The weeks ahead will likely be dominated by politics, not policy. Private offices should play a key role in helping officials understand what is driving ministers’ decisions, says Tim Durrant

Dominic Cummings is sending signals out across government about how he plans to operate. But even the most high-profile special advisers have no real power – they only speak with the authority of their political bosses.

The leak of the Cabinet Office’s Operation Yellowhammer contingency planning shows how much government is working on mitigating the risks it can predict from a no-deal Brexit. But the government cannot prepare for things it doesn’t know will happen

Damascene conversions on civil service brilliance should be backed with proper recognition and reward, says Prospect deputy general secretary

Martin Stanley highlights some publications that could help get ideas flowing

Policy think tanks have become important in the development of policy in a relatively short space of time. Colin Talbot and Carole Talbot ask if this a good thing

Former civil servant Steve O'Neil takes a fresh look at the appliance of science at the heart of government

John Manzoni highlights the progress being made on the use of data as an asset to counter fraud, and invites civil servants and all interested sectors to share and contribute to a government thought paper on how to do more

In China, a bold approach to working with the private sector is having a huge impact which has put it at the forefront of digital government, says Joshua Chambers

The only certainty in the Conservative leadership race is that some civil servants will get a new boss, says the Institute for Government’s Tim Durrant

To successfully handle new post-Brexit powers, public bodies across the UK will need to build on ways they already work together – and manage divergence – across the nations

 Trump's petulant and quasi-hysterical reaction has served only to prove the Darroch hypothesis

Taking a stand for civil service impartiality is more important now than at any time in the past 100 years

Following news of Olly Robbins' likely departure, Brexiteers must stop treating civil servants like parents turning up at your first Glastonbury and act with level-headedness

Government chief commercial officer Gareth Rhys Williams has set out ambitious plans to improve contract management across government. He tells CSW what has been achieved in the first six months of a new accreditation scheme

Select committees have a key duty to hold those who hold power to account. Former MP Huw Edwards looks at how they have changed in the 40 years since they were created, and what parliamentarians are looking for when they are taking evidence.

Isabel Hardman’s examination of the inhabitants of parliament reveals some of the factors that have contributed to the country’s current crisis, writes Anthony Fitzsimmons

The scale, constraints and pressure of Brexit have very few comparators – and the clock is ticking. Is it any wonder that the complexity of trying to deliver it is keeping civil servants up at night?

In these unprecedented circumstances, we should ditch the convention of confidentiality around civil servants’ advice to ministers – for the good of us all, says the FDA general secretary

As Tory hopefuls set out their stall for the role of PM, the civil service had better prepare for deckchair shuffling and another round of pointless departmental name changes

Government must learn the lessons of its bruising parliamentary experiences if it is to deliver on its plans to leave the EU

Civil servants have always worked under pressure, but Brexit has upped the level considerably. Sneering at departments helping staff deal with stress benefits no-one, says Andrew Greenway

Whatever crisis the country faces, Liz Truss is always on hand to lambast civil servants

Re-combining the role of national security adviser with the post of cabinet secretary undoes a reform made in 2010. Dr Joe Devanny asks if the decision is the right one.