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In conversation with… Lord (Terry) Burns
In this summary of an extensive discussion in the autumn, Peter McDonald talks to the former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury about responding to crises, working with Ministers, solving problems and other reflections from a multifaceted career Terry Burns...
The Risks of Accountability Sinks
Donald Marshall reviews The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Machines Make Terrible Decisions, and How the World Lost its Mind by Dan Davies Dan Davies’ book opens with a memorable, and horrifying, story. In 1999 a shipment of 440 squirrels arrived at...
Now is the Time to Think Ahead
James Ancell, Head of Futures and Foresight, Joint Data and Analysis Centre, offers practical steps for civil servants to focus more on the longer term My partner and I are planning a wedding. Being an analyst, I began with a spreadsheet of costs, possible...
The Truth about SpAds
Peter Cardwell reviews Tales Of The Unelected by Dan Corry Most senior officials in Whitehall and beyond have some understanding of what special advisers (SpAds) actually do – but more junior civil servants often see them as a remote or alien species. ...