Archive for January 2011
DWP’s Harley takes on CIO role
Confirmation today of a promotion (of sorts) that's been rumoured for the last couple of weeks at least: Joe Harley CBE, DWP's corporate IT director since 2004, on a salary just short of a quarter of a million a year, is to take on the CIO role vacated by John Suffolk. As with many of [...] read on »
Meet the new boss: Chris Chant at #ukgc11
This year's UK GovCamp, held on Saturday, felt markedly different to those in previous years. Still the same warmth, spirit and enthusiasm as in previous years - making it the only 'government computing' conference worth attending. But this time, things seemed much more serious. Partly due to its sheer scale, much larger than in previous [...] read on »
+++ EXCLUSIVE +++: Transport’s £2.7m spend on online game
In late November 2009, I noted the launch of Code of Everand, a multi-player online game commissioned by the Department for Transport, aimed at teaching kids road safety in an innovative way. I found it 'a bit tedious and mechanical', but I acknowledged that I wasn't exactly its target demographic. But all sorts of alarm [...] read on »
Chant confirmed as new digital chief
I'm told that Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group chief Ian Watmore confirmed the appointment of Chris Chant as Director for Directgov and Digital Engagement in an all-staff email earlier this week. No mention of the word 'interim', as I understand it. We knew about the Directgov bit... but the news that he's the new [...] read on »
My GovCamp wishlist (and yours)
A week and a half to go until this year's UK GovCamp, bringing together 150 (ish) people prepared to sacrifice a Saturday to drop by Microsoft's London offices, and talk about the web, government, and what happens when you force the two together. Messrs Gray and Briggs promise it'll be 'so awesome it's untrue' - [...] read on »
Commons committee’s IT inquiry
Announced shortly before Christmas, and closing next week, the Commons Public Administration Select Committee is running a consultation on 'the way in which Government develops and implements technology policy'. They have produced an 'Issues and Questions' paper, posted online in PDF format; and they would like you to submit your responses 'in Word format or [...] read on »
Interim govt CEO Digital appointed
Although I don't believe there's been any kind of formal announcement yet, I've had it confirmed from various well-placed sources that Chris Chant, the Cabinet Office's programme director for cloud computing (salary £125-129.9k), has been named as 'interim' CEO for Digital - the all-powerful position recommended by Martha Lane Fox in her review of Directgov: [...] read on »
Army blogs at WordPress.com, Navy to follow?
A mere ten months late, I bring you news that the Army has started running a group blog at wordpress.com. It's quite a busy site, with 39 posts during November alone, although 10 to 20 per month is a more normal figure. There's a steady trickle of comments on each post; and most posts - [...] read on »