Andrew Greenway
@andrewgreenway.bsky.social
Founder, Public Digital. Co-author of Bluffocracy. Still Countdown's most rubbish champion.
There are lots of big (& good!) ideas on 'rewiring the state' - but we can't assume the tech underpinning it will just work & we need to bring the public in A digital, devolved state needs to be deliberate - and democratic Delighted to write for @futuregovforum.bsky.social with @jenitennison.com
A digital, devolved state needs to be deliberate – and democratic
By Gavin Freeguard and Jeni Tennison
futuregovforum.substack.com
Government has long tended to worry about doing things - while assuming that not doing things is 'cautious'. How's that been working out? Latest @thetimes.com on why new legal guidance is good news. Based on my Power Failure report for @futuregovforum.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
To really get things done, ministers have to take risks
Caution is itself dangerous, and we need our politicians to show the same boldness as Attlee and Thatcher
thetimes.com
Politicians’ failures to deliver on promises “not only erode confidence in democracy; they also undercut sovereignty.” Read @pahlkadot.bsky.social and @andrewgreenway.bsky.social on how to fix democracy:
Democracies Need Creative Destruction
How to make government work again.
foreignaffairs.com
@andrewgreenway.bsky.social & @pahlkadot.bsky.social have teamed up again on another piece about the case for - and approaches to - change in public institutions. Greenway foreshadows the argument and its antecedents here: andrewgreenway.substack.com/p/the-depart... As ever, a recommended read.
The Department of Now
Rewiring the state requires institutional rebirth.
andrewgreenway.substack.com
I've written a long blog post about AI Agents and the need for those running services to prepare - technically, operationally, commercially, strategically, legally and in terms of policy. AI Agents could be a properly huge deal. There. I wrote it. loosemore.com/2026/08/04/k...
Know Your Agent: Why you should act now, to avoid playing catch-up later
Back in March, I was beaten by the bins. I’d spent a happy few evenings (and a great many tokens) trying to build a simple web app: share any UK address, find out which bins to put out, and w…
loosemore.com
So. Farewell then, DSIT (7 February 2023 – 20 July 2026) For all the department’s challenges, I’m not sure it’s a great idea to abolish it 🧵
Mamdani's focus on state capacity represents a form of civic education about what govt does in an age of bureaucracy-bashing. He also connects improving state capacity to his core policy goals on housing, childcare, consumer and worker protection. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/mamdani-in...
I'm mulling the need to update my definition of digital, given everything. www.linkedin.com/pulse/updati...
Updating my definition of digital
Back in 2016 I published the definition of digital that I’d been using for several years. Digital: Applying the culture, processes, operating models & technologies of the internet era to respond to pe...
linkedin.com
How does a small central programme become a national movement for public service reform? I've written about what next for Test, Learn and Grow - and what it will take to scale a way of working across every corner of the state. 👇 andrewgreenway.substack.com/p/from-metho...
From method to movement
The second act of Test, Learn and Grow
andrewgreenway.substack.com
Great thread from Ciaran. Genuinely world class state capability. In a new(ish) institution.
Ciaran Martin@ciaranm.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis paper represents a small but deeply impressive and genuinely important achievement by the much maligned British state in what is probably the most important global issue of our era. Hear me out ( 🧵) 1/ www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/our-eva...
New YIMBY Pod in which @mjrobbins.com and I get EXTREMELY MAD about the West Yorkshire Tram delay, following @noahvickers.bsky.social reporting. Plus we speak to @andrewgreenway.bsky.social about his phenomenal essay on the Civil Service "permanence crisis". www.abundancepod.com/p/im-mad-as-...
I'm mad as hell about a tram
Plus why to fix the civil service, we need to build something new
abundancepod.com
Report after report recommends Civil Service Reform - but it never happens. Here's why:- ukcivilservant.substack.com/p/civil-serv... Includes references to writing by @andrewgreenway.bsky.social , @samfr.bsky.social & @iandunt.bsky.social
Civil Service Reform: The Chapter 10 Problem
David French recently drew attention to what authors and editors sometimes call the ‘Chapter 10 problem’.
ukcivilservant.substack.com
I think @philtinline.bsky.social has hit in a really important idea here – working out why we keep getting trapped in doom loops is going to be crucial in the next few years. Working out how to escape them, even more so.
Demos@demos-uk.bsky.social · 7mo ago⚠️🔄 New Paper: The Digital-Democratic Doom Loop In a new guest paper, author and journalist @philtinline.bsky.social argues modern democracies are caught in a “digital-democratic doom loop”, driven by the power of big tech and damaging social media algorithms. Read the paper ⬇️
If you read one thing today make it this. Fantastic read.
Andrew Greenway@andrewgreenway.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe Civil Service has a new Cabinet Secretary at a time where the bureaucracy faces a stark choice between reform and Reform. It needs a new story for state capacity, a Northcote-Trevelyan review for the C21st, and new institutions to break inertia. andrewgreenway.substack.com/p/in-permane...
The Civil Service has a new Cabinet Secretary at a time where the bureaucracy faces a stark choice between reform and Reform. It needs a new story for state capacity, a Northcote-Trevelyan review for the C21st, and new institutions to break inertia. andrewgreenway.substack.com/p/in-permane...
In permanence crisis
An argument for state capacity and civil service reform
andrewgreenway.substack.com
Very good post about a very bad thing.
Mark O’Neill 🐻@radiobeartime.com · 8mo agoBad It's unusual to come across a truly bad new digital service these days. People now praise the online passport service for speed and ease of use, the same for Jobseeker's, voter registration. Most online public services delivered since the establishment of the Government Digital Service are at…
Bad It's unusual to come across a truly bad new digital service these days. People now praise the online passport service for speed and ease of use, the same for Jobseeker's, voter registration. Most online public services delivered since the establishment of the Government Digital Service are at…
Bad
It's unusual to come across a truly bad new digital service these days. People now praise the online passport service for speed and ease of use, the same for Jobseeker's, voter registration. Most online public services delivered since the establishment of the Government Digital Service are at least functional and many are best of breed. So it is interesting to find yourself trying to use a brand new online service which is a complete failure.
bearoneill.com
Louise Casey blunt on grade inflation in the civil service - compares decisions grade 5s make now to those fast streamers used to make…
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 (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/universal-...
Universal Credit is a model for how to do government right
I'm actually serious.
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
you know things are going well when they break out the turnip photos
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...
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
reddit.com
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...
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...
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.
popvox.org
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.
James O'Malley@jamesomalley.co.uk · 2y agoThe new GOV.UK login system is the first step in a radical transformation of the British state (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/login-to-a...
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
Hats off to the 10% - TEN PER CENT - of the UK population who can summon up some strong opinions about King Stephen of Blois
YouGov@yougov.co.uk · 2y agoWho are the most popular kings and queens since 1066? 1. Elizabeth II: +74 net score 2. Victoria: +50 3. George VI: +40 4. Elizabeth I: +36 5. George V: +30 6. Richard the Lionheart: +29 7. Charles III: +27 8. Edward VII: +14 Full list in chart 👇 yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
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.
