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2024 wrapped: revisit Global Government Forum’s top podcasts
From remembering the heyday of the UK Digital Academy to looking ahead at the hurdles public service leaders face in 2025, here’s our pick of the best podcasts from this year. A retrospective of the UK Digital Academy Early in the year, the Global Government Forum podcast team took a train from London to Leeds…
Podcast: How the US federal government is getting ready for the new president
The US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, is the most consequential election of this ‘year of democracy’. In this special podcast, Global Government Forum webinar chair Siobhan Benita discusses the work that civil servants will be undertaking for the government transition with Jason Briefel, non-attorney partner and director of government and public affairs, Shaw…
US election podcast: Experts give their views on the state of the race so far
In this special edition of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, which is based on a webinar held in September, we look at the key issues in the upcoming United States presidential election. Join Siobhan Benita as she discusses the key issues of the campaign with Dr Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science and…
Public servants have not been able to build defences for the next crisis, warns former Bank of England chief economist
Leading economist and public policy expert Andy Haldane has warned that public servants have not had enough “relative tranquillity” to recover from more than a decade of crisis. In an exclusive interview for Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, Haldane – who was once named among the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine…
From digital ID to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: how to deal with crises in government
The most senior civil servant in Estonia has shared his reflections on how governments can deal with crises in an exclusive interview with Global Government Forum. In Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, Taimar Peterkop, the state secretary of Estonia, discusses how he managed a series of government crises in his public service career –…
“I always knew that my anchor was health”: GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with former UK health department chief, Dame Una O’Brien
In this episode of Leading Questions, Una O’Brien, who was permanent secretary of the UK Department of Health between 2010 and 2016, joins podcast host Siobhan Benita for a chat about her unconventional route into the civil service, and what she learned along the way. Having been appointed health department permanent secretary just as a…
‘Find your references, your mirrors and your mentors’: GGF’s Leading Questions podcast with the Spanish government’s deputy director of learning, Israel Pastor Sainz-Pardo
In this episode of Leading Questions, podcast host Siobhan Benita speaks know-how and knock-backs with the deputy director of learning at Spain’s National Institute of Public Administration. Israel Pastor has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior manager in the Spanish state administration, including stints in big policy departments including health, environment, finance and…
‘Empowering people with a sense of possibility’: GGF’s Leading Questions podcast with New Zealand’s former public service chief Iain Rennie
Global Government Forum’s latest Leading Questions podcast features Iain Rennie, whose decades-long public service career culminated in eight years as New Zealand’s state services commissioner. In this episode, Iain tells podcast host Siobhan Benita about how to develop talent in public services, his realisations about effective leadership, his work as a consultant to governments around…
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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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