5985posts
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Show the design culture
In the first of 2 posts Jas Kang talks about what designers value most and how that informs the more detailed work they do in their design community.
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Countryfile showcases Natural England’s seagrass restoration project
Last night’s episode (Sunday 10th April) of BBC Countryfile was a ‘Plant Britain by the Sea’ special and featured Natural England’s work to restore seagrass. Fiona Crouch, from Natural England, explained to presenter, Ellie Harrison, why seagrass is so incredible. …
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Video Diary: Farmer Jess Brooks on the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot
The Brooks Family joined the pilot to help us improve the Sustainable Farming Incentive. For over a century, the family has worked on South Thorness Farm, which is found on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, within the Hamstead Heritage Coast Area Of Natural Beauty. Listen to how sisters Jess and Sarah, along with their parents Adrian and Joyce, run through the management of their farm and their decision to join the pilot.
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ICYMI: Round up of blogs from Week of Winners
In December, the Civil Service handed out its very own Oscars equivalent - the Civil Service Awards. Below are our most-read blogs from our Week of Winners campaign, celebrating (and virtually high-fiving) the winners and the amazing stories behind them. …
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Standards Bodies: Who's who? (3)
In the third blog of our ‘Who’s Who?’ series, looking at role and remits of the various standards regulators, Committee independent member Professor Gillian Peele examines the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments and the Register of Consultant Lobbyists.
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What the new FSA Strategy means for FSA Science
Reflections on how the new FSA strategy will influence our scientific work and what the strategy means for FSA Science going forward.
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The skills you need to be a Community Payback supervisor
Community Payback (CP) supervisors play a key part in supporting people on probation to do unpaid work to improve local communities and get their lives back on track. If you're a people person and looking for a rewarding career where you …
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Using a virtual Preston to teach young people about flooding
How do we inspire the next generation of environmental champions and ignite the passion for students to take STEM subjects and careers within the EA?
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Knowledge Assets Spring Showcase
If there is one season that is synonymous with novelty, innovation and the bringing forward of new ideas, then surely, it’s springtime. And as we begin to emerge from another winter, the green shoots of innovation were more welcome than …
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British Universities ranked as the best in the world in a range of subjects
The UK is proud to have so many world-class universities that look outward and think beyond conventional boundaries. 57 of the world’s Premiers, Prime Ministers and Presidents were educated in British universities and, on average, our system has produced a …
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Simpler, faster and better services: MoJ Digital Strategy 2025
When I first took up the post of CDIO (Chief Digital and Information Officer) I spoke to colleagues across the organisation to hear their views and was very grateful to receive a lot of very honest feedback and insights. Some …
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A year on from the launch of the Ofsted review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges
In response to the murder of Sarah Everard, and the release of thousands of testimonies of incidents of sexual harassment via the Everyone’s Invited website, we rapidly put funding in place for the NSPCC to create a bespoke helpline to …
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Dragons' Den Episode 14 Series 19
It’s the last Dragons’ Den episode for Series 19 - what a series! Tonight, once again, we see the entrepreneurs undergoing trial by fire...and the Dragons are as fierce as ever!
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Yorkshire Water and the National Trust; How planting trees on our land can benefit nature, climate and people.
Find out about the partnership work between the National Trust and Yorkshire Water to tackle flood risk by planting trees.
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RPC gives evidence to the House of Lords’ Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
A summary of some of the key issues that Stephen Gibson and Andrew Williams Fry discussed at their session with the SLSC on Tuesday 5 April.
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Grazing, agri-environment schemes and environmental outcomes in the uplands
Grazing is an important part of our farming industry and, for many, management of livestock is more than an occupation: it is a way of life. In this guest post, Rob Cooke, Director of the Greener Farming and Fisheries Programme in Natural England explains the relationship between grazing and environmental outcomes.
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Tools for climate policy (3): six effects of art in policy
This is the third in a series of blogs about methods which Policy Lab has used in the context of climate-related policy issues. It describes using art in policy, with reference to Glass House, an installation/experience which I created as …
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Online choice architecture - how do we end up making decisions we don’t want to make?
How often do you see ‘limited stock’ or ‘last few available’ when you shop online? These claims can pressure us into purchases that we may not want or need. Read Vedran and Ollie's blog for more info.
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One Year Later… The Commissioner reflects on his time in post so far at the National NPCC CCTV Conference
Officially one year into my term as the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, I gave the keynote speech at the NPCC’s National CCTV Conference in Bristol recently. I took this opportunity to reflect on several trends emerging of the last …
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Making the move: Project professional Neal on why Sellafield was the right choice for his career
For Neal Patel, working at Sellafield Ltd didn’t just give him the opportunity to work on some of the most complex and exciting major projects in the UK, it offered him a whole new way of life in Cumbria.
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Talented apprentice shines through in the transport sector
Leora Wilson, is a level 3 transport planning technician at Mott MacDonald. Leora, who has autism, knew she was an extremely hands-on individual who wanted real-life work experience and the correct support, so she chose to go down the apprenticeship …
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Why we no longer use the term ‘BAME’ in government
How we write about race and ethnicity matters. As civil servants, we need to be as precise as we can in the language we use when describing different ethnic groups, and also in how we develop solutions to address the …
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Meet the engineer: Edwin
In the next instalment of our Meet the engineer series, we catch up with Edwin, one of our lead test engineers. He shares more about his role and what he enjoys about working at DWP Digital.
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National Professional Qualification for Headship: empowering leaders to make positive change in schools
Laura Fordham shares her experience of taking a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).
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Schools and Academies Show – April 2022
Catherine Kelsall, Stakeholder and Engagement Manager for the Schools Commercial Team at the Department for Education (DfE) tells us more about the upcoming Schools and Academies Show on 27 and 28 April.
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The Institute talks...about apprenticeships in construction and the built environment
You can listen and subscribe to The Institute talks podcast on Amazon Music, Apple podcast, Spotify and all other major podcast platforms. You can read transcripts for this podcast episode on Podbean. In this episode of The Institute talks, we talk about the exciting …
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Landscape Recovery: your questions answered
In February, we launched the first round of the Landscape Recovery pilot. Landscape Recovery is 1 of our 3 environmental land management schemes. To support potential bidders, we hosted a webinar to share information on the application process and answer questions from those thinking of applying. As you can imagine, we received a lot of questions on the day. In this post, we summarise some of the most-asked questions and our replies.
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Effective Enforcement: New outreach programme to help planners
A new outreach initiative aims to share the Inspectorate’s expertise with local planning authority officers and planning agents who deal with enforcement action.
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What you need to know about the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme / Що ви маєте знати про Програму канікулярних заходів та харчування (HAF)
The Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) has been supporting children and families in the school holidays since 2018. Here is everything you need to know about the programme and how it could help you and your child during school holidays. What is the Holiday Activity …
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Government response to EFRA Committee report on labour shortages
On Wednesday 6 April, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report on Labour shortages in the food and farming sector. This has received national press coverage in the Financial Times, The Independent, BBC News Online, BBC Farming …
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Kickstart your career in Forestry
Find out more about an exciting new career pathway into forestry with The Development Woodland Officer Programme.
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Growing up in an alien country wasn't easy
Twenty-three years after fleeing Afghanistan’s warzone aged just five years old, Rabia Nasimi tells how she adjusted to a new life and language in London. Now a civil servant, Rabia works in the Afghan Resettlement Team, using her experience to …
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How do you spell “you”? Discovering dyslexia and the power of having mentor
How do you spell “you”? Discovering dyslexia and the power of having mentor Nigel Barraclough, Government Science & Engineering (GSE) member and civil servant for over 20 years, writes about his experience managing dyslexia and how having a mentor made …
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Who will be your GSE winners? Cast your vote now!
Who will be your GSE winners? Cast your vote now! The Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Profession Conference will be happening on 9 May at the London Science Museum. It will bring together decision-makers, scientists, and engineers from across government …
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The night sky in April
With the planets lining up in our early morning skies, the return of the core of our Milky Way Galaxy, and the Lyrids meteor shower towards the end of the month, April can be a great time to enjoy the …
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Help us gather better data on charities
Can you help us test new ways of classifying charities? Data is a central theme of our work in the months and years ahead. Now I’m asking for your help with an early, important set of changes, which will impact each of the 170,000 charities on the register in England and Wales.
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Training the next generation in construction
The publication of the construction route review this week sees the culmination of a years’ worth of discussion, research and testing. I remember discussing the concept of the construction route summit with the Institute in December 2021, with the summit …
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Land Deployed Applications – A Strategic Discovery
“I was personally impressed by the motivation and dedication of the team for this discovery work, and the commitment by all to the articulation of user needs. I have spent some time reading through your documentation online, and I have …
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The next step on our journey to transform accommodation services for Armed Forces families
Our Armed Forces and their families have no real choice where they serve, or when and how frequently they move. More than 39,000 families live in military homes across the UK. Therefore, it’s vital we ensure homes of the right …
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Environment Agency scoops not one, but two wins at annual Edie sustainability awards!
Deputy Director for Sustainable Business Van Griffiths and Net Zero Manager Simon Dawes attended the event and share the details