This is an exquisitely detailed and righteously determined look about the how and why of Digital Government. Richard Pope was there at the beginning of GOV.UK and helped steer it to the magnificent beast it is today. He reflects, clear eyed, on the various successes and failures of the geeky attempt to turn the state into something approaching modernity. He's forthright on his views about the lack of vision in most projects: The aim of most digitization programmes is the status quo,…
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The last year has seen an overabundance of death. Some of us got chatting about the various people from the GovCamp community who have died recently, and how we could memorialise them. It used to be the case that we started every 'Camp with a reading of the rules. A gentle intro to let everyone be on the same page. The "rules" started out as: Whoever comes are the right people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. Whenever it starts is the right time. When it is over, it is…
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I've been to a fair few GovCamps - the (mostly) annual gathering of Civil Servants who want to explore new ways of working. For a flavour of what they're like, see scripti electronici passim: GovCamp 2012 (Video of my talk) GovCamp 2015 Tweets only GovCamp 2016 GovCamp 2018 GovCamp 2019 It was great to see old friends (and how old we've become) but even greater to hear so many pitches start with "This is my first time at GovCamp!" Movements like this only survive if we can convince new…
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How do you archive a conference? A decade ago, I blogged about how to archive a BarCamp - I don't think anyone took up my suggestions. I tried to put it into practice, but in this post about 2009's BarCampBrighton4, half the links have rotted away, cool media-hosting startups have gone bust and eaten the video. Websites die, tweets get deleted, media codecs become obsolete. BarCamps, GovCamps, and other unconferences are part of our digital heritage. We should be proud of what we create and…
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Like all true geeks, my laptop is a smörgåsbord of stickers dedicated to openness. And, like all true geeks, I have loads of t-shirts that advertise failed start-ups, trendy apps, and unconferences. Why not combine the two? (Thanks to Matt Edgar for the NHS artwork.) (Thanks to Jukesie for his MVB design.) You can buy them from the GovGeeks SpreadShirt store. Available in a range of sizes, styles, and colours. A few things to note: I don't get paid for this. I've turned off the c…
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I'm finally feeling like I'm settling into my new role. I spent my Saturday at UK GovCamp - an unconference for Civil Servants. I ran a session on Acronyms in the Workplace. It was hillarious listening to people try to introduce themselves without any abbreviations. "I am the Chief Paperclip Office for the United Kingdom's Department of Stationery and Supplies" doesn't take much longer to say that "CPO for DSS UK" but you can certainly hear the mental gears crunching. The overall output was…
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I've found a delightfully exploitable social hack which I presented at UK GovCamp. It applies to any uncooperative bureaucracy. Here's how it works. You ask someone to do something and they reply with "I'm sorry sir, that's against our policy." You should say "I'm sorry to hear that. Please can you send me a copy of the policy?" Turns out, most times, there is no policy! Shocking, I know. So much of modern life rests on the whim of whichever call-centre worker you happen to get. If they …
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I spent my Saturday crewing the reception desk at the amazing UK GovCamp Unconference. Part of our task was to check people in, hand them their name badges, schwag, and offer them a free conference T-Shirt. If you're anything like me, you've got hundreds of conference Ts stuffed in a drawer somewhere. They're all the same - a funky logo on the front, and usually a list of sponsors on the back. Not quite as glamorous as a rock-concert tour shirt but, hey, good enough from slobbing around the …
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This is a necropost - resurrected from the now defunct blog of a previous employer. I've just come back from an amazing BlueLightCamp 2014 - held in the splendid offices of the Ordnance Survey. Themed unconferences are nothing new - but I think this was one of the first that I've been to focussed on such a vital topic - the Emergency Services. You can read a full write up of all the sessions on the official blog, or you can read Ben Proctor's take on the day. Here are my scattered thoughts, …
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The lovely people from UK Gov Camp have put up some of the videos from the barcamp. Here's me chatting about mobile and the WordPress Mobile Pack. https://vimeo.com/36553562 From Steph at Helpful Technology. See my blog post about the day. …
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As per the meme, here are my 20 points on Gov Camp UK. Sign up early. I dawdled and so was only able to get a ticket for Saturday. I feel like I missed out on a lot of interesting conversations. BarCamps should be recorded for posterity. It's a point I've made before. Cameras and disk space are so cheap, we should record what we say and do at BarCamps by default. Now, that may inhibit some of the conversations and reduce the "Chatham House" aspect - but individuals can decide whether or …
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