the headlines, but the Scottish Government has an independent process for dealing with sexual harassment complaints. The UK government needs the same, says FDA’s assistant general secretary Amy Leversidge

Former MP for Grismby Austin Mitchell’s new book is one that future historians will have on their reading lists, writes Sue Cameron