Daily notes

šŸ“… Daily note for 24 October 2024

Patient records and the NHS Appā¬ˆ – or why this stuff is really, really hard. #

Southwark Councilā¬ˆ have made some interesting design decisions on their new LocalGovDrupal website.

A week note from Catherine Howeā¬ˆ should always be celebrated. #

A gobbet from a piece I’m drafting for a project:

Consolidation, harmonisation, standardisationā€¦ call it what you will. The opportunities however are boundless, but to take them we have to all agree on the central premise: councils have too much to do, and everyone will be better off if they can focus on what really matters to local people.

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4 ideas for the digital centre of governmentā¬ˆ from dxw. #

The role of Transactive Memory Systems in great teamsā¬ˆ by Emily Webber.

Daniel Wegner introduced the term ā€ transactive memory Systemā€ in 1985 as a counter to more negative perceptions of group behaviours.

Transactive memory is like an index of where to find things rather than knowing them yourself.

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šŸ“… Daily note for 17 October 2024

Is it really 13 days since I last posted one of these? Terrifying. Still, it means plenty of links to share. #

Rich Pope: Government is not an appā¬ˆ #

Tom Loosemore: What we mean when we say ā€œBe Boldā€ā¬ˆ #

10 principles for the design and delivery of greener servicesā¬ˆ #

Mark O’Neill: Five quick things for the digital futureā¬ˆ #

More Pope:

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šŸ“… Daily note for 4 October 2024

Jukesie shares his ideasā¬ˆ for the new Digital Centre Design Panelā¬ˆ. They are very sensible. #

Steveā¬ˆ has shared a really good looking intro to product management courseā¬ˆ – it’s online and free. #

How government defines a serviceā¬ˆ (via Neillyā¬ˆ)

When we talk about a service, we mean all the things that government collectively provides to deliver an outcome for all of its users, through any path a user takes to reach their goal.

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I love Giles’ list of internet inspirationsā¬ˆ. #

Nice roundup post of interesting thoughts and linksā¬ˆ from my favourite anonymous local government blogger. I do like this freewheeling style, a link here, a thought there. Feels natural and authentic, and is the kind of thing I have been aiming for in this notes of mine, too. #

šŸ“… Daily note for 2 October 2024

Daily noting is rare at the moment, largely down to being busy, about which I should not complain! Lots of very interesting work, working with new people – which in itself is quite tiring. #

LocalGovCamp last week felt different – more positive, ambitious, optimistic than it has been for a while. In one session Theoā¬ˆ mentioned that with the new government it feels like we have a window now to make some serious change happen in the sector. The last thing we want to be doing at LocalGovCamp ’25 is mulling on what could have been. He’s right. #

I am pretty certain the answer to this problem (how can digital stuff help councils make things better for local people while not going bust?) is based on changing the focus on what constitutes the local bit of local public services. Much of what happens behind the scenes has no positive impact on people’s lives. Let’s find ways to share the burden of those things, and let councils focus on where their local context, and democratic accountability, really makes a difference. #

Phil wrote upā¬ˆ his LocalGovCamp experience. #

As did Carlā¬ˆ. I’ve missed Carl. #

Lloyd has been making some fun vlogs recently.ā¬ˆ #

Jerry Fishenden: “Forms? Where weā€™re going, we donā€™t need forms!”ā¬ˆ #

šŸ“… Daily note for 18 September 2024

Am looking into intranets at the moment for a customer. If you have any good stuff to share, please do let me know! Have already heard from Essex County Council and of course Eleanor’s wonderful postā¬ˆ on the topic too. #

Also I’m really interested in stories from local government folk about their experiences trying to implement GOV.UK components like Notify, Pay and so on. Am keen to learn more about what sorts of things are more likely to work than others… #

Kate Tarling has a free email based course called “From silos to servicesā¬ˆ“. Sounds like something you’d be mad not to take advantage of. #

“3 non-tech principles for decommissioning legacy systemsā¬ˆ”:

Decommissioning and replacing a legacy system is notoriously challenging. You need some serious technical credentials to navigate a complex legacy landscape and create a new solution that is both flexible and future-proof. All while maintaining business as usual for the people that use them.

But technical prowess is not the whole story. Replacing an existing platform is only as successful as the people who will be operating the new solution. And thatā€™s often forgotten.

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“Blame culture isnā€™t what I used to think it isā¬ˆ”:

Blame culture exists when people feel like they have to explain their actions, and always their failings, as caused by something outside of themselves. This thing happened because that person didnā€™t do something, they say. Or some other thing didnā€™t happen because thatā€™s just how it is around here. None of this was caused by my actions, they suggest. That is a culture of blame.

The opposite of a culture of blame isnā€™t a culture of accepting mistakes, itā€™s a culture of accepting responsibility. You can see the absence of a culture of blame in the sense of agency people have. When people show initiative and take risks, when they approach problems with ways they can contribute to solving them, when they take control of things within their influence, thatā€™s when there is no culture of blame.

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