7363posts
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Podcast – the second series of ‘Think digital, act human’: job application do's and don'ts
Here is the second series of our ‘Think digital, act human’ podcast. In this episode, host Adaobi Ifeachor, speaks to Vita Shapland-Howes about recruitment in the civil service. Tune in to hear about name-blind recruitment, negotiating salaries, essential criteria and more.
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The night sky in July
Look out for noctilucent clouds and possible meteors over the UK during the summer nights.
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Opening up our code and logic for algorithmic decision-making
Read why we shared our Related Content recommender tool with the algorithmic transparency pilot.
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Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) – Work placements in town planning
Duncan Phillpotts, Recruitment Officer, details the experiences of five local students who took part in a week of work experience with the Planning Inspectorate as part of the RTPI's EXPLORE work experience scheme.
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Using ‘cooperative usability testing’ with our expert users
As User Researchers we care about getting the most from our testing by using the best research method for the task. Here’s how and why ‘cooperative usability testing’ harnesses the knowledge of our expert users.
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COVID-19: the future of UKHSA surveillance
Since the onset of the pandemic scientists and researchers, aided and supported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and DHSC, have mobilised to create surveillance systems that have infinitely improved our understanding of COVID-19. This blog looks at some of those systems.
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How we are improving internet access in rural schools
Fast broadband is crucial to levelling up rural communities and will help pupils from across the country to succeed in their education, no matter where their school is.
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Upcoming events
Forestry Commission teams will be attending the following events during October. Come along to speak with us about our work and how you can get involved. Why not share your visit to our stand on Twitter? Don't forget to tag …
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Taking Europe’s gardens to the next level - WoodBlocX recognised for exceptional export growth
WoodBlocX has been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category following the company’s outstanding growth in overseas sales. The family business, based in the town of Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands, has achieved the award …
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Survey launched on police use of surveillance camera systems
I am beginning the process of gathering the latest information from all police forces under my jurisdiction on their use of overt surveillance camera systems.
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ESS: Senior Environmental Analyst- B3
Environment Standards Scotland (ESS) has been set up to ensure environmental laws and standards are adhered to in Scotland, replacing the European Union’s scrutiny and enforcement role after Brexit. The remit of ESS covers a broad range of environmental law, …
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Designing accessible services: don’t exclude the neurodiverse
Craig shares some tips to make sure that services are accessible for the neurodiverse.
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Network Services in recent months
For people who don’t know me, I am Nava Ramanan, Deputy Director – Head of Networks, Voice, Video and Hosting Services for the Ministry of Justice. In this blog I am going to highlight what we are doing within the …
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Apple and Google’s stranglehold over mobile ecosystems: Why it’s important and what we’re doing about it
Few people would doubt just how fundamental smartphones are to our lives. They are increasingly the main way we interact with friends and family, access news, play games, buy products and services online – and now pay for them in …
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Apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is now open for applications via the Rural Payments service. Through the SFI, farmers will be paid for looking after the natural environment in the course of their farming. This initial offer will pay farmers for taking care of their soil or assessing the condition of moorland. In this post, we'll share more about the application process.
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UK escalates support for global marine environment at UN Ocean Conference
New initiatives announced by the UK Government at the UN Ocean Conference this week to progress our mission to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 have received coverage in outlets including the Independent, Evening Standard and …
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Better policymaking environments
Serena Nϋsing from the UK's Policy Profession writes about how you can get involved with transforming policymaking.
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Bringing Common Platform to more criminal courts
Common Platform will go live in selected criminal courts in July and August.
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New trees and peat guidance: helping to inform where to establish trees, and where to restore peat
Neil Riddle is Forestry Commission's Head of Natural Environment. Here, he discusses our work with Natural England on the new trees and peat guidance.
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Care Home Open Week: why you should get involved
Hallmark Care Homes has proudly supported Care Home Open Week for many years and whilst they did their best to virtually open our doors last year to members of the local community, there is no comparison to meeting caring and committed teams in person. Find out more...
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New systems thinking products for Civil Servants
The Government Office for Science is excited to announce the publication of a new suite of systems thinking documents for civil servants. We have designed these to be accessible and relevant, with the aim of supporting better evidence-based policy making. …
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Five reasons why you should consider an apprenticeship
Apprenticeships are a brilliant option for people of all ages to launch their careers in a huge range of exciting industries or upskill at various levels. There are thousands of apprenticeship vacancies on offer, with more than 640 high-quality apprenticeships approved …
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Disaster risk finance
The ways in which actuarial skills can contribute to the complex area of disaster risk finance, is explored in this blog. GAD actuary Joanne Meusz talks about her role in a multi disciplinary team which developed disaster risk finance initiatives.
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Why we’re stopping the head of digital role 1 year on
James Reeve takes us through 12 months of progress and why everyone in our leadership team needs to lead for digital transformation – not just one person.
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My only guaranteed hot meal was my free school lunch
From part-time AO to thriving senior leader in the Civil Service, Vicky McGurk is living proof that you can overcome childhood struggles and make life a success. Interview: Lorraine McBride Born and raised in one of Blackburn’s poorest council estates, …
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Keep calm and call an AMHP
With so many recent challenges and experiences in the pandemic, Jason Brandon, Mental Health Social Work Lead at DHSC, can’t think of a more suitable title to this blog post, which describes the dignity and professionalism of the approved mental health professional (AMHP) workforce. It's National AMHP Day!
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Mindfulness and how it can help you and your pupils
We know that 1 in 10 people who fail their driving test say the main reason was because they were nervous on the day. In this blog post, San Harper explains how a mindfulness-based approach can help you support your pupils with managing their nerves.
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Can I buy CBD Oil (cannabidiol) for my pet?
The short answer is No. Hopefully after reading this article you’ll understand why - but all is not lost, read on and you’ll discover that there is a safer solution! So why can’t I just use the CBD products authorised …
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The COVID-19 Dashboard Moves to Weekly Updates
The Government’s Living with COVID-19 plan set out how the UK would transition from managing COVID-19 as an emergency response to living with the virus, whilst ensuring we retain the resilience and contingency capabilities to deal with the uncertainty around …
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Soil health: a UK-wide discussion
In this post, we'll share a summary of the second meeting of the UK Agriculture Partnership (UKAP). It was held at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise in Northern Ireland. The topic of the meeting was soil health.
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Trees – A natural way to help our waterways
Alexandra Jenks, Forestry Commission Woodland Officer for South East and London, shares how planting trees and creating woodland can help our waterways.
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Digital planning reform - an overview
The digital planning reform team in DLUHC have been working over the last couple of years to investigate how digital and data could improve on what we have now: saving time and money for both end-users and planning authorities, and better connecting the public to the issues and decisions made on their behalf.
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Factsheet: Blueprint for Campsfield House immigration removal centre
The Home Office has announced initial plans for a new Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in Oxfordshire.
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Excel at engagement and events in the post-pandemic world
DDaT’s Engagement and Strategic Adoption team share their tips for running an inclusive, hybrid event for a large organisation using DDaT Week as a case study.
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How FORUM will improve climate change forecasts
Imperial College London's Professor Helen Brindley explains how the ESA FORUM mission, contracted to Airbus, will improve the accuracy of climate change forecasts and help scientists see the Earth through new eyes.
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Defra Data Heroes: Meet our ‘digital-first’ library team
In the latest instalment from our Defra Data Heroes series, we hear from Sonja van Montfort, Defra’s Head Librarian, about how her team keeps colleagues across the Defra organisations informed through a range of print and online resources, and the vital work the team does to manage a unique library collection.
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Care Home Open Week: expect the unexpected
Social care is a deeply important and critical part of society. However, it faces a huge uphill battle in being seen and understood as the vital service it truly is. This month’s Care Home Open Week can play a part in raising wider awareness of its value.
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Developing a lifelong love of physical activity
Deputy Headteacher, Neil McAvoy is Deputy Headteacher talks about his experience of embedding physical activity in every school day.
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What’s it like being a business analyst in BEIS Digital?
The BEIS business analyst team explains what business analysts do in BEIS Digital, and why they can really help projects understand the problem they are trying to solve.
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How we are working with the United Nations to protect children’s rights
Every five years, the United Nations (often known as the UN) ask us to report on our progress to make sure we’re looking after the people and children we represent. This is to see what we’re doing to promote children’s …