I've been in the gov tech and transformation communitiy since 2009. I've worked for mySociety, the GLA, HackIT and GDS. I'm on the committees for GovCamp, Policy Camp, TransformGov Talks, the National Strategy Project and the UK Polyamory Association.
Great post from @publicdigital.bsky.social public.digital/pd-insights/...
Why the UK Government correspondence system fails citizens, and how to fix it — Public Digitalpublic.digitalAlex raises an extremely good point I hadn't considered. The hollowing out of quality local journalism means less oversight of these devolved powers. Does make me wonder if we'll see a lot of self appointed local gov oversight social media influencers becoming a thing.
Alex ParsonsHere's the bit in the rewiring the state doc, where I think my quick take is "yes, that defines the shape of the problem" (and the role of journalists as public intermediaries in the bit that mentions the public is key to come back to)
Very nice piece in @civilserviceworld.bsky.social by our very own @gavinfreeguard.com www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...
Digital disruption: The dangers of demolishing DSITFrom a public sector digital transformation viewpoint, the abolition of DSIT is bafflingwww.civilserviceworld.comThis is extremely interesting and the pace for it to be delivered at is… Impressively ambitious.
Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement (HTML)www.gov.ukVery good (as you'd expect). You should definitely read the whole thing. The absolute mess in relation to AI shows, I think, that the incoming government just doesn't take it at all seriously.
Gavin FreeguardI have blogged! The State of the Present: Andy Burnham’s new government or - Why the abolition of DSIT is baffling and bad - Why I'm worried about what it means for civil service reform - Some opportunities for the new government around data, digital, open government medium.com/state-of-the...
I think there'd need to be a lot more studies to prove that people want more open-minded conversation and not just that they want whatever shiny badges are on offer.
Dr Rob WrayTurns out people are more open-minded when social media rewards respectful engagement not popularity. An experiment, where users earned "open-minded" badges used more intellectually humble language. No change in political views, but improved the tone of discussion. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Exceptional work @zachweinersmith.bsky.social - this is possibly the most depressing thing I've ever read.
SMBC ComicsThe crank doesn't actually do anything, but it makes the humans happy. COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/crank PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm... STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
It was a great event! Thanks for being part of it @register-dynamics.co.uk .
Register DynamicsWe’re still buzzing from @policycamp.bsky.social Having five members of the @Register Dynamics team there made it a fantastic experience for everyone — a chance to meet new people, make new connections and be part of such an open and welcoming community.
@annadent.bsky.social
Ben ZarankoSensible policy klaxon 🚨 Currently, if a 16 year old chooses to stay in school/college, their family can keep claiming benefits as before (notably child benefit). If they opt for an apprenticeship, the benefits stop. The system discourages apprenticeships. The DWP just announced a fix 🧵
I was also directed to this on a completely different path today by @ryanburge.bsky.social in relation to religion statistics and was, once again, reminded of the late great Hans Rosling. If I was Sec Ed I would put understanding the sizes of such groups in the National Curriculum.
Ariel Edwards-LevyAnd similarly from YouGov: yougov.com/en-us/articl... "Inaccurate perceptions of group size are not limited to the types of socially charged group divisions typically explored in similar studies: race, religion, sexuality, education, and income....Why is demographic math so difficult?"
How do you prove a negative like "I no longer believe in God" to the UK Immigration Service? A live-changing difficulty supported by @humanists.uk . humanists.uk/events/in-co...
In conversation with Lucy Potterhumanists.uk