'We want to do more work in the open and co-create change': JP Marks interview
28 Jan Economy

'We want to do more work in the open and co-create change': JP Marks interview

HMRC perm sec JP Marks on empowerment, Covid and his plans for the department
by Suzannah Brecknell
'I promoted flexible working like a campaigner': What I learnt driving inclusivity in the civil service
02 Feb Civil Service Reform
'I promoted flexible working like a campaigner': What I learnt driving inclusivity in the civil service
Give those you lead what they need: How to be an emotionally intelligent leader
30 Jan Analysis
Give those you lead what they need: How to be an emotionally intelligent leader
'It's a very creative job': Jessica de Mounteney on turning policy into law
26 Jan Leadership
'It's a very creative job': Jessica de Mounteney on turning policy into law
Opinion: How can policymakers help improve the wellbeing of local communities?
26 Apr 2021 Economy
Opinion: How can policymakers help improve the wellbeing of local communities?
The coronavirus and the stalled European Super League should teach policymakers the same lesson: there is an urgent need to engage local communities in policy and delivery
Switching off: time to tackle ‘always on’ work culture
23 Apr 2021 HR
Switching off: time to tackle ‘always on’ work culture
Many civil servants have embraced working from home during the pandemic, but it also means the lines between work and home life have been blurred. The government should set out rules around out of hours engagement – but employers don’t have to wait
How to transform a government agency: IPO launches five-year reform plan
22 Apr 2021 Digital, Data & Technology
How to transform a government agency: IPO launches five-year reform plan
Today, the Intellectual Property Office has launched its One IPO Transformation programme, a 5-year drive to transform intellectual property services and enhance the value IPO adds to the UK economy. Deputy chief executive David Holdsworth shares details of the plans
Read the April 2021 edition of Civil Service World
21 Apr 2021
Read the April 2021 edition of Civil Service World
Inside: What the Integrated Review means, Civil Service Awards winner stories, how the how the United States got its civil service of appointees
Julia Lopez: Data is fundamental to government. Let me know your ideas to use it better Exclusive
19 Apr 2021
Julia Lopez: Data is fundamental to government. Let me know your ideas to use it better
The Cabinet Office minister writes for CSW to launch a new Dragons' Den-style competition to transform government data for citizens and society
Alex Thomas: Skills and spills in the civil service
19 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Alex Thomas: Skills and spills in the civil service
The government is keen to boost the skills of civil servants and, even in the midst of the Greensill scandal, Whitehall needs to think about both internal training and bringing in external expertise. Here’s some ideas for reform
Yes, board member: Lord Michael Bichard on making the most of departments' non-execs
14 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Yes, board member: Lord Michael Bichard on making the most of departments' non-execs
Giving departmental boards a stronger role would help government become more effective
Opinion: In the office, but out of touch
13 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Opinion: In the office, but out of touch
The prime minister and chancellor have both begun encouraging people back to the workplace after Covid. But government would be much better served learning the flexible working lessons of the pandemic
Opinion: Let’s abolish the spending review
12 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Opinion: Let’s abolish the spending review
Further reform of the way the government manages resources to achieve its goals is vital, says the former government lead non-executive director Sir Ian Cheshire
Colin Talbot: How public servants can make the machine work for them
09 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Colin Talbot: How public servants can make the machine work for them
In the first of a new series of articles exploring developments in public sector management, Colin Talbot looks at how one social care organisation is challenging the assumptions of service delivery
Final performance: what the closure of the government’s Performance Platform means
07 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Final performance: what the closure of the government’s Performance Platform means
Government is closing two centralised tools to make data available to departments and the public. Sam Trendall finds out more
Outcome delivery plans: third time lucky?
01 Apr 2021 Civil Service Reform
Outcome delivery plans: third time lucky?
The new approach to departmental planning can only really succeed if the Government can define properly what its small number of priority goals are.
'Courage is the first quality you need': Barbara Hosking's civil service career recollections
31 Mar 2021
'Courage is the first quality you need': Barbara Hosking's civil service career recollections
Barbara Hosking, the former press secretary to Harold Wilson and Ted Heath, has died aged 94. In February 2018, she sat down for lunch with Suzannah Brecknell to discuss writing speeches for prime ministers, the courage required of civil servants, and coming out at 91. Here, we republish the interview to share her reflections on her time in government
How civil servants can prepare for the Covid decade
30 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
How civil servants can prepare for the Covid decade
The challenges of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic will take years to sort out. A new report from the British Academy sets out some of the things policymakers need to think about to prepare
Making contact: the inside story of how the government’s Covid app was developed
29 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
Making contact: the inside story of how the government’s Covid app was developed
More than 20 million UK citizens have downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app. One of the leaders of the development process discusses its impact and future plans with Sam Trendall
‘Sound priorities, undermined by a narrow view of security and aid cuts’: assessing the integrated review
26 Mar 2021 Security & Defence
‘Sound priorities, undermined by a narrow view of security and aid cuts’: assessing the integrated review
The government’s landmark foreign and defence policy review arrived at many of the right conclusions, but UK security could be undermined by a focus on competition when the UK’s leadership could make a bigger difference through cooperation, says Ian Mitchell, the co-director, Europe for the Center for Global Development
Relationship goals: how ministers and civil servants can work together better
25 Mar 2021 Leadership
Relationship goals: how ministers and civil servants can work together better
The relationship between ministers and civil servants is the most important in government. CSW sat down with one former minister and one former permanent secretary to find out how it works in practice
Covid policy lessons: one year on from the UK’s first lockdown, how have other countries faced the crisis?
23 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
Covid policy lessons: one year on from the UK’s first lockdown, how have other countries faced the crisis?
As the NHS performs the difficult balancing act of carrying out a nationwide vaccine rollout while trying to mitigate the spread of new Covid variants, Geoffrey Lyons peers beyond British borders to review five innovative and relatively inexpensive responses to Covid from foreign governments
Conference rooms become testing centres: how DHSC aims to get rapid Covid tests into workplaces
22 Mar 2021 Commercial
Conference rooms become testing centres: how DHSC aims to get rapid Covid tests into workplaces
The National Worker Programme is the latest step in NHS Test and Trace's plan to curb coronavirus transmissions as the economy reopens. Here's what we know about the programme so far, and the work happening behind the scenes.
Notes on Jeremy’s life: Suzanne Heywood remembers the cabinet secretary in songs and policies Exclusive
18 Mar 2021 Civil Service Reform
Notes on Jeremy’s life: Suzanne Heywood remembers the cabinet secretary in songs and policies
Suzanne Heywood’s biography of Jeremy Heywood gives an extraordinary insight into the late cabinet secretary’s time in government and at home. She speaks to Beckie Smith about recording her husband’s life, what he would have made of the coronavirus crisis, and the music he loved
‘I’m in awe of everything civil servants have achieved’: One Civil Service Awards sponsor reflects on a year like no other Sponsored
15 Mar 2021
‘I’m in awe of everything civil servants have achieved’: One Civil Service Awards sponsor reflects on a year like no other
Rhona Parry, Chief Executive Officer of Indesser, sets out why the company is backing the Civil Service Awards
Read the March edition of Civil Service World
15 Mar 2021
Read the March edition of Civil Service World
Inside: How Jeremy Heywood thought, the relationship between ministers and officials from two people who lived it, and what the closure of the government’s performance platform means for transparency
Civil Service Awards: lessons from the innovation award winners
12 Mar 2021
Civil Service Awards: lessons from the innovation award winners
In the first of a series of articles looking in-depth at the winners of the Civil Service Awards, CSW republishes our in-depth examination of the work of the Home Office’s Accelerated Capability Environment, who won the 2020 Innovation Award
Interview: deputy national statistician on legacy tech, lockdowns and a ‘leap forward’ for government’s use of data
11 Mar 2021 Digital, Data & Technology
Interview: deputy national statistician on legacy tech, lockdowns and a ‘leap forward’ for government’s use of data
Alison Pritchard on plans for the 2021 census, ensuring public trust in statistics – and her next epic boat journey