Open data and open standards were given a welcome and practical revival in the early days of the Government Digital Service (GDS). This included the
Category: technology policy
Digital government and asymmetric justice
Governments are acquiring and sharing more of our data on the basis that it will improve efficiency, personalise services, and reduce fraud, error and debt.
Improving identity assurance and trust
We may live in a digital age, but paper documents – notably passports – are still the most trusted evidence to help prove who we
biometrics revisited
One day last week I stumbled across the advert above for Biometrics 2006 while trying to sort out my hopelessly disorganised backlog of digital files.
remembering government.direct – the first interactive green paper
“Top 5% of all Web sites!” “Networking industry awards!” “Awards for excellence!” No, these accolades aren’t for GOV.UK. They’re for the much earlier 1994 central
Data Privacy Day musings
Consider this on #DataPrivacyDay. For more than 60 years now, organisations have been trying to understand and manipulate the way we think, as the first
The political opportunity – and threat – of better public services
Hard to believe I know, but we’re approaching ten years ago – 4th June 2009 to be precise – when Tim O’Reilly set out his
The curious ‘failings’ of Facebook – and the true cost of ‘free’
Facebook manages to achieve the near impossible. It often appears technically and politically incompetent, yet remains highly profitable. Its ability to track, monitor and profile
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
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
