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US federal judge allows overtime pay case to proceed; Canada’s Indigenous training attendance sinks: management & workforce news in brief
Global Government Forum’s weekly digest of the news you need to know but might have missed. US judge challenges regulation by letting federal employee overtime case proceed A US federal judge has given the greenlight to a lawsuit brought by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee in a bid to claim overtime payments for…
Truths about lies: World Bank governance chief Ed Olowo-Okere on the global threat of corruption
Ed Olowo-Okere has spent the last three years working to improve public services and financial management in low- and middle-income countries. His greatest challenge is corruption, he tells Matt Ross – and this is a problem for the rich world too “Corruption is really the most daunting development challenge,” says Edward Olowo-Okere. “And I don’t…
Economic Outlook 2022: What the data says about the risks and responses needed to capture emerging opportunities
For nearly two years, the pandemic has obscured the global outlook, making traditional long-term economic planning for governments challenging. While a vaccine-led vision for re-emerging formed intermittently across the world, we’ve learned progress is fragile as variants arise and risks remain. An early casualty of the ongoing pandemic in 2022 was the World Economic Forum…
Japan launches Digital Agency
The Japanese government has launched a new Digital Agency to spearhead the development of online public service delivery and integrate IT systems across departments and agencies. The agency, which began operating on 1 September, is a major policy priority for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who planned to personally head the initiative aimed at propelling the…
UK civil service showcases crowdsourced ideas to improve data use
The UK civil service has unveiled eight grassroots ideas on how to make better use of data in government. The projects make up the long list of the Civil Service Data Challenge, an initiative which launched in March this year. The competition encouraged central government employees to submit their ideas on how to make better…
Governments’ vital role to help small businesses flourish in a post-COVID world
Two things that united us during the pandemic were the recognition that small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and our collective determination to keep them afloat. They are key to economic vitality – and must be at the center of strategies to jump-start national economies in the emerging post-COVID-19 economy. But in our…
EU presents plan for bloc-wide digital identity scheme
The European Commission revealed its plans for a digital identity framework for citizens, residents and businesses last week. The European Digital Identity Wallet is an app that EU citizens will be able to install on their smartphone to prove their identity, access services online, share digital documents, or show other details such as age, a…
A closer look at Singapore’s AI governance framework: insights for other governments
As officials across the world work to establish AI ethics codes, Amit Roy Choudhury argues that Singapore’s system provides a model for others at a time when common global standards are emerging Governments around the world are rushing to formulate risk- and rules-based approaches to ensuring transparent and fair use of artificial intelligence (AI). Both…
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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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