Leading Questions is a podcast about public sector leadership, published by Global Government Forum.
Every episode we interview a former senior civil servant ...
The UK government has set out a new National Procurement Policy Statement that will focus on ensuring that public procurement can support the government’s five national missions of boosting economic growth, building green energy, tackling crime, breaking down barriers to opportunity and build an NHS fit for the future. The podcast, based on a Global Government Forum webinar held on 4 March, sets out what the new rules, in the policy statement and the Procurement Act 2023, will mean for what public authorities will want to buy, and how they will do it. Listen to this podcast to discuss the key elements of the new UK procurement approach will mean across the public sector – and beyond. Find out more about the webinar on its dedicated webpage, and download the slides from the session here. Find out about Global Government Forum’s upcoming webinars. Global Government Forum’s Innovation 2025 conference will bring together government innovators from around the world in London on 25-26 March 2025, including in public procurement. Find out more and register to attend.
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Innovation in government: opening up policymaking to people-powered insight
Governments need to better join-up policy development with operational delivery to ensure they can meet the growing challenges they face – but such collaboration can be difficult to implement in practice. In this podcast, experts from the UK, Estonia and Brazil share best practice on harnessing people-powered insight in policymaking, examining how governments are working to understand citizens’ lived experiences and to turn their ideas into public services that really work. Co-creation isn’t always easy. It often requires the building of trust between a range of stakeholders with competing interests – even bitter contentions – but as we hear, with the right approach, government teams can identify areas of consensus amongst a diversity of perspectives. Showcasing a paradigm shift from designing for citizens to with citizens, the experts give a range of examples of successful innovations: ones that helped iron out Brexit trade issues in a high-charged environment, led to inclusive budget design at local government level, and empowered children to help their families understand what state benefits they might be eligible for. This human-centred approach to policy design and implementation takes much experimentation, testing and learning as well as upfront investment in time and money – but as we find out, the benefits can be huge. This podcast is based on a webinar held on 11 February. Find out more about the speakers on the webinar page: Crowding in innovation: how to open up policy development to people-powered insight, and view GGF’s upcoming webinars to register to join future conversations. Global Government Forum’s Innovation 2025 conference will bring together government innovators from around the world in London on 25-26 March 2025. Find out more and register to attend.
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How Government Works: How Labour is changing the way Whitehall works to focus on mission delivery
Following the UK general election, Labour has formed a government with a large majority – and with a focus on delivering five national missions. These are: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower; take back our streets by halving serious violent crime; breaking down barriers to opportunity; and building an NHS fit for the future. Focusing on delivering these long-term missions requires, according to prime minister Keir Starmer, requires a different approach to government. It requires departments to work together outside traditional silos, as well as with regional and local government, and businesses and unions, How, then, will Labour change government to deliver these missions? This podcast, the fourth in Global Government Forum’s How Government Works series and based on a webinar held on 14 November, discusses the changes that Labour is making in government to drive progress on these missions, as well as other changes in how government is structured that can deliver on its priorities. The session also touched on what the Budget reveals about the government’s priorities for the next year and beyond. This episode was recorded before prime minister Sir Keir Starmer set out the milestones for the government’s missions in a speech on 30 November, and before Sir Chris Wormald was named as the UK’s cabinet secretary and head of the civil service with a mission to “change the way government serves this country”. These updates will be discussed in the next webinar in GGF’s How Government Work series, taking place on 4 March. And find out more about how the UK government and its international peers are dealing the challenges they face at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference on 25-26 March 2025.
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How Government Works: Operations, activity and processes in policy development and delivery – in Whitehall and beyond
In this third instalment of Global Government Forum’s How Government Works podcast series – which provides a guide to the UK’s corridors of power – we examine the scope of operations, activities and processes that are involved in the delivery of new policy initiatives. This episode explores the policymaking processes: what gets prioritised for legislation and how it is scrutinised and passed, and how does it move to delivery both in the public and private sectors. This is the third in a series of podcasts from Global Government Forum setting out how government works, and was based on a webinar held on 13 September 2024. Keep your eyes on your podcast feed for more episodes from Global Government Forum’s How Government Works series. Register for the next webinar in GGF’s How Government Work series, providing more information on the government’s missions and what they mean in areas like procurement, taking place on 4 March. And find out more about how the UK government and its international peers are dealing the challenges they face at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference on 25-26 March 2025.
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How Government Works: governance, regulation and culture in Whitehall and Westminster
In this second instalment of Global Government Forum’s How Government Works podcast series – which provides a guide to the UK’s corridors of power – we examine governance, regulation and culture of Whitehall and Westminster. Organisational cultures are key to how any operation functions, and this episode looks at everything from the civil service and ministerial codes, to ethics advisors and independent standards committees, and onto parliamentary scrutiny of the government. This is the second in a series of podcasts from Global Government Forum setting out how government works, and was based on a webinar held on 23 August 2024. Register for the next webinar in GGF’s How Government Work series, providing more information on the government’s missions and what they mean in areas like procurement, taking place on 4 March. And find out more about how the UK government and its international peers are dealing the challenges they face at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference on 25-26 March 2025.
Leading Questions is a podcast about public sector leadership, published by Global Government Forum.
Every episode we interview a former senior civil servant and ask them to reflect on key challenges they have faced in their career and what they learned from them.
Packed with interesting insights into government, inspiring stories and handy advice, this is leadership in practice.
Ireland