The former top official at the Department for Work and Pensions shares his Whitehall reflections with CSW editor Jess Bowie

As the government’s most senior medical adviser, it’s Dame Sally Davies’ job to stand up for hard evidence and grapple with some of the country’s biggest health challenges. Matt Foster meets her

With life and death in the balance, does the Department of Health have the Treasury over a barrel when it comes to spending negotiations? Sally Gainsbury takes the temperature of the debate

Una O’Brien feels proud of what she’s achieved in five tough years as the Department of Health’s top civil servant. But what does being permanent secretary at DH mean in 2015, and how is O’Brien tackling the most pressing issues facing the NHS today – including the critical state of its finances? Jess Bowie meets her

Care.data – which aims to improve health outcomes by linking GP data with hospital admissions and other patient information – has been dogged by concerns about consent and data security. Two years after it was first announced, Colin Marrs gives this major government programme a check-up

Merging Councils' IT Services is all about the applications, says Richard Ingram, Cloud Solutions Architect at public cloud consultancy SystemsUp

The Civil Service Retirement Fellowship’s befriending schemes have struck a chord with many officials who are lending a hand to help combat isolation in later life. CSRF deputy chief executive David Tickner explains the thinking behind the scheme

Keela Shackell-Smith describes how she helped break the Environment Agency’s glass ceiling and increase the percentage of women in senior roles 

An adult social worker discusses how budget cuts and legislative changes mean those in his profession now spend more time on paperwork than looking after people in need

By taking an agile approach and turning to the public for help with a new property app, the Land Registry scooped last year’s Civil Service Award for Innovation. Colin Marrs finds out more

As the DfE vows to accelerate its flagship school reform programme, Mark Rowe asks whether government has the capacity to deliver

Modern government pulls ministers in every direction at once, which makes the officials in charge of their diaries indispensable. But as former civil servant Dunstan Hadley explains, fitting it all in can be tough

Colin Marrs speaks to Tom Woodroffe – former adviser to William Hague – about the Foreign Office’s mission to put tackling sexual violence in conflict at the top of the international agenda

Four former members of the Number 10 staff recall the highs and lows of their time at the centre of government

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory scooped last year’s prize for skills at the Civil Service Awards. Colin Marrs finds out how the team’s use of emotional intelligence training made a difference with staff

Civil Service World's regular guide to the very best in Whitehallese

A connoisseur of the Whitehall machine and an expert on the British prime ministers he has known, William Waldegrave has had a remarkable political career. Peter Hennessy meets him

Ordnance Survey is learning to navigate a new digital landscape. But that doesn’t mean paper maps are folding for good, new CEO Nigel Clifford tells Colin Marrs

The development of Universal Credit has been dogged by missteps. So can it still deliver a new system of “dynamic benefits”? Colin Marrs asks the experts

Jess Bowie breaks bread with the outspoken chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Environment secretary Liz Truss has hailed Defra’s new Open Data Initiative as the biggest ever "data give-away" by government. But what will it mean in practice? Mark Rowe reports

As director general of the powerful Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, it’s the job of Antonia Romeo to make sure Cabinet decisions don’t get lost in the Whitehall machine. Matt Foster meets her

The countryside and climate change were strangely absent from the election campaign and the Queen’s Speech. Why – and what does this mean for DECC, Defra and the governance of the environment? Mark Rowe reports

 Key traits to look out for in the interview process that can help predict whether someone is going to eventuate as a toxic employee