When university fees tripled in the coalition’s early days, there were dire warnings of the effect on social mobility and student numbers. But as Suzannah Brecknell reports, the real dangers lay elsewhere.

Jaime Perez-Renovales, subsecretary to the Presidency, Spanish Government, tells Civil Service World about the strengths and weaknesses of his home civil service

Graham Allen, chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee, tells Winnie Agbonlahor why government must increase its focus on the long term

As the search begins for a new head of the civil service, read the last interview by incumbent Sir Bob Kerslake – interviewed with the new titular head of the civil service Sir Jeremy Heywood. Words by Matt Ross; picture by Mark Weeks

Government is in the enviable position of having lots of data about its citizens. But the current culture, systems and processes make it difficult to unlock the insight held within that data to better understand citizens, improve services and drive efficiency.

 

How can civil servants unlock the value of government data? Stuart Watson reports from a debate on the benefits and challenges of data sharing. Photos by Paul Heartfield

Sir David Nicholson was appointed chief executive of the NHS in 2006. He retained his position after the coalition came to power and pursued a set of reforms so big, he said, that you could probably see them from space.

‘Big data’ has huge potential – but it’s stoking public concerns over privacy. Ipsos MORI’s Gideon Skinner and Anne Charlton explain the latest research.

Like Robert the Bruce’s persistent spider, the people trying to reform the way the Ministry of Defence buys and manages equipment keep returning to the fray. Colin Marrs reports

John Pullinger has this month started his new job as the UK’s new national statistician. He tells Winnie Agbonlahor about his priorities in the role.

The government has found cross-departmental working more “problematic” than improving coordination at the centre, cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 7 July.​

The Committee on Standards in Public Life thinks it knows how to halt the seemingly endless scandals about outsourcing. Report by Colin Marrs. Illustration by John Levers

Today there is a growing need for organisations to provide seamless and transparent information sharing amongst employees; whether it is visibility of employee goals at different levels within the company to ensure alignment between the individual and the businesses objectives or reporting on financial targets. 

ID Logistics strengthens the performance of its teams in France and globally by using a SaaS-based Learning and Talent Management solution

Cornerstone provide advice on effective approaches for learning management.

Everyone loves a good spreadsheet. But if you have more than a few hundred employees, tracking performance, training, and succession with them is the stuff of nightmares. Spreadsheets and paper-based processes can’t give you deep, real-time insight into how your employees are performing or how to make them—and your company—more successful. But a talent management system can. Our clients shared their reasons for making the switch from spreadsheet to software. Which one tops your list?

The Education Funding Agency is responsible for handing out £54bn of taxpayers’ money every year, funding every state school place in the country. Winnie Agbonlahor meets its chief executive, Peter Lauener

A civil servant in our courts service says we must invest money in order to save it

During her 30-year civil service career, national statistician Jil Matheson has seen a lot of change. The UK Statistics Authority chief discusses the ever-evolving roles of data-crunchers with Suzannah Brecknell

Recovering debt from citizens and businesses is about more than just tougher enforcement. 

Since 2010, the government has acted to tackle fraud and error – but its debt recovery operations remain isolated and uncoordinated. Winnie Agbonlahor listens in at a round table debating a major change on the horizon

This 2 min 49 second video will help you to really understand what the art of the possible is and how using big data technologies can change the way the world does business.

It is all very well making cuts, but is the government confident that they are making the right cuts?  We all know you have to speculate to accumulate but is the public sector investing in the right projects?  Is it procuring effectively?

Government bodies increasingly rely on analytics to turn data into insights and optimise programmes to better serve citizens. Learn more of how SAS is helping govern the future with the power of analytics – view this short video.