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Jeremy Heywood, who left us far too young in 2018 at the age of 56, has inspired many generations of UK civil servants with his passion for problem solving, his restless pursuit of new ideas, his trailblazing commitment to diversity in the public sector, and his unwavering dedication to the provision of high quality and impartial ministerial advice.
It is entirely appropriate, therefore, that a new publication aimed at celebrating innovation in the Civil Service should bear the former Cabinet Secretary’s name and follow his ideals.
The Heywood Quarterly is first and foremost the idea of his widow Suzanne, who chronicled Jeremy’s work for four Prime Ministers over 30 years in her well-received memoir What does Jeremy think? and set up an independent charity, the Heywood Foundation, to continue to promote the things he cared about most. Established in 2018, the Foundation has supported a prize for innovative public policy proposals, with particular encouragement for younger entrants, and a visiting Fellowship with the Blavatnik School at the University of Oxford.
The new publication will build on the heritage of the old Civil Service Quarterly, which Jeremy started in 2013 and which appeared in print and online over 22 editions, but was discontinued in 2020 when other matters inevitably took priority in the wake of Covid. By then, the Civil Service Quarterly had published scores of articles, written by Civil Servants at all levels of government, and had a strong online following with tens of thousands of readers.
The Heywood Quarterly launches in June 2024 with a mini series of new articles on the election process and on the roles and responsibilities of public servants during an election campaign. It will be run by a small team, led by an independent editor and supported by an Editorial Board comprising a majority of non-civil servants. The Heywood Foundation has provided seed funding for the first few months, but the Quarterly ultimately aims to attract a range of additional sponsors, principally from the private sector, academic institutions and other interested parties. Importantly, the new venture has the blessing and support of the Cabinet Office.
Who should read the Heywood Quarterly – and why? The answer is everyone who cares about good, professional, well-informed and innovative government anywhere in the world, and the balance of working with, supporting and, where necessary challenging, elected politicians.
Like its predecessor, the new publication aims to have a broad range of contributors from inside and outside government, but particularly civil servants at all levels writing about their experiences of innovation, reflecting on what has and hasn’t worked, and emphasising the pride that comes from developing and implementing sound policies for the public good. We want the Heywood Quarterly to be a ‘safe space’ where, within the bounds of honesty, integrity and objectivity, contributors will feel free to pass on lessons to their peers across the UK civil service.
We believe the four articles in our online ‘election special’ – written by Gus O’Donnell (the former Cabinet Secretary), Edward Young (former Private Secretary to the Sovereign), Ciaran Martin (founding Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ) and Vijay Rangarajan (chief executive of the Electoral Commission) – are both insightful and instructive about some of the key issues in the period leading up to 4th July. Topics cover the behaviour and responsibilities of civil servants during a ‘transition’; the constitutional role of the King, the Palace and the members of the so called ‘golden triangle’; the realities of the cyber threat from malign actors over the next weeks; and
the ethical standards expected of political parties and those who administer the electoral process.
We hope the series will whet the appetite for the Heywood Quarterly’s broader agenda, which will include four distinct pillars:
DELIVERY LESSONS. Things discovered when creating policy and managing operations, notably those that might be useful when tried elsewhere in government.
LEADERSHIP LESSONS. Reflections from senior leaders in the civil service/wider public sector/ foreign service/other governments on how they have dealt with challenging situations.
POLICY INSIGHTS. New and relevant policy innovations or insights from the public sector, the private sector and think tanks.
REFLECTIONS ON THE ART OF GOVERNMENT. Interviews with private sector leaders, public servants, politicians, and others, on how the public sector operates, including annual international rankings of civil services.
In the next few weeks and months look look out for articles on what history tells us about economic sanctions in a time of war, how Whitehall culture differs from that of a devolved administration (and what it’s like moving from one to the other), a typical day in the life of one of our ambassadors in the Middle East, the results of various public sector experiments in the field of artificial intelligence, exciting plans to enhance the role and status of the Policy Profession within government, and lessons from a digital transformation at the Department of Justice.
We hope to publish the first full edition in mid to late July. There will be a small print run for each edition of the Heywood Quarterly, and it will be free online.
Please join our mailing list to receive each edition and be notified when each new article is posted.
If you wish to submit an article or idea, get in touch with me and the team by emailing [email protected]
We greatly look forward to your feedback and will welcome all suggestions you have for developing this publication. In the meantime, enjoy the first few articles!
Tim Dickson, Editor-in-Chief, Heywood Quarterly, June 2024
