Leading Questions

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How Government Works: Operations, activity and processes in policy development and delivery – in Whitehall and beyond Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

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.

How Government Works: governance, regulation and culture in Whitehall and Westminster Dec 17, 2024

Show notes

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.

How Government Works: demystifying the structures and responsibilities in Whitehall, Westminster and beyond Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

Understanding how Whitehall and Westminster work can be a daunting challenge. Even those who have been interacting professionally with government for many years can find some of the practices, procedures, conventions and relationships complicated to navigate.

This first podcast in Global Government Forum’s How Government Works series provides easy-to-digest information on who does what, and how, in government.

Listen to this episode to get a simple summary of everything from constitutional frameworks to the organisational structures and interactions, and onto operational procedures, people and power. The session also looked at how to interact with these institutions and people in the most appropriate and effective ways.

This is the first in a series of podcasts from Global Government Forum setting out how government works, and was based on a webinar held on 12 July 2024. At the time of recording, Simon Case was the UK government cabinet secretary, prior to his departure in December 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

BONUS EPISODE: How the US federal government is getting ready for President Trump Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

The US presidential election is the most consequential taking place in the ‘year of democracy’.

This special episode of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, taken from a webinar held on 19 November, looks at what public servants will be doing to prepare for the incoming presidential team led by President Donald Trump.

In this podcast, webinar chair Siobhan Benita discusses the work that civil servants will be undertaking for the government transition with Jason Briefel, non-attorney partner and director of government and public affairs, Shaw Bransford & Roth, and Richard Johnstone, executive editor, Global Government Forum.

Listen to this podcast to hear insight on what civil servants will be doing to prepare for a new president, the process of a presidential transition, and what the Department of Government Efficiency means for government.

The conversation covers:

What the election result reveals about the public's priorities for government - particularly around trends like tackling inflation and immigration.
How the result fits into international electoral trends.
What happens in a government transition.
How civil servants will be preparing for implementing Trump's priorities - introducing tariffs, deportation of illegal immigrants, reducing government spending.
Key appointments that are made so far.

Mentioned in this episode:

Japan looks to learn from Elon Musk’s US government efficiency programme

Read the US CIO study mentioned in this report

Over the two days of May 13 – 14, 2025, the Government Service Delivery event program unites global digital government leaders to explore tech-driven innovation for delivering high-quality public services for customers. This event will include an exclusive series of roundtables and an open conference – find out more here and register your interest

How the Government of Canada is making progress on digital transformation Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Leading Questions LIVE, Siobhan Benita speaks to Dominic Rochon, chief information officer for Canada.

They discuss Dominic’s broad mandate, which includes service delivery, security and privacy, as well as his current priorities such as improving digital services, enhancing cybersecurity, and modernising legacy systems. Dominic touches upon Canada’s past technological failures and controversies, and stresses the role of collaboration, both within government and with provincial governments and the private sector, to bring public services into a new era of human-centred service design. The conversation also covers how to professionalise the digital workforce and implement more agile procurement practices to keep pace with technological advancements.

“In the financial world…chief financial officers have to get certifications and have to keep those certifications up to date,” Rochon said. “In the federal government, that is not the case for the digital world. I'd like to explore how we get to that, particularly given how fast technology is evolving.”

He highlights how such an approach is particularly needed if government is to make the most of artificial intelligence, for example.

This episode also previews AccelerateGOV, Global Government Forum’s annual conference held in Ottawa, where digital leaders from around the world gather to discuss how governments can overcome challenges to realise the opportunities of digital transformation.

Listen to the podcast in full to hear about how Dominic is leading the way to making digital transformation happen.

Public servants can register free to attend AccelerateGOV, taking place at the Shaw Centre on 21 October.

Leading Questions Live: How to make government work in the age of permacrisis Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Leading Question, recorded with a live online audience, a panel of Global Government Forum experts delve into the findings of its research into the key characteristics needed for a modern public service. The Making Government Work report identifies five key pillars of a modern civil service, which are:

· Strong leadership with mutual respect and alignment between ministers and senior officials

· Building a highly skilled, inclusive and thriving public sector workforce.

· Fostering an agile, digital, and risk-taking culture focused on delivery.

· Implementing working structures that transcend organisational silos.

· Cultivating a service trusted by its users and the public.

The report is the culmination of interviews with 12 senior civil service leaders from around the world, and comes in response to requests from leaders at Global Government Forum’s annual Global Government Summit for a comprehensive “blueprint” for government that could consolidate and expand key knowledge shared over the past decade.

In the conversation, report authors Richard Johnstone, Siobhan Benita and Lord Gus O’Donnell discuss the elements of each of these pillars, setting out the findings from this unique research. Listen now for an unprecedented primer on the key issues that governments around the world are facing. For civil servants looking to understand how to cultivate a service trusted by individual users and the public at large, this discussion is essential listening.

Read our Making Government Work report here.

Thank you to the leaders who took part in this study:

· Glyn Davis, secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia

· Donna Cadogan, head, public service, Barbados

· John Hannaford, clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet, Canada

· Taimar Peterkop, state secretary, Estonia

· Henrik Haapajärvi, former state secretary to the prime minister, Finland

· Claire Landais, secretary general of the government, France

· Haryomo Dwi Putranto, acting chair, Indonesian National Civil Service Agency, Indonesia

· John Callinan, secretary general of Department of Taoiseach and Government, Ireland

· Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service of the Federation, Nigeria (retired 14 August)

· Leo Yip, head of civil service and permanent secretary (Prime Minister’s Office), Singapore

· Simon Case, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, United Kingdom

· Dustin Brown, deputy assistant director for Management, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, United States (at time of interview).

US presidential election: what the party platforms say – and what you need to know Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

In this special edition of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, which is based on a GGF webinar held in September, we look at the key issues in the upcoming United States presidential election.

Join Siobhan Benita as she discuss the key issues of the campaign with Dr Thomas Gift, the associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on US Politics (CUSP) at UCL, and Kevin R. Kosar, a resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Listen to this podcast to find out:

The key issues shaping the campaign.
The policy priorities being set out by the parties. The early actions that the next president will likely take.

How to empower civil servants to deliver government missions, with Dr Dan Honig Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

In a new episode of Leading Questions, Richard Johnstone, the executive editor of Global Government Forum, interviews Dr Dan Honig, professor of public policy at University College London and Georgetown University, about his new book, Mission Driven Bureaucrats.

Subtitled Empowering People To Help Government Do Better, Honig’s book explores how civil servants can be empowered to drive better government performance.

Honig argues that many public sector organisations are too focused on compliance – what he describes as an attempt to keep those who might want to do ill from doing it.

Such an approach wears down public servants, leaving those who are driven to make a difference frustrated by the obstacles and compliance rules they face.

This highly topical interview comes as the new UK government aims to focus on five key missions. Honig provides insight on how to realise progress on what he calls these grand missions, as well as using missions as a means to clearly state public service purposes – be that fighting fires, providing care or being the best internal auditor.

Honig says that empowering civil servants is vital to achieving all these missions, giving civil servants both autonomy and support as a team to deliver.

Listen in full to hear about how to make mission delivery happen in government – from strategies to drive change like implementing ‘green tape rules’ to the role of leadership.

And if you have questions about how to make mission-driven change happen in government, please contact richard.johnstone@globalgovernmentforum.com – and we will ask Dan for his tips on adopting a mission approach in government.

Mentioned in this conversation:

Find out more about Dan’s book: Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better

Making Government Work: Exclusive Global Government Forum research reveals five pillars of a modern civil service

History has been made, paving the way for major public service reform in South Africa

UK general election: how to get ready for the next government - BONUS EPISODE Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to this special edition of Leading Questions in which we look at the key issues in the UK general election and how civil servants will be working to get ready for the next government.

The general election will be held on 4 July, with parties setting out their vision for the future of the country.

That means that right now, civil servants are working on ‘day one’ documents for new ministers who will be appointed after votes are cast. These briefings will highlight the key issues that the next government will have to deal with, and set out the path to implement key policies.

Richard Johnstone, the executive editor of Global Government Forum, Leading Questions podcast host Siobhan Benita and the former Director General, Government Digital Service Kevin Cunnington, discuss the policy battleground in this election; the issues the next prime minister will inherit – whoever they are – and what will be happening in Whitehall right now as officials observe the campaign.

As this is a very topical conversation, recorded earlier this week, and we wanted to share this with you on this feed – we hope you enjoy.

Flipping the script in government with former Bank of England chief economist – Andy Haldane Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

In this, the last episode of Leading Questions series 3, Andy Haldane talks about thriving on leading through crisis and the challenges and opportunities “when the old is broken and the new is yet to be forged”.

Having spent 32 years at the Bank of England, latterly as chief economist, headed up the UK government’s Levelling Up taskforce, founded the charity Pro Bono Economics, and spent the last two years as chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, Andy has a range of roles and experiences to draw on. Yet though he has been very honest publicly about his organisations’ successes and failures over the years, he hasn’t divulged much about his own leadership style and motivations – until now.

The man once named amongst the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine has seen his fair share of crises – not least, during his time at the Bank of England, the global financial crisis of 2008, the European debt crisis, Black Wednesday, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Looking back over those 32 years, it was hallmarked or perhaps pockmarked by crises. They always come along, don’t they? But we seem to have had a particularly virulent sequence over the last 15 years plus,” he says.

It is fortunate, then, that Andy is energised by the opportunity to drive big, system-wide change.

Motivated by his belief that the most effective and durable way of making change is to engage as broad a base of stakeholders as possible, Andy describes the importance of listening to those not often given a voice. Indeed, speaking to people for whom the economy was not working proved to be “one of the most valuable sources of intelligence I could have had”.

He also speaks of his tendency to be publicly honest about the things that have gone wrong and to suggest ideas radically different from the status quo; his concern that civil servants do not have “a long enough window of relative tranquillity to build their sea defences against whatever the next tsunami might be”; and of the importance of having an “optimistic, non-fatalistic mindset”.

This fascinating episode is a window into the motivations of a man in the business of “establishing next practice rather than best practice thinking”, of considering what’s around the corner, and of “instilling a sense of belief about what’s possible”.

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