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How emerging tech is reshaping the public sector and empowering job seekers
Governments around the world are looking to use technology to become more efficient. This article explores how AI-driven transformations in public employment services can help future-proof workforce planning across public services. Across the world, government agencies at central, state, and local levels do remarkable work to support people in need through a broad spectrum of…
Digital-first government: Building the next frontier
What will the public services of the future look like? Will they anticipate life events before we even act? Will they guide people seamlessly through education, employment, and healthcare? Or will they remain defined by legacy systems, fragmented processes, and citizen frustration? The truth is that every public sector organisation is on the same journey.…
‘There’s a sense parts of the public sector are not working as well as they did’: how can governments become more responsive to citizen needs?
The 2023 Responsive Government Survey reveals that public servants’ confidence in their ability to respond to the changing needs of citizens is lower now than in 2021. What can be done to remedy this? Public servants around the world have become less confident in their governments’ ability to respond to change. This is the stark…
‘A rubicon has been crossed’: can the COVID-19 crisis leave an innovation legacy for government?
Government departments have undergone rapid transformation over the course of the pandemic, which could lead to more citizen-centric services. Protecting the public from Covid-19 became the overarching necessity for the UK government almost overnight in early 2020 and, as history shows, necessity is the mother of invention. Keeping people safe has required fresh thinking, greater…
‘They need a paradigm shift’: How government can empower citizen-centric digital innovation
According to the UN e-government ranking the UK led the way in digital transformation five years ago, but its performance has deteriorated since. This decline is happening just as citizens expectations of government digital services are rising. At a recent webinar hosted by Salesforce, experts explored how civil servants can create truly citizen-centric public services…
Civil servants confident in their organisations’ agility but barriers to progress remain, study finds
Four in five civil servants across nine countries say their organisation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has helped it to develop significant new capabilities, according to a major new survey on government responsiveness. However, the results of the study also suggest that officials feel systems and culture do not always match their ambition and that…
Grown-up government: an interview with Iain Rennie, New Zealand’s former state services commissioner
Over four years working as a consultant to governments around the world, former New Zealand civil service chief Iain Rennie has witnessed the global slide towards populism. But in his home country, he tells Mia Hunt, mature political leadership, brave policymaking and continuing public sector reforms have retained the trust between public bodies and the…
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Discover independent research reports, surveys and in-depth studies from Global Government Forum and knowledge partners, exploring the most important issues facing governments and the public sector. Our research provides practical insights and evidence-based recommendations for senior civil servants, policymakers and public sector leaders. Our reports combine exclusive survey data, expert analysis and interviews with government leaders from around the world to help public sector organisations improve performance, inform policy and deliver better outcomes for citizens.
Empowering Public Servants to Make Confident, Informed Decisions with Data and AI
Governments around the world are working hard to extract – and act upon – the insights held in their vast data stores, and to embrace AI and the promise it holds for innovation and transformation. At the same time, economic pressures and constrained budgets are compelling public servants to do more with fewer resources, while governments are called to respond quickly and effectively to complex challenges.
Against this backdrop, data and AI can help those working in government both to streamline their workflows and make fast, informed decisions. This in turn drives efficiency and can unlock productivity gains – and ultimately lead to improved performance and better services for citizens.
Global Government Forum surveyed over 600 civil servants worldwide to understand how data and AI are being used in government decision-making and where there are further challenges and opportunities.
Read this report for insight into how governments are using data and AI in decision-making today and the potential for the future; the major challenges to using data and AI in decision-making and how to overcome them; and how AI agents can be used in decision-making.
The report includes examples of data and AI in decision-making from countries including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Singapore, the US, and more.
(Published September 2025)
Making Government Work: Five Pillars of a Modern, Effective Civil Service
Around the world, governments are dealing with substantial challenges – from economic stagnation to the transition to net zero, military conflicts and cyber threats. Governments are also grappling with shifting geopolitics and the rise of populism – and all of these factors are set against the emergence of new technologies, including generative AI, which have the potential to fundamentally transform every aspect of society, but which also pose huge ethical, security and regulatory questions for the public sector.
The Making Government Work: Five pillars of a modern, effective civil service report was undertaken to help identify the key characteristics needed in a modern public service, with priorities ranging across leadership, digital service delivery, workforce development, cross-departmental integration, and citizen trust.
This report has been covered by publications around the world including the Financial Times, BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, Ottawa Citizen, Fed Manager, the Mandarin and the i newspaper.
(Published August 2024)
The Future of the Finance Ministry
From setting tax rates and financial regulations that create the ground rules for national economies, to allocating – and tracking – spending for public services, finance ministries occupy an essential role at the centre of government. Geopolitical crises have reinforced the importance of finance ministries, as they tackle both immediate shocks and long-term trends such as ageing populations, the digital transition, and the impact of moves to net zero.
Against this backdrop, this global research explores what the future finance ministry looks like and how to prepare for it.
Based on interviews with 10 senior leaders from finance ministries – led by John McCarthy, chief economist in Ireland’s Department of Finance, working with Ian Hall, editor, Global Government Finance, and Richard Johnstone, executive editor, Global Government Forum – the study identifies four key themes: the evolving role of the finance ministry in response to uncertainty; the shift to more flexible finance systems that support outcomes; digital transformation and the growth of AI; and the battle for talent and trust.
(Published May 2026)
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