Parts of the civil service have spent 2017 developing bold new ways to do things in government. They must prosper in what will be an uncomfortable year ahead

The government has recently set up a number of high-profile inquiries, including into child sexual abuse and the Grenfell Tower fire. As the terms of reference for the Grenfell Tower probe are finalised, this is how inquiries can earn trust

You can’t take the politics out of big projects, but strengthening the National Infrastructure Commission and building the evidence base will lead to wiser decisions

The system for civil service pay has turned into both a farce and a disaster. The government must lift the 1% cap and take action to address the gap with the private sector

As the civil service apprenticeships drive moves up a gear, Cabinet Office early talent manager Kimberley Adderley looks back on a decade of progress with Whitehall veteran Ian Watmore

Susanna Smith from the Public Chairs’ Forum and Association of Chief Executives highlights the key themes – from relocations to Brexit – being discussed at Cabinet Office’s Public Bodies Week

As she leaves government to return to the private sector, Sherin Aminossehe shares her lessons from working in Whitehall – from the ministers to the acronyms

From weather forecasting to healthcare inspection, public bodies play a crucial role in maintaining public services. Lesley Ann Nash, the director for public bodies reform at the Cabinet Office, explains what government is doing to keep them fit for purpose

Behind the chaos, The Apprentice offers lessons for civil servants that a government version of the show could bring to Whitehall

A court ruling this month means a Scottish Government plan to introduce a minimum price for alcohol will finally go ahead. Its introduction is a nothing short of a thing of beauty in policymaking

The plans announced in the 2017 Budget may help to tackle Britain’s housing shortage in the long term. But in the short term, the extension of Help to Buy and the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers is good politics but poor policy.

Philip Hammond’s decision to not set out plans to lift the pay cap for civil servants has placed the government on a collision course with its own staff

New commitments to move powers out of Westminster were the bright spots in a Budget speech that didn’t address some of the key challenges faced at the frontline of much public service delivery

Amid the theatre of the House of Commons, much Budget detail is hidden away in the Red Book, reveals the bigger picture for the public sector

The cycle of bailing out struggling services will only be solved with an injection of data 

Rob Neil, chair of Civil Service Race Forum, argues this strategy moves beyond a tick box approach to diversity and calls for a radical culture shift across government

When even reports on albatross observation are being suppressed, it’s clear that existing purdah regulations must change

If the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union are at risk of bombing, it is down to the political uncertainty, not officials working in difficult circumstances

I believe empathy should be considered a core civil service skill. These three steps will help make that happen

Setting up four networks for the Ministry of Defence and wider civil service was a mammoth task, but a tremendous opportunity to promote hearing and visual disability 

If government has to give a running commentary on the Brexit talks, then the negotiations will suffer. Sometimes secrecy can be in the national interest

As claims and revelations engulf the worlds of politics and entertainment, Whitehall must make sure its procedures are up to scratch

The way harassment is dealt with in Whitehall has changed significantly in the last 30 years – particularly the culture that said you just had to put up with it

Civil Service START is a new cross-Government network for civil servants in the first five years of their careers. Run by and for new starters, the network aims to help new colleagues connect with peers and discover the wide range of work that goes on across the civil service.