The Chancellor has said she wants to build an active and strategic state that drives investment-led growth across the whole of the UK. But is the wiring in place to make that happen?

In this episode, recorded at the Connected Places Summit in London, Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Alan Welby, managing director for built environment and local growth at the Connected Places Catapult, about what it will take to turn that ambition intoreality.

Drawing on a new report finding that only 1% of SMEs in most UK cities meet the threshold for investment readiness, Alan explains why capital continues to follow familiarityand existing networks rather than potential, and what needs to change. Theconversation covers blended finance, devolution, and the skills gap betweenpublic and private sectors. Plus, we hear a concrete example of how innovativefinancing models are being used to retrofit ageing housing stock in Glasgow.

Alan calls on civil servants to be bolder, and get muchsmarter about  supporting – and challenging – places to collaborate as they drive growth.

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, Editor-in-Chief, Civil ServiceWorld.
Recorded and produced by Podot.

From October, the UK takes on the chair of the Open Government Partnership, a global network of over 70 countries committed to more transparent, accountable and participatory government. In this episode Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Kevin Keith, chair of the UK Open Government Network and the UK Multi-Stakeholder Forum, about how the civil service can make the most of this moment.

From the lessons of a psychological experiment from 1950s Oklahoma, to what open government means in practice and why it matters right now, Kevin explores what all of this means for policy and delivery, and how the agenda connects to some of the biggest forces reshaping politics: from the collapse of public trust, to the rise of populism.

Useful links and contacts mentioned in this episode:

• UK Open Government Network: opengovernment.org.uk
• Contact:[email protected]

• Open Government team, Cabinet Office Strategy Unit: [email protected]
• Open Government Partnership: www.opengovpartnership.org

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, Editor-in-Chief, Civil Service World.

Recorded and produced by Podot.

Why is it so hard to do government well – and who’s trying to change that?

In this episode Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Derek Alton, founder of Civic Punks and former public servant, about his global quest to find the people who are building the future of government.

The conversation explores why governments struggle to adapt at the pace they need to, what history and even ecology can teach us about renewal, and how change can happen through the people who make the system work.

And, of course, we meet the Civic Punks - people with a passion for public service and a determination to change the system from within and without.

You can meet more Civic Punks on Derek's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CivicPunks

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, Editor-in-Chief, Civil Service World

Produced by Podot

The latest Civil Service World Podcast discusses the extraordinary week we've just seen in Westminster and Whitehall.

CSW's editors-in-chief Jess and Suzannah are joined by Hannah Keenan from the Institute for Government to reflect on the sacking of cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald, the unprecedented nature of the situation - given how recently Wormald was appointed, and the impact of the turmoil on civil service morale.

Presented by Jess Bowie and Suzannah Brecknell.

Recorded and produced by Podot.

In this episode, we speak to Megan Lee Devlin – DG for Service Transformation at the Ministry of Justice – about practical, responsible AI adoption in government.

Megan shares how she uses AI day-to-day, from making the most of the general tools licenced by her department to the no-code tools built by civil servants themselves. She also tells us about bespoke, large-scale tools like Justice Transcribe, which has halved the time probation officers spend on admin.

She offers advice on building capability, overcoming challenges like hallucinations, and how leaders can support a wider adoption of AI through curiosity, connection and responsible championing.

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, editor-in-chief, Civil Service World.

Recorded and produced by Podot.

In episode four of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era.

In one way or another, HM Revenue and Customs touches the lives of almost every adult in the UK. In this episode, we sit down with Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, to hear about the challenges and complexities of designing services that need to work for everyone. We also hear some examples of transformation that Myrtle has led and what success looks like for her – and for HMRC as a whole.

Hosted by Jess Bowie, editor-in-chief of Civil Service World, and Jo Thomson, partner – customer transformation at KPMG.

Recorded and produced by Podot.

In this episode we speak to Heidi Edwards, assistant head of AI skills and talent at the Defence AI Centre in the Ministry of Defence, to find out how a new way of learning is helping to grow AI skills across all parts of the MoD.

We also discuss what an AI ready workforce would look like in terms of skills, culture and leadership with Heidi and Olivia Lory Kay, director of workforce development at Capita.

This episode is sponsored by Capita.

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, editor-in-chief, Civil Service World.

Edited and produced by Podot.

We're doing things a bit differently this episode. Instead of interviewing a senior civil servant, we're pulling back the curtain and giving listeners an all-access look at how we put together the current issue of Civil Service World.

We hear from three members of Team CSW - Tevye Markson, Susan Allott and Beckie Smith - about the features they worked on and who they enjoyed interviewing, and also ask Beckie, who is now in charge of the print magazine, how it felt to put together her first issue.

Hosted (remotely) by Jess Bowie.

Episode recorded and produced by Podot.

In this episode we explore how learning is changing across government. Our panel discuss the pressures facing departments, the opportunities that new approaches can bring, and the lessons organisations can take from recent examples.

Our guests are Mike Zealley, managing director, learning services at KPMG, Louise Scott-Worrall UK head of learning services at KPMG and Tamsin Cooper, managing director at Forward Institute.

You will hear about the trends shaping workplace learning and the challenges that leaders must overcome to deliver real impact.

Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell, editor-in-chief of Civil Service World.

In episode three of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era.

Jess and Jo hear first from three citizens, some of whom have seen an improvement in public services, others who have been let down.

Our main interview this episode is with Kate Caulkin, a former senior civil servant and HR and project delivery expert who is now people and operational management insights director at the National Audit Office.

We also hear from Keith White, a digital transformation leader who was (at the time of recording) head of digital experience at Northern Trains.

Hosted by Jess Bowie, editor-in-chief of Civil Service World, and Jo Thomson, partner – customer transformation at KPMG.

Recorded and produced by Podot.