This month's issue shines a light on science and innovation in the civil service – plus, the civil servants behind Operation Bridges and an exclusive interview with government's chief property officer
In CSW's science and innovation-focused November 2022 issue, Defence and Security Accelerator Anita Friend tells us how working on crisis from bird flu to the Novichok poisonings informed her approach to work. That experience – which "forces you to focus on the things that are going to make the most difference" – which led her to DASA, which finds and funds innovation to serve national security.
Our science and innovation spotlight also shines on the Government Office for Technology Transfer. Chief exec Dr Alison Campbell shares GOTT’s priorities, and explains how departments could be missing opportunities to make the most of their intellectual resources.
Meanwhile, Dr Jason Dewhurst, Home Office director for science and technology strategy and delivery, tells us how he's working to improve the department’s use of science, evidence and innovation; and Caitlin Ballard of the Geospatial Commission shares how innovations in location data has made the UK a leader in geospatial capability.
Elsewhere in the issue, we speak to civil servants who worked behind the scenes to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II. They give us a unique insight into what it was like working on Operation Bridges – from organising the lying-in-state and running the Queue Tracker, to the press office.
Plus, our 27-page Civil Service Awards supplement gives full details of this year's shortlist.
Also in this issue:
- Chief property officer Mark Chivers tells all about his plans to make the government estate work better
- Sam Freedman, a former policy adviser to Michael Gove at DfE, reflects on what he wishes he'd done differently
- We look into transparency concerns surrounding how DWP is using artificial intelligence to help detect fraud
- Richard Stirling and Jasmine Kendall of Oxford Insights write about the need for more human-centred public services – and why the UK is well set up to deliver them.
- The Institute for Government's Rhys Clyne puts forward some essential dos and don'ts the PM should bear in mind while making civil service cuts
Read the full issue as a PDF here or in ebook format here.