Andrew Greenway

I am writing a policy pamphlet. Here are all the ways to demonstrate I don't really have a policy answer, that I need to avoid:

a. You call for a "national conversation or debate"
b. You suggest that what is needed is “a change in culture”
1/

Universal Credit is a model for how to do government right I'm actually serious.

Universal Credit is a model for how to do government right (FREE TO READ!)

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/universal-...

@martinjordan.com would be my go to on Germany and digital!

Agree with Tom. I think there's also a question for civil service benefits that considers the whole lot in the round (pension, hols, salary, etc), and allows more choice + flex in where you put your money. Now mix is same for all - and leads to concentration of certain demographics/risk appetites

photo of a red shopping basket filled with turnips, under the headline: If you’re worried about food tariffs, adopt a frugal mindset and cook smarter Learn to shop for groceries like a thrifter and work on eliminating waste By Sheryl Julian Globe Correspondent,Updated April 7, 2025, 7:21 a.m. caption: The big question is, writes Sheryl Julian, are we expected to remove all the pleasures from the table and turn the nightly dinner into a feast of locally grown turnips (above) and leafy greens?Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

you know things are going well when they break out the turnip photos

From the AskBrits community on Reddit: In what ways is the UK more developed than most countries? Explore this post and more from the AskBrits community

Obviously it's Reddit and that attracts Reddit people but I do think it's funny how "a simple single government website and functioning passport service" are things people genuinely feel quite patriotic about and are such easy wins if you roll that out even further. www.reddit.com/r/AskBrits/c...

My favourite bit of the whole Carswell piece 👇

Niche, for sure, but to anyone who has actually been to a single one of the weekly meeting of permanent secretaries, let alone more than 100, the idea that this meeting takes all the major public policy meetings is utterly hilarious

📣OUT NOW – Impactful Devolution 02: Local govt for the digital era

Last week the PM set out plans for digital change across Whitehall.

Our new report with @publicdigital.bsky.social sets out how digital can drive reform in local govt. Read it here ⬇️
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/imp...

The Implementation Gap: Turning Legislative Intent into Executive-Led Outcomes — POPVOX Foundation A discussion focused on going beyond traditional legislative training to address the critical but often overlooked issues with implementation across the Executive branch.

On 3/24, join us & @niskanencenter.bsky.social for a discussion on how to address the critical but often overlooked issues with implementation across the Executive branch.

Feat: @marcidale.bsky.social @pahlkadot.bsky.social & @andrewgreenway.bsky.social
www.popvox.org/events/imple...

You should give it go. Headlines are very dangerous things...

James is always worth reading, and this longread is particularly worth the time, especially if you're an optimist about governments taking state capacity seriously.

You should know that a big part of 18F's work was to make sure multi-million to multi-*hundreds*-of-millions dollar contracts at fed *and* state level didn't go to shitty enterprise IT consultancies that *repeatedly* delivered tech that didn't work, was late, or didn't even do what it needed to

Pat McFadden MP is stood at a lecturn saying “Test it. Fix the problems. Change the design. Test it again. Tweak it again. The most important question isn’t, ‘How do we get this right the first time?”, It’s ‘How do we make this better by next Friday?’”

Hats off to the 10% - TEN PER CENT - of the UK population who can summon up some strong opinions about King Stephen of Blois

My proposal for this grey February Monday is that political reporters should be abolished. They're far too addicted to the psychodrama, they don't have expertise in any policy areas, they bigfoot their expert colleagues on any story that involves an MP, and this creates too noise and little light.

UK public services ‘too expensive and not good enough’ As demand outstrips budgets, the head of the National Audit Office calls for Whitehall to take risks and innovate — but to learn quickly from its failures

‘We have to get over the feeling that any failed pilot is a waste of money. It is not, as long as you've learned something by doing it.’
NAO chief Gareth Davies on the need for innovation in public services and how the NAO will support this
www.thetimes.com/article/9e71...

A truly dreadful piece of writing that neatly demonstrates why he had no respect at all from the rest of the senior civil service.

State of digital government review

Loads of interesting stats in this just-published State of digital government review. Not least that 50% of digital and data recruitment campaigns failed in 2024.

What matters now are crunchy actions to follow the crunchy analysis.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

At GDS for launch of the digital government blueprint. Will try and live post on this thread 🧵

I've written this thread up as a blog post with some more details:
Why some DVLA digital services don't work at night
dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...

This is miserable behaviour, @transportforlondon.bsky.social
Miserable.
traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/

The image is a visual metaphor using an iceberg to illustrate a point about software development. The Iceberg: Above the Water: We see a sleek yacht, representing a simple, user-friendly feature in the NHS App. This is what's immediately visible and accessible to the public. Below the Water: The vast majority of the iceberg lies hidden beneath the surface. This represents the complex infrastructure, systems, and processes that are required to make that seemingly simple feature a reality. It includes things like: Re-wiring the NHS's infrastructure Adapting the operating model Prioritisation decisions The image conveys the idea that while a software feature might appear simple on the surface, a significant amount of work and complexity is hidden behind the scenes. It emphasises the importance of prioritising and managing these underlying factors to ensure the successful delivery of the feature. Additional Details: The text "Prioritisation matters" highlights the critical role of decision-making in determining which features to build and how to allocate resources effectively. The image also has "public.digital" branding.

NHS App back in the news and I'm not one to miss an opportunity to reheat my favourite graphic. (Other icebergs are available) What's fascinating in the app's case is that it probably needed a simple 'solution-first' strategy to provide the political drive to do the alignment in the background.

The how we need now: a capacity agenda for 2025 and beyondpublic digitalpublic digital Report by Andrew Greenway and Jennifer Pahlka

The unmissable double act of @pahlkadot.bsky.social and @andrewgreenway.bsky.social published this @niskanencenter.bsky.social report on re-invigorating state capacity just before Xmas. Deliberately US centric, leavened by some UK flourishes.
public.digital/pd-insights/...

I really enjoyed this IFP Statecraft interview with @andrewgreenway.bsky.social & @pahlkadot.bsky.social, which is surprisingly positive about the potential for UK state capacity. We need more of this!

Full interview here: www.statecraft.pub/p/what-can-t...

Designing on a cold, rainy night in Stoke — Katherine Wastell Over the years in the teams I’ve led and supported, I’ve observed a unique skill-set in the designers with transformation experience. They’ve learnt how to do design in challenging, high-pressure envi...

There's been recent focus on hiring designers from big-name tech companies (lnkd.in/eEjxq8EQ). Their skills are impressive, no doubt.

But in today’s climate of cost-saving, organisations need designers with the hard-earned experience of a transformation.

www.katherinewastell.com/blog/designi...

Amy is consistently one of the most interesting and thoughtful thinkers/writers about the civil service. V good thread

Just what is 'Test and Learn'?public digitalpublic digital A blog explaining the concept of Test and Learn in organisational change

Wondered what 'test and learn' means? I've written this to unpack and explain it public.digital/pd-insights/...

Went to the speech this morning. A few thoughts. TL;DR - I thought it was really good, but of course lots of tricky challenges to work through. 🧵

I just finished shortlisting 215 applications for the NHS App Lead Product Manager role.

My back hurts. My eyes hurt. My brain hurts. But here are some things I noticed plus some tips in case you ever want to apply for a role like this in future.

Patient records and the NHS App are in the news again. Me and @mattstibbs.bsky.social
wrote down some thoughts. TLDR: the perfect architectural approach won’t solve for fundamental environmental challenges that need addressing. public.digital/pd-insights/...