Leading Questions

Governments around the world are all faced with meeting skills gaps and talent challenges. Many services require digitally-savvy public servants to help deliver more citizen-focused services, while there is also a need for leadership and management skills to allow government to become more risk-smart and innovative. This Government Transformed podcast, supported by knowledge partner Skillsoft, looked at how governments can assess the skills they need; how they are working to quicken recruitment in key digital skills; and how artificial intelligence developments will change the skills that civil servants need.Join host Richard Johnstone and representatives from the governments of Belgium, Canada, South Africa and knowledge partner Skillsoft as we also discuss how governments can benchmark skills and performance, and how they are working to do more with less.This podcast is based on a Global Government Forum webinar, How to get the right skills mix for modern, digital government, held on 8 July and supported by knowledge partner Skillsoft.Click here to find out more about Global Government Forum’s training and development programmes.Read Global Government Forum’s Making Government Work report, which reveals five pillars of a modern civil service.

Civil servants in government make many decisions every day. From policy officials working to develop responsive services that meet users’ needs, to frontline officials who have to make choices on what tax cases to prioritise, the work of government requires the skills to make effective decisions.This Global Government Forum webinar looked at how governments can build systems that help drive better decision-making – and how civil servants can develop the skills to make – and implement – confident decisions.This webinar brought together public servants from around the world to discuss how governments are streamlining the way they work to become more nimble. It looked at how governments are building systems that will provide more effective data on public service delivery – boosting effective decision-making and facilitating action.This session discussed:The data practices that are making a difference for decision-makers, and the value that can be unlocked from more timely and accurate data in government.The technology and operations that are improving decision-makers’ agility to react to changing and evolving conditions.The skills needed to make confident decisions in government.The role of AI and AI agents in better decision-making and action-taking.

In this conversation, the executive editor of Global Government Forum Richard Johnstone chats to Joe Hill, the policy director of the think-tank Re:state about his recent essay, Everythingism.There’s a link to Joe’s essay at the bottom of these notes, but Everythingism is what Joe Hill describes as the belief in government that “every proposal, project or policy is a means for promoting every national objective, all at the same time”.In this episode, Richard and Joe dig into exactly what Everythingism means, how it manifests in policymaking, and the impact that it can have in government.  According to Hill, Everythingism emerges from the denial or avoidance of trade-offs in government – and argues this denial is one of the contributors to the widely-felt frustration with the pace of change in government.Also worth noting for listeners is that Richard spoke to Joe before the think-tank announced its name change to Re:state from Reform.We hope you enjoy this podcast, and please do share with anyone who would like it. And to hear more from public service experts and analysts, subscribe to Leading Questions wherever you get your podcasts.Read Joe’s essay here: Everythingism: an essay

The threat that public sector organisations face from fraud is growing. In an era when technological advancements are rapidly transforming the landscape, public sector organisations face unprecedented challenges in combating fraud.According to a survey of public servants undertaken by SAS, all public sector agencies surveyed are currently experiencing some form of fraud and expect to see an increase in at least one type of fraud over the next 5 years.Fraud is also having an impact on public finances. In the UK, chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a crackdown on fraud in the welfare system, with a focus on saving £4.3bn by the end of the decade, while the International Public Sector Fraud Forum has published a revised framework that sets out key principles and processes for conducting fraud loss measurement exercises to better quantify the cost of fraud – and measure savings.The importance of unlocking these savings is demonstrated by the SAS research, which identified that tackling fraud, waste and abuse could release savings equivalent to around 16% of their government’s budget.This webinar session examined the scale and extent of the fraud challenge that governments around the world face – and how to tackle it.The session brought together public servants to discuss:The trends in the type of fraud threats that governments face now – and will face in future.How governments are tackling the threats they face now – and preparing for the threats that are on the horizon.The role for AI and analytics in tackling the fraud challenges that government face – and how these technologies can be embedded in current working practices.

The race is on, both within and among governments, to develop and implement artificial intelligence (AI) tools for greater productivity better public services.But the race cannot be run, let alone won, without systems changes and cultural reinvigoration among department workforces. Deploying AI technology at scale will mean changing delivery systems, long-term staff training and fluid yet secure and ethical data sharing within organisations. This webinar, supported by GGF’s knowledge partners SAS, discussed how to make AI work for government.Speakers discussed ways to develop use cases, including business cases, for AI that demonstrate how it can be deployed in the most effective way. They also discussed the building blocks for making AI work, as well as recommendations on the AI tools and media that panellists themselves find useful.The ‘How to deploy artificial intelligence in government: a step-by-step guide’ webinar was originally held on 13 March 2025.

In the UK, the government is focused on harnessing the potential of digital and data to unlock better, more responsive and effective services.In a recent conversation hosted by Global Government Forum, government data experts discussed the role, opportunities and challenges of using data and AI to deliver on its five missions. Those five missions include: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, making streets safer, breaking down barriers to opportunity, and finally, building an NHS fit for the future.In this podcast, you will hear from government data leaders on how data insights can be used to achieve these goals, as well as how to drive the changes that mission-led government requires.The challenges that organisations faced were also discussed, including foundational data constraints, and the limitations of legacy systems, funding and digital skills.Listen to find out from government leaders how data can help drive the government’s missions.This podcast is based on a webinar Real time insight for missions: how to measure progress on the government’s priorities, held on 6 May. Find out more about the session and watch it in full here. 

Governments around the world are focused on how to make the most of artificial intelligence in the way they work – and the government of Canada, which in March launched the first AI strategy for the federal public service, is no different.In this episode, three public servants from across the Canadian government spoke about the challenges that come with deploying AI to create more efficient public services and unlocking economic growth.Specifically, they discussed the challenge of garnering trust – both of Canadian citizens and the public servants they work with – on AI projects.This conversation looked at how organisations within the Canadian government are seeking to strengthen responsible AI management practices and unlock the potential of the technology to make better decisions.The speakers discussed how the government can set AI assurance standards to apply to organisations across the public and private sector, and how individual public sector organisations can work to build confidence in the use of AI, as well as how international collaboration can be strengthened to tackle AI risks across borders.This podcast is based on a webinar Building trust in AI to help government deploy it, held on 13 May. Find out more about the session and watch it in full here.AccelerateGOV – Global Government Forum’s public service transformation event – co-hosted by the Government of Canada returns on December 9th 2025. Register your interest now for the conference, which will set oput how public servants can meet the new Governemnt of Canada’s priorities.

In this special podcast with our knowledge partner EY, former UK civil servant Siobhan Benita speaks to Catherine Friday, EY’s Global and Asia Pacific Government and Infrastructure Industry Leader, about the urgency of governments getting to grips with risk in the age of permacrisis.From external factors, such as finance and people, to external issues like geopolitics and climate change, EY has identified the top 10 risks that will impact governments throughout 2025.In this conversation, Catherine discusses these challenges and unpacks the steps governments must take to meet them.The top 10 risks for the government and public sector in 2025 report that Catherine refers to in this discussion can be downloaded here or alternatively listened to as audio by searching for "top 10 risks for government" on your favorite podcast platform.In addition, we invite you to check out EY’s Risk Radar mini-series, available to listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Podbean. This six-episode mini-series explores macro trends across the top risks, offering insights and practical strategies.