There’s more to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office than diplomacy and policy, with the government department harbouring one of the most overtly commercial operations in the civil service. Danny Payne, chief executive of FCO Services, tells CSW’s Jonathan Owen how the trading fund set up less than a decade ago has come of age

The world is changing – and so must the civil service. Ian Lithgow and Mike Falvey map out a way to give public servants more flexible and varied careers, whilst stimulating local economies and helping government adapt to today’s challenges

Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the Government Economic Service, tells Sam Macrory why, despite the tumultuous times ahead, she would welcome a return to Whitehall…and not only to increase the number of senior women by one

Britain's new prime minister Theresa May has vowed to "make a success" of Britain's historic decision to quit the European Union. But as Sir Nigel Sheinwald – the UK's former permanent representative to the European Union – tells Sam Macrory, that will no easy task

The civil service "lost self-confidence" as a result of the coalition's reform, the former Defra and Home Office perm sec tells Sam Macrory, as the pair take tea in Sutton House

Former Border Force director general Tony Smith spent four decades in Theresa May's old department, the Home Office. Here he tells Matt Foster that while Britain's new prime minister is a demanding boss who does her homework, she's also willing to stick up for her civil servants when push comes to shove

While some civil servants are tech savvy, others lack the skills to embrace 21st-century ways of working. How can this be addressed? Mark Smulian reports on a recent CSW round table discussing digital transformation

Not long ago, the team overseeing digital transformation in Whitehall was in need of some significant changes itself. Zara Farrar, leader of the Government Digital Service’s women’s group, tells Rebecca Hill how GDS reinvented its attitude to women

As Sir Michael Wilshaw approaches the end of his tenure as head of education inspectorate Ofsted, he looks back on his time in post and vents his concerns about a worrying lack of leadership in schools

HM Treasury’s new permanent secretary Tom Scholar arrives in post via a somewhat different route to long-serving predecessor Sir Nick Macpherson. Colin Marrs takes a look at his career to date and speaks to those who've worked alongside him

Christopher Jary remembers the civil servants who volunteered to fight for their country in the Great War as recalled in Jill Knight’s book, The Civil Service Rifles in the Great War: ‘All Bloody Gentlemen’

“When we are concerned about a service, we have learnt to have a much better discussion about how that could be improved," says GDS chief operating officer Alex Holmes

After 16 years as the outspoken CEO of the charity leaders’ network ACEVO, Sir Stephen Bubb is moving to a new project. He finds time to tell Suzannah Brecknell about his frustrations with government, and his hopes for the future

Drawn up by four civil servants in their spare time, the new digital Mentor Match service has won the backing of some of Whitehall’s top figures. Here the scheme’s founders explain how they did it — and how they hope to tear down the “barriers to entry” for officials looking for new skills and challenges

How DFID can educate and empower the British public to back its work and investment across global nations.

Civil Service World's regular guide to the very best in Whitehallese

Microsoft shows a few of the ways that governments can turn data into insight

This time last year, Louise Haigh had only just become an MP. Now she’s Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, holding the government to account on civil service issues – and making her voice heard on Whitehall’s diversity record. Matt Foster meets her

The government is determined to cut public sector costs, to rebalance the economy, and to drive up exports. Joshua Southern, Manager at KPMG, suggests how one policy could create big wins across government, industry and the UK export market

Microsoft makes the case for local councils to move to the cloud

In an era of protracted belt-tightening in government, how can departments collaborate on policy design to save money and improve outcomes for the citizen? A recent CSW round table explored these issues, as Colin Marrs reports

Microsoft looks at the digital infrastructure that allows cities to prosper

Dame Judith Hackitt, the new head of the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, spent nine years overseeing the Health & Safety Executive before returning to her roots in industry. Sam Macrory meets her

Mark Carne has had a challenging reign as chief executive of the body in charge of Britain's railways. As the Network Rail boss meets staff to talk about the future of the organisation, he tells CSW's Mark Leftly about the "fundamental" challenge of being reclassified as a public sector body – and the dangers of paying staff "significantly under the market rate"