Policy Lab provides an experimental environment for testing and evaluating new ways to make policy. In our ten-year history we have created space for designers, technologists, ethnographers and other novel practitioners, all with the aim to make policy more effective, …
As many of our readers will be aware, with the General Election on May 7th approaching, the UK civil service is now going into purdah. Purdah is the several weeks before an election when the essential business of government continues, …
Increasingly on the agenda of policymakers is a need to understand the needs, capacities and perspectives of citizens, service users, beneficiaries and front line staff so that policies are fit for purpose and deliverable and public services are better designed.
As you may know from some of our previous blog posts, we’ve been busy squirrelling away to create an Open Policy Making Toolkit. The aim is very simple – as the movement supporting Open Policy Making has grown, more and more …
Before I joined the civil service, I worked for a couple of years in management consultancy, working mainly with local government on improving efficiency, transforming services, and working better with citizens. One of the key lessons I learnt from that …
Can we create public services that are valuable to the public, so that they are delighted, even proud of their existence - whilst simultaneously saving money?
Nudge. Digital. Wellbeing. Social Action. Open Data. Social Finance. User-centred design. Between five and ten years ago these ideas were at the fringes of conversations about how government could develop in the future. Now, while not exactly household terms, they …
With the recent publication of the Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, the DCLG Local Digital Campaign hosted a special workshop bringing together cross-government policy makers, practitioners and partners to examine the lessons and opportunities arising from digital inclusion pilot projects.
Following Virpi's post earlier this week about the Change Agent Network in Finland, we're delighted to welcome Elke, Nancy and Joke on how they are fostering innovation in government in Belgium.
Challenges and problems faced by our society cross all boundaries – attitudinal, professional and especially administrative. Matters under ministerial preparation today are becoming increasingly complex and interwoven. At the same time it has long been recognized, at least in Finland, …
Well, as you will hopefully have seen on this blog, Open Policy 2015 is now done and dusted - and what a great week it was! We saw sessions on agile, Policy Lab, how to run a hackday, data science, …