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Sixty senior officials speak out about ‘toxic’ behaviour towards women at UK defence department
A group of women working in senior civilian roles at the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) have described a culture “hostile to women as equal and respected partners”, in which instances of abuse, sexual assault and harassment are widespread. In a letter sent by the group to the ministry’s permanent secretary, and seen by…
Civil servants win big at Women in Defence UK Awards
Civil servants at the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) scooped three awards at the fourth annual Women in Defence UK Awards, held on Tuesday at London’s Guildhall, while three of the department’s employees and two of its teams were finalists. Phillippa Spencer, senior principal statistician at the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), won…
UK defence ministry to launch buying framework for digital contract staff
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to establish a framework for hiring external contractors to help deliver digital and IT programmes, making it available to all national public sector bodies. The MoD plans to award contracts in July 2020 to a pool of “strategic partners” – likely to be between six and nine companies…
Jon Thompson, former permanent secretary of the UK Ministry of Defence, and now chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs: Exclusive Interview
In any ranking of the developed world’s most challenging government jobs, digitising the UK’s tax collection and challenging its civil service’s class system would stand high in the premier league. It seems that Jon Thompson has finally found a job more challenging than reforming Britain’s defence operations The years between 2009 and 2015 were tough…
Loosening Defence Equipment & Support pay controls has brought down salary bills, says Jon Thompson, UK’s outgoing MoD perm sec
Liberating Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) from cross-civil service salary controls has cut the Ministry of Defence (MoD) agency’s staffing bill even as its workforce grows, outgoing MoD permanent secretary Jon Thompson has told Global Government Forum. “The freedoms we’re giving to DE&S to set a new pay structure, to recruit staff, actually have seen…
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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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