This looks useful: Guidance and tools for digital accessibility on GOV.UK.

Following my linkage yesterday to the AI innovation in planning, Tom Loosemore weighs in on the unintended consequences: One worry? Were I to put my mind to the grift, I could easily build a subscription service that would allow anyone…

The BBC reports on Dorset Council testing AI to speed up planning applications: Artificial intelligence (AI) agents are being trialled in Dorset to help combat planning application delays. The team of agents is helping Dorset Council planning officers with minor…

Jo Carter – “Your survey is lying to you: uncovering the pitfalls”: A survey is a tempting thing. It looks inviting, it’s free to pick up, yet it can do a surprising amount of damage, especially when people don’t realise…

Great notes on transformation network building from Matt Wood-Hill: Tangible products and artefacts helped build traction. Starting out as a product team gave us a big advantage. In order to co-design digital planning products at scale we had to collaborate…

Jerry Fishenden shares a useful batch of thinking about AI, etc.

This looks jolly interesting – NHS Operating Patterns: Across the NHS, many people are already working differently – they are enacting a more dynamic kind of devolution, in which people collaborate to do great work, anywhere, on behalf of everyone.…

Dave Richardson – From Awareness to Ownership: Our Cyber Journey Since 2023: Since then, the landscape has only become more challenging. Cyber threats are more sophisticated, more frequent, and more impactful across local government, with real-world incidents disrupting services and…

Tom Loosemore updates his classic definition of digital: The digital revolution is still made of 1s and 0s, but plenty has happened in the decade since 2016. Eras are defined by what’s emergent; the big new thing that’s being folded…

Thoughtful long read from Rachel Coldicutt: Perhaps this collective hangover will be the thing that makes the AI bubble burst – or at least, start it rolling slowly off the peak of inflated expectations. Lord knows, there is no form…

James O’Malley takes a look at the National Data Library: That’s why everyone from the Minister downwards is talking about what the platform ‘could’ do in the future – and, I assume, why the NDL programme was given £100m last…

The newly launched National Data Library features a really useful ‘Data manual’ – think service manual, but data – which I think lots of local councils will find helpful in developing their own data practice.

Adam Wainwright, Senior Content Designer in the GOV.UK Content Operations team writes Launching GOV.UK’s new content and publishing guidance: Around 3,000 people across government publish content on GOV.UK. That’s a significant number of individuals using our tools and writing to…

Dave Richardson of Newark and Sherwood District Council shares his reflections on the recent LGR Camp hosted at the council’s offices: Kate from Cumberland Council had attendees listening intently as she shared some warts and all experiences, though it is…

My friends at Optima Digital Solutions are highlighting a security issue with the Granicus govService platform: On Friday 5th June, the MHCLG sent out a notice to authorities regarding a security advisory identified on the Granicus govService platform. This notice…

Matt Hill-Wood – Co-designing digital planning products at scale: Certain principles were clear: Councils, particularly the people closest to the ‘frontline’ of planning services, need to be as close to product decisions as possible Decisions must be informed by voices…

This looks like an important read – the first from from the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government: Our inquiry identified four building blocks for successful digital transformation, and four barriers…

Jason Snell on the proliferation of vibe-coded Mac apps, and his experience of making one himself: The process of building the app reinforced something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while: coding is a specific skill, but it’s only…

Good, thoughtful stuff from Steve Messer in his latest week note: My main hypothesis is that the existing set of products, platforms and enabling services was not built for a joined-up, personalised paradigm. Service teams are attempting to better meet…

Steph Gray on how he leant into using AI tools on a recent web build: It’s been the first project on which I’ve used significant amounts of AI support with the build. For me, for this kind of work, using…