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Global Government Forum launches Caribbean Digital Summit to catalyse government transformation
Global Government Forum has launched a Caribbean Digital Summit that will bring together senior leaders involved in government transformation across the region to Barbados. Hosted by the prime minister of Barbados, the summit will bring together the region’s national government chief information officers, permanent secretaries involved in digital transformation and departmental digital heads to share…
Brazil’s public sector reform bill advances through congress
A bill that aims to shrink the state by cutting public sector pay and benefits has passed the committee stage in Brazil’s lower chamber of congress. The constitutional amendment – part of the government’s wider reform plan – seeks to impose austerity measures on public servants’ payrolls, as well as tighten job performance criteria and…
New Zealand’s digital chief Tim Occleshaw steps down
Tim Occleshaw, a key player in New Zealand’s efforts to transform its digital services, has announced that he will be leaving the civil service in November. “It will be seven years in the job in December, and while I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved – particularly New Zealand being deemed globally as a leading…
New Zealand beefs up IT security after government data breach
New Zealand has clamped down on government agencies using unvetted IT service providers, following a data breach which saw a supplier inadvertently leak hundreds of people’s personal information. The government is taking action to more tightly control rules around privacy and systems security after the breach at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, which…
Asia closing digital gap with the West, report finds
Singapore has overtaken the US in the support it provides for national digital transformation, according to analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit, while Japan has inched ahead of the UK. In the unit’s 2018 Asian Digital Transformation Index, Singapore again topped the overall results table, whilst Japan and Hong Kong overtook South Korea. But the…
E-government progress hampered by digital divide, UN report finds
Denmark, Australia and South Korea have come top in a biennial United Nations survey of countries’ progress in implementing e-government. The survey, by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, notes an overall “persistent positive global trend” towards higher levels of e-government development – but the world’s poorest countries are lagging behind, the report…
Governments must act faster to help people make greater use of the Internet, OECD warns
Governments around the world must act faster to help people and firms to make greater use of the Internet and remove regulatory barriers to digital innovation, OECD general secretary Angel Gurría has said. Opening the organisation’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, last week, Gurría told ministers and high-level officials from almost 40…
Colin MacDonald, CIO for the government of New Zealand: Exclusive Interview
New Zealand’s government chief information officer, Colin MacDonald, explains to Winnie Agbonlahor the digital innovations that prompted the OECD to make him chair of its e-leaders summit The OECD’s e-leaders’ meeting brings together some of the world’s most senior digital government officials – and its new chair is New Zealand’s government chief information officer, Colin…
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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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