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Leadership & Reform

Frayed red rope against a black background. Tension.

Ministers need to better understand the tension between urgency and realism in government if they want to deliver

Failures in government policy delivery are often blamed on civil servants. But, in the second of two articles for Global Government Forum, Andrew Kakabadse, professor of governance and leadership at […]

Former UK government cabinet secretary Lord Gus O'Donnell

New salvos fired in the wars of Whitehall

British ministers have been clashing with civil servants over Brexit and bullying – with some pushing for greater powers to appoint officials. At an Institute for Government debate, however, panellists […]

Is dealing with aggressive ministers now the reality for UK civil servants?

Aggressive ‘Raab-like’ behaviour is endemic in the ministerial environment and, if it continues, we cannot expect the civil service to continue displaying unquestionable devotion to duty, says Andrew Kakabadse, professor […]

Australia appoints new public service commissioner

Gordon de Brouwer has been appointed Australian Public Service commissioner and will start his five-year term on 11 May, the federal government has announced. The economist, academic and public servant […]

‘Serve your country – you will never regret it’: listen to GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with the White House’s Noreen Hecmanczuk

In the first of our Leading Questions podcasts to feature an American federal government leader, Noreen Hecmanczuk reflects on a long and diverse career in public service – a career […]
A photograph of a compass

Lessons for leaders: how top public servants can chart a course to more responsive government

GGF research reveals that leaders are more confident in their public service organisation’s performance than other staff. Experts set out how they can share what they know to better deliver […]
A street sign displaying the word Whitehall, the name for the centre of the UK government.

UK civil service review to call for more ‘robust culture’ after Raab resignation

A government-commissioned review of the UK civil service is set to call for greater ministerial involvement in the appointment of top officials, with Singapore and France among the nations that […]
A photograph of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Photo by Wladyslaw Sojka (www.sojka.photo) and reproduced under Creative Commons.

Letter from Ottawa: Strikes and other storm clouds are on the horizon for Canada’s public service

From possible strike action by public servants to renewed discussion about the size of the state, the Canadian government is facing a number of questions this spring, says Michael Wernick […]
A panoramic photograph of The Union Buildings that form the official seat of the South African Government at sunrise.

Political influence or merit-based appointments? How South Africa can resolve the tension over top public service jobs

South Africa is in the midst of revisiting how public service appointments can be made. Ivor Chipkin and Rafael Leite from the New South Institute take a look at why […]
South Africa's secretary of the cabinet and director-general of the presidency, Phindile Baleni.

‘Unless you fight for it, it’s not worth it once you get there’: Exclusive podcast with South Africa’s cabinet secretary Phindile Baleni

Series 3 of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions starts off with a bang – our first interview for the podcast with a serving cabinet secretary: Phindile Baleni, South Africa’s secretary […]