public policy, technology and society – democracy in an age of change

The intersection of public policy, technology and society is complex. And yes, that’s something of an understatement. A mix of politics, law, design, architecture, usability,

payday loans and the missed opportunity?

In our book Digitizing Government: understanding and implementing new digital business models, there’s a table illustrating how often grand announcements have been made around the

The wellsprings of UK digital reform part 2 – separating porcine lip enhancement from transformation

Previously This is the second episode of a mini-series of blogs looking at the origins of the UK government’s digital reform programme since 2010. Part

The wellsprings of UK digital reform part 1 – the backstory

While there are some great pockets of work taking place to deliver better public services, the UK government’s overall attempts at technology-enabled, or “e-government” or

Manifesto for Better Public Services

Last night at the Institute for Government, I helped launch the “Manifesto for Better Public Services”, along with an accompanying and much more detailed “Better

the inadequate scope of public sector “reform”

In the 1999 book “Reinventing Government”, information is placed at the centre of the government reform model: The rings identify multiple aspects that need to be addressed

improving data science ethics

Just over a year ago the UK’s data science ethical framework was put out for consultation. The purpose of the framework was to give civil

towards a “future society” book

“Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral” – Melvin Kranzberg (1917-1995) A generation ago it was possible to work in an occupation

the identity / data divide

Proving who someone is online and letting them access their personal data – such as their tax, welfare, pension or medical records – often get

… the end of biometric security?

This piece on “Imitating people’s speech patterns precisely could bring trouble” in the Economist caught my eye. It mentions a new technology that means any voice—including

better use of data

I’ve been using the following simplified slides in briefings and discussions about “data sharing” and the “data sharing” provisions in the Digital Economy Bill. I thought

Escaping waterfall government and the myth of ‘digital transformation’

Writing with my colleague Cassian Young, in a new article in Computer Weekly we consider why an agile approach to digital programmes will not transform