What do ministers really think of their officials? We asked Baroness Northover – a government whip during the coalition’s time in office – to appraise the civil service

Successful organisations are the ones that allow multiple perspectives to flourish

The UK’s deputy ambassador to Spain, Daniel Pruce, tells us what it’s like looking after Brits abroad – and why working across departments is so important

Opinion: George Osborne’s call for more savings will be tough to meet, but it also offers the chance for a fundamental rethink of the way services are run

Opinion: Robust statistical analysis has to go hand-in-hand with clear communication, says Jonathan Athow of the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Opinion: Civil servants have risen to George Osborne’s austerity challenge so far – but this summer, they are staring into the abyss

Central government departments are still not incentivised to manage their budgets well, says the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA)

In a desperate bid to garner votes and popularity, many politicians pretend that they have simple answers to intractable problems

Sean Worth argues that BIS, Defra, DECC and the Department for Transport should be merged into a single new department to create a streamlined national infrastructure function

When Foreign Office letters on a plan to move the entire population of  Hong Kong to Northern Ireland turned up at the National Archives, many media outlets failed to spot the hoax. Former FCO official David Snoxell shares the story behind the correspondence, and warns against humour-free diplomacy

When it comes to strengthening their health systems, emerging economies are not short of challenges – and "leapfrogging" can help deliver real change rapidly

Cuts made tactically may be unsustainable – the Treasury must use the 2015 review to reform public services in a lasting way

The Institute for Government director dissects the summer Budget and finds the toughest news is still to come for Whitehall

George Osborne says Britain deserves a pay rise. Unless you work in the public sector, of course

With more cuts to come, Whitehall departments are eyeing productivity gains as a silver bullet

Working on ambitious major projects can be daunting, but good planning can make life a lot more simple

A rigid, inflexible approach to project management is still embedded in Whitehall's culture – and government must be more willing to learn from failure

The civil service's leadership is undoubtedly serious about diversity, but it has a tough road ahead of it

Making the case for the necessity of further cutbacks is much harder in 2015 than in 2010, says the Institute for Government's director

Ahead of tonight’s ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Civil Service Awards, Björn Conway of EY shares his experience of being a judge, and why he believes it's important to celebrate the achievements of civil servants

Matt Hancock wants real-time data to underpin future spending decisions across governments. He's quite right, says Adrian Brown, but taking a strategic approach will be vital

Plans to cap “six figure” exit payments for public sector workers could have damaging consequences for trust and workforce management

Some departments take a deeply defensive attitude towards parliament, but developing a closer relationship with the Palace of Westminster could benefit civil servants in a number of ways, argues the Institute for Government's Dr Hannah White

Cameron's new implementation taskforces are a welcome step if government wants to prioritise impact. But delivery remains an uphill struggle