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‘Bureaucracy – oh a living hell’: five minutes with Estonia’s CTO Kristo Vaher

The chief technology officer tells GGF about having finally ‘cracked it’ after years as an automation engineer, why he believes the civil service should neither design nor build citizen services, […]

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and president Xi Jinping of China meeting during his state visit to South Africa

A tale of two countries: why has state capture seen China boom and South Africa bust?

 Picture of Markus Sovala, Statistics Finland’s director general, taken at the 2022 Global Government Finance Summit

Finland’s stats chief Markus Sovala: from challenging employee to change leader 

News

Denominations of Euros fanned out on a flat surface

Belgian officials set for pay boost as government joins global warnings of ‘war for talent’ for civil servants

Belgium’s minister of the civil service has struck a preliminary agreement with trade unions to boost civil servants’ reward packages by as much as 7% after a prolonged pay dispute. […]

A portrait of UK government minister Jacob Rees-Mogg

UK minister hints work-from-home civil servants could face job cuts

The UK government’s minister for efficiency has hinted that civil servants still working at home could be at increased risk of losing their job as departments plan to make cuts […]

Shaking hands illustration cyber security

US federal government to increase cybersecurity cooperation with state and local officials; UK plans space sustainability standard: policy and delivery news in brief

Global Government Forum’s weekly digest of the news you need to know but might have missed US federal government to increase cybersecurity cooperation with state and local officials US federal […]

A picture of a set of tower blocks forming the shape of a Canadian maple leaf

Canada to create top official to police artificial intelligence under new data law

The Canadian government could name a top official to police the development of artificial intelligence systems in the country under proposed legislation introduced to parliament. The Digital Charter Implementation Act […]

AI

A picture of a set of tower blocks forming the shape of a Canadian maple leaf

Canada to create top official to police artificial intelligence under new data law

The Canadian government could name a top official to police the development of artificial intelligence systems in the country under proposed legislation introduced to parliament. The Digital Charter Implementation Act […]

Aerial photograph of buildings in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. J

Brazil’s national AI strategy is unachievable, government study finds

The objectives set out in Brazil’s national artificial intelligence strategy are unachievable, according to a study by the government’s accountability office. The report by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) […]

An image of a boats on a strip of water outside Valletta, Malta

Malta fosters ambition to be ‘best possible environment’ for AI with six new government projects

The Maltese government plans to launch six new artificial intelligence (AI) projects to improve citizen services and further its aim of becoming a major development and testing hub for local […]

Black and white photo of a woman's face, half of it covered by digital code, and a robot hand, to signify artificial intelligence

AI intelligence: equipping public and civil service leaders with the skills to embrace emerging technologies

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data technologies may still be in their infancy but there is no doubt they will loom large in the years and decades to come. Karen […]

Sustainability

Australia’s new government cements more ambitious climate change targets

Australia has formally pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 as the prime minister Anthony Albanese said the country planned to “urgently step […]

A Vietnamese man carries crops through a rice paddy, surrounded by tropical trees.

Achieving zero: how are governments to reach climate neutrality in an age of permanent crisis?

National governments are grappling to understand how net zero can be achieved, and world events are making that task harder still. During a GGF webinar, experts discussed some of the […]

Two ministers, one department: can Australia’s new environment super-department work?

Good news, Australia – the environment is back. The country’s new government has introduced a new super-department covering climate change, energy, the environment and water. But while the ministry move […]

Landscape photo of Canada's capital city, Ottawa, featuring a church spire, buildings, a river and mountains.

Greening government: how Canada plans to achieve net zero public services

Governments around the world are racing to slow climate change, setting targets to limit emissions and decarbonise economies. But as significant polluters in their own right – through their internal […]

Partner Content

The positive legacy of a crisis

Photo of the Raleigh, North Carolina, skyline by night.

Has one US state discovered the secret to successful government data sharing?  

Whole life to longer life: the way we build buildings must change

Pooling authorities’ data in the fight against gender violence

Carbon offsetting is one way to net zero, but it must be done sustainably

Achieving the trifecta of cybersecurity governance with a hybrid workforce

Webinars On Demand

https://youtu.be/QVa4ushITXY

Leading Staff Through Turbulent Times

https://youtu.be/rKaVU6iuB8g

How can “Green Fintech” help tackle climate change?

https://youtu.be/CJu-yI7_vzk

Shaping public investments for the net zero world

https://youtu.be/fVMmezwYdiM

Responsive government: investigating the agility of the civil service in nine countries

https://youtu.be/nFHb-A8uUx0

National digital leaders’ views on the keys to transformation – Study launch

https://youtu.be/-KZwuaXaHus

Responding to COP26: the tasks facing civil servants

Interviews

‘Bureaucracy – oh a living hell’: five minutes with Estonia’s CTO Kristo Vaher

The chief technology officer tells GGF about having finally ‘cracked it’ after years as an automation engineer, why he believes the civil service should neither design nor build citizen services, […]

Picture of Markus Sovala, Statistics Finland’s director general, taken at the 2022 Global Government Finance Summit

Finland’s stats chief Markus Sovala: from challenging employee to change leader 

Dr Markus Sovala is one year into his five-year term as Statistics Finland’s director general. He tells Mia Hunt about his priorities for the agency – enabling its customers to […]

Taking the good with the bad: listen to GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with Canada’s former cabinet secretary, Michael Wernick

Global Government Forum has gone live with the latest episode of its Leading Questions podcast, featuring former clerk of the Privy Council of Canada and secretary to the Cabinet, Michael […]

‘Don’t fade into the background’: five minutes with GovTech Singapore’s chief executive, Kok Ping Soon

Ping Soon shares his advice for ambitious public servants – including why it’s important not to assume the boss has all the answers, the lessons from Singapore’s national identity system, […]

Features

An office worker in wheelchair turns into the main office space

Expanding the talent pool: how hybrid work can make public sector jobs a better fit for everyone

The new hybrid work model has forced employers to think multi-dimensionally about fairness, diversity, and inclusion. And public sector organisations now have a big opportunity to show the way The […]

Statue of King Charles I in Trafalgar Square, looking down Whitehall in London towards Big Ben.

‘These cuts will have to include frontline roles’: can the UK government reach its target to cull 91,000 civil service jobs?

In response to the UK government’s plan to cut 91,000 jobs, Global Government Forum brought together experts to discuss how government will identify the reductions, whether they can be achieved, […]

An illustration of a COVID-19 face mask

Barriers to public sector data sharing identified – and how to overcome them

The coronavirus response led to an increase in data sharing across the public sector. A Global Government Forum webinar brought together senior UK figures to discuss how the lessons from […]

When push comes to ‘nudge’: how governments can influence the behaviour of citizens

The concept of ‘nudge’, whereby citizens can be influenced to make good choices, remains an important tool for governments as the COVID pandemic showed. Here, strategic communications and behaviour change […]

Digital & Technology

‘Bureaucracy – oh a living hell’: five minutes with Estonia’s CTO Kristo Vaher

The chief technology officer tells GGF about having finally ‘cracked it’ after years as an automation engineer, why he believes the civil service should neither design nor build citizen services, […]

Shaking hands illustration cyber security

US federal government to increase cybersecurity cooperation with state and local officials; UK plans space sustainability standard: policy and delivery news in brief

Global Government Forum’s weekly digest of the news you need to know but might have missed US federal government to increase cybersecurity cooperation with state and local officials US federal […]

Picture of Markus Sovala, Statistics Finland’s director general, taken at the 2022 Global Government Finance Summit

Finland’s stats chief Markus Sovala: from challenging employee to change leader 

Dr Markus Sovala is one year into his five-year term as Statistics Finland’s director general. He tells Mia Hunt about his priorities for the agency – enabling its customers to […]

An illustration of a COVID-19 face mask

Barriers to public sector data sharing identified – and how to overcome them

The coronavirus response led to an increase in data sharing across the public sector. A Global Government Forum webinar brought together senior UK figures to discuss how the lessons from […]

Finance

Fintech’s global growth: governments race for a route map

Governments worldwide are increasingly enthused by fintech’s possibilities. But the sector’s breadth and quick-moving nature are among the reasons why public authorities’ activity can be tricky to track, according to […]

Piles of silver coins acting as stepping stones

Three reasons universal basic income pilots haven’t led to policy change – despite their success

Universal basic income – a tax-free, unconditional sum of money regularly given to everyone in a society – has repeatedly been shown to help the most vulnerable groups in society. […]

Finance minister Chrystia Freeland, at the National Press Theatre last December with Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem

Canadian federal Budget announces strategic policy review amid spending restraint

 Photo of Tallin, Estonia

Global Government Fintech to hold inaugural ‘lab’ in Estonia in June

 A man and woman sit side by side on a sofa paying for something on a mobile phone with a credit card

Open to possibilities: governments bank on opening up financial services data

Chancellor Rishi Sunak holding the Spring Statement document

UK to ‘put counter-fraud at the heart of decision-making’ after concerns over lost COVID cash

 The White House in Washington DC

White House sets out US government digital assets strategy

 President Joe Biden signing legislation

US federal agencies get 6.7% budget increase in $1.5 trillion spending bill