Leading Questions

In this second instalment of Global Government Forum’s How Government Works podcast series – which provides a guide to the UK’s corridors of power – we examine governance, regulation and culture of Whitehall and Westminster.  Organisational cultures are key to how any operation functions, and this episode looks at everything from the civil service and ministerial codes, to ethics advisors and independent standards committees, and onto parliamentary scrutiny of the government.  This is the second in a series of podcasts from Global Government Forum setting out how government works, and was based on a webinar held on 23 August 2024.   Register for the next webinar in GGF’s How Government Work series, providing more information on the government’s missions and what they mean in areas like procurement, taking place on 4 March. And find out more about how the UK government and its international peers are dealing the challenges they face at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference on 25-26 March 2025.

Understanding how Whitehall and Westminster work can be a daunting challenge. Even those who have been interacting professionally with government for many years can find some of the practices, procedures, conventions and relationships complicated to navigate. This first podcast in Global Government Forum’s How Government Works series provides easy-to-digest information on who does what, and how, in government. Listen to this episode to get a simple summary of everything from constitutional frameworks to the organisational structures and interactions, and onto operational procedures, people and power. The session also looked at how to interact with these institutions and people in the most appropriate and effective ways. This is the first in a series of podcasts from Global Government Forum setting out how government works, and was based on a webinar held on 12 July 2024. At the time of recording, Simon Case was the UK government cabinet secretary, prior to his departure in December 2024. Register for the next webinar in GGF’s How Government Work series, providing more information on the government’s missions and what they mean in areas like procurement, taking place on 4 March:  And find out more about how the UK government and its international peers are dealing the challenges they face at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference on 25-26 March 2025

The US presidential election is the most consequential taking place in the ‘year of democracy’. This special episode of Global Government Forum’s Leading Questions podcast, taken from a webinar held on 19 November, looks at what public servants will be doing to prepare for the incoming presidential team led by President Donald Trump. In this podcast, webinar chair Siobhan Benita discusses the work that civil servants will be undertaking for the government transition with Jason Briefel, non-attorney partner and director of government and public affairs, Shaw Bransford & Roth, and Richard Johnstone, executive editor, Global Government Forum. Listen to this podcast to hear insight on what civil servants will be doing to prepare for a new president, the process of a presidential transition, and what the Department of Government Efficiency means for government. The conversation covers:   What the election result reveals about the public's priorities for government - particularly around trends like tackling inflation and immigration. How the result fits into international electoral trends. What happens in a government transition. How civil servants will be preparing for implementing Trump's priorities - introducing tariffs, deportation of illegal immigrants, reducing government spending. Key appointments that are made so far.   Mentioned in this episode: Japan looks to learn from Elon Musk’s US government efficiency programme Read the US CIO study mentioned in this report Register now for Government Service Delivery – the new name for GovernmentDX Over the two days of May 13 – 14, 2025, the Government Service Delivery event program unites global digital government leaders to explore tech-driven innovation for delivering high-quality public services for customers. This event will include an exclusive series of roundtables and an open conference – find out more here and register your interest

On this episode of Leading Questions LIVE, Siobhan Benita speaks to Dominic Rochon, chief information officer for Canada. They discuss Dominic’s broad mandate, which includes service delivery, security and privacy, as well as his current priorities such as improving digital services, enhancing cybersecurity, and modernising legacy systems. Dominic touches upon Canada’s past technological failures and controversies, and stresses the role of collaboration, both within government and with provincial governments and the private sector, to bring public services into a new era of human-centred service design. The conversation also covers how to professionalise the digital workforce and implement more agile procurement practices to keep pace with technological advancements. “In the financial world…chief financial officers have to get certifications and have to keep those certifications up to date,” Rochon said. “In the federal government, that is not the case for the digital world. I'd like to explore how we get to that, particularly given how fast technology is evolving.” He highlights how such an approach is particularly needed if government is to make the most of artificial intelligence, for example. This episode also previews AccelerateGOV, Global Government Forum’s annual conference held in Ottawa, where digital leaders from around the world gather to discuss how governments can overcome challenges to realise the opportunities of digital transformation. Listen to the podcast in full to hear about how Dominic is leading the way to making digital transformation happen. Public servants can register free to attend  AccelerateGOV,  taking place at the Shaw Centre on 21 October.