In case you aren’t familiar with it, GDS is the acronym for the Government Digital Service, which was set-up by the Cabinet Office to ‘transform’ government digital services. GDS is responsible for – amongst other things – the single government domain. Some concern has been expressed that GDS is ‘hoovering-up’ local digital talent, but it’s generally…… Continue reading A local GDS, for Local People
Author: Mark Braggins
Walking, usually with my two ex-racing greyhounds.
Interested in lots of stuff.
Retired from paid work
The rise of the unconference
An unconference is a participant-driven meeting. The term “unconference” has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference, such as high fees, sponsored presentations, and organisation. This film, from TheInformationDaily.TV takes a look at the rise of the unconference, with a…… Continue reading The rise of the unconference
High Vis for economic data
Last time, I wrote about my experience of being a guest host for WeeklyBlogClub. At the end, I included a quick visualisation that I’d made using Mindmeister, a mind-mapping tool. I’d used Mindmeister to help identify links between posts as part of my write-up for Week 33, and I tacked it on at the end…… Continue reading High Vis for economic data
The Observatory of Economic Complexity – useful for business?
If you’re in business and looking for a market for your products, here’s a quick example of how the Observatory of Economic Complexity might be useful: Switzerland is well known for its high quality time pieces, so it’s no great surprise to see it’s a major exporter of watches Exports of watches in 2010 Switzerland’s export…… Continue reading The Observatory of Economic Complexity – useful for business?
Ministry of Justice: New offence of Squatting in a Residential Building
The offence of squatting in a residential building comes in to law from 1st September 2012, the Ministry of Justice has announced. Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said: ‘For too long squatters have had the justice system on the run and have caused homeowners untold misery in eviction, repair and clean-up costs. Not any more. Hard…… Continue reading Ministry of Justice: New offence of Squatting in a Residential Building
Health: Funding to develop digital services
The Department of Health has announced that local NHS organisations could be awarded funding to develop new digital services that improve patient care and can be used to share information more easily across the NHS . The information sharing challenge fund (ISCF) is open to eligible NHS organisations. The fund is looking for innovative ideas…… Continue reading Health: Funding to develop digital services
Cabinet Office: £100k Challenge Prize fund to help communities reduce isolation in old age
The Cabinet Office and Nesta have announced a challenge with a £100,000 prize fund to help tackle the problem of isolation in old age. Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, said: It’s very encouraging how many people would like to help reduce loneliness in our communities. Through this Challenge Prize we are looking to support…… Continue reading Cabinet Office: £100k Challenge Prize fund to help communities reduce isolation in old age
My week guest-hosting #WeeklyBlogClub
Something new arrived in January 2012: Weekly Blog Club. It’s a club, for bloggers, who try to post something every week. Weekly Blog Club is aimed at – but isn’t limited to – people who work in the public sector, charities, or voluntary organisations. There are very few rules, and most of them are flexible.* Some -…… Continue reading My week guest-hosting #WeeklyBlogClub
The Songs of Me (Part 2)
Last week I blogged Six Songs of Me which was my response to the Guardian’s Six Songs of Life project. I had intended to have a go at answering Janet Davis’ set of questions, but ran out of time. Louise Brown has risen to the challenge this week and posted her selection. I normally struggle to write one…… Continue reading The Songs of Me (Part 2)
A Blue Light on the horizon
A month or so ago I blogged: Reflections on Events, in which I looked back at some of the events I’ve attended over the last couple of years. I suggested some ‘tweaks’ for organisers, and how physical attendees might help improve the experience for those attending remotely. I re-read the post recently and was reminded…… Continue reading A Blue Light on the horizon