iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Whole endeavour was a good-will destroying exercise. Will it now just be the same mad process, but with more at stake?

& just remembered those insane multi hour meetings of tens of scs all bartering over which in their team gets what box, with dubious 'corporate contributions' as the decider. Laughably bad way of judging performance

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What I would do: make it easier to get rid of awful performers in less than 1yr (!) and hire/pay for more exceptional people

& how many times a policy person is great. Minister changes, person is now terrible

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Less persuaded: first part of career strategy/policy/minister, top boxes & exec team v happy. 2nd part data/digital shipping hard stuff, senior leaders don't understand, isn't valued, middle box all the way. PRP in current CS rewards the jobs more than the people doing them imo

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Read it again in our book club recently and totally agree. Amazing rhythmic prose and one of the geekiest classics ever. Works well in the audiobook too. Also one of those books that you shouldn't worry about skipping liberally when needed - its a short story wrapped up in a *lot* of fab meandering

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Benjamin Welby @bm.wel.by · 26/02/2026

Vibe coding is lots of fun. So too is asking how does “one person cosplaying as a product team” translate into AI-assisted delivery for public services? I've written a very long thing about all of that. But here's a shorter thing to whet your appetite.

bm.wel.by

Public sector product management in a vibe-coded world

AI-assisted delivery is changing digital government. This post launches my paper on standards, governance and the craft of confidence at speed.

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Tom Loosemore @tomski.com · 25/02/2026

AI agents will join up government before government joins up government. This may be a mixed blessing. Blog post. with some reflections about my recent agentic adventures: loosemore.com/2026/02/25/a...

loosemore.com

AI agents will join up government before government does

AI agents will join up government before government joins up government. This will be a mixed blessing for citizens, with big implications for trust, equity and accountability. Let’s say you …

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Reposted by Paul Maltby

Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.com · 03/02/2026

Some of us @transformgovtalks.bsky.social & some great govt policy people are planning @policycamp.bsky.social - a new unconference for people who want to make govt policymaking even better Help shape it - here's a short survey! Microsoft Form: bit.ly/MSPolicyCamp Google Form: bit.ly/GPolicyCamp

policycamp.org.uk

Policy Camp

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

As a supplier to government these days I would venture that it's a 'brave' strategy to ship a service that will make your all your clients so utterly livid

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Some pretty crazy staff in the AI Security Institute AI trends report. For Chemistry & Biology it says frontier models now outperform PhD-level experts on open-ended questions, protocol generation, and lab-based troubleshooting

Graph of improving capability for chemistry/biology

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Said cheesy cover ❤️ Listen to Don't you want me again by Blap on #SoundCloud on.soundcloud.com/kRThUprkIxGQ...

soundcloud.com

Don't you want me again

Listen to Don't you want me again by Blap #np on #SoundCloud

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Signing off work for the year and actually feeling Christmassy. Here's my little festive musical contribution to the season on.soundcloud.com/GdTywHE9mhZu... 😁 🎄

soundcloud.com

A Die Hard Christmas

Listen to A Die Hard Christmas by Blap #np on #SoundCloud

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Whoever invented drums with headphones deserves a BIG medal

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Is myCSP no longer a thing then? It looks different and I can't log in and civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk doesn't work with login details either. I'm pretty confused 🤷‍♂️

civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

I made it into a festive track last year, if you're feeling seasonal 😉 on.soundcloud.com/vLU8AEEk0vAM...

soundcloud.com

A Die Hard Christmas

Listen to A Die Hard Christmas by Blap #np on #SoundCloud

Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

And, in the unlikely chance anyone is interested, there's a YouTube clip of the performance too. Well I had fun anyway ;) youtu.be/xTG4rk16qGg

youtu.be

Tiny Gear 19.11.25 Paul

YouTube video by stenno78

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

First time playing music in public in a long, long time last night at the Tiny Gear Concert in Leicester - the theme was jazz samples. Lots of fun and such a warm bunch of folks

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zuz @zuz.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I’m on the lookout for a new contract (preferably inside). I’ve got over a decade of experience working in the public sector, mostly in agile delivery management. Two weeks notice. Not got DMs here but Signal is zuz.1337, or LinkedIn is good. Thx :)

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But this rapid tech change will have big implications and there appears to be little space outside of the political/media bear-pit to work these through, or how to mould policy, delivery and industry to our collective future advantage. So on balance I rather like Lucy's proposal and wish it well

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Working in AI right now is like having one foot in the future. The speed of technology change makes the notion of civil service led 15-year strategy processes feel rather quaint. I worry that a big set piece strategy process would add to the noise and lethargy rather than practically help.

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And before long the Government Digital Service had revolutionised the way in which longer-term public service design and delivery questions were framed, and did it with a mantra of 'The Strategy is Delivery'

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I still mourn the loss of the practice of strategy and scenario work that pretty much ended with the decline of the PM's Strategy Unit and similar teams across government. But then again in 2010 my new Secretary of State asked, reasonably, along the lines of 'I set the strategy so what do you do?'

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transformgovtalks.bsky.social @transformgovtalks.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Enjoyed Lucy's lecture just now at @blavatnikschool.bsky.social on how to create the process to create a longer-term National Strategy for the UK

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🚨 6PM, WED 24 September 🚨 Join us at the MoJ or online * Dr Moira Nicolson & Holly Marquez "Failing Forward: Why Planning for AI Disasters Unlocks Breakthrough Innovation" * Ben Sauer "Always Be Creating Clarity: Daily habits for strategic storytelling" luma.com/sm09nslz Please share! Thanks 🙏

luma.com

TransformGov Talks : September 2025 · Luma

Dr Moira Nicolson, Lead Behavioural Scientist (Cabinet Office) and Honorary Research Fellow (UCL) plus Holly Marquez, Senior Behavioural Scientist, (Cabinet…

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

And 'Frenchie' restaurant. Mmmm. Reminds me I need to go back to Paris maps.app.goo.gl/fzgLX5pJCbim...

maps.app.goo.gl

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Some years back when we were doing gov data stuff with the Etalab crew we hung out around the lovely Rue Montorgueil food market and local area, I think the 'Experimental' cocktail bar on Rue Saint Saveur was where we ended up. Who knows if it's still the same but I really liked this area of Paris

maps.app.goo.gl

Sym Roe @symroe.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Reposted by Paul Maltby

Where I have some thoughts on digital improvements that can follow from The Elections Strategy. I think the "digital notices" thing could be a really interesting pattern in legislation

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James Arthur Cattell @jacattell.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

UKGovCamp 2026 ( #ukgc26 ) will be in #Birmingham on Saturday 17 January 2026. We need a venue: 1️⃣ for 250 people, 2️⃣ 8 breakout rooms, 3️⃣ wheelchair accessible. @imhuyorks.bsky.social is leading the search. Please share and reply with ideas 🙂

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Don't worry he always gets a bit ;) 🐕

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Omg, yep that's my Moss too 😂 Currently pleading for some omelette #Airedale

Moss the Airedale begging for some of my lunch

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Can *we all* sign it? The best cafe in the entire world

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Oh god, hold on it was the 70s

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Chuffed to see we're getting more Mandy. The show is made sweeter because in my *greatest role* (Joseph, aged 5) Mary was the most beautiful girl at infants school, one Mandy Carter. There is a kind of resemblance too, makes me wonder if 80's Nottingham Mandy is more famous than I realise...

theguardian.com

‘I’ve not got a problem with making myself look disgusting’: the wild rise of Diane Morgan

From Avon lady to TikTok superstar, Diane Morgan has become a global comedy darling. As her ‘disgusting’ show Mandy returns, she talks about why she almost asked the BBC to pull it – and why she prete...

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Paul Maltby @maltbyps.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

So true. And such valuable work. Like with democracy club its just exasperating that something so fundamental to digital public services/democracy hasn't been done better by the state by now. That feeling is all the more bitter when I've been part of the efforts on the inside to try & improve it

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It's imprinted on my brain alongside other data stuff I still re-worry about on a bad day including bloody paf (@jamesomalley.co.uk is on a mission to assuage my regrets), polling station data (@democracyclub.org.uk remain heroes) and water quality data (*gestures broadly and sadly*)

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I know! And surely can't have been ten years ago, right? I mean that would make me *mumbles* years old and that would never do

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Honestly I think this approach is the right answer now, plus there's lots of clever ways now to infer accuracy in a way that meets user needs. Just feeling a bit melancholy that we were so close to sorting it at source, and so many years ago :(

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But I guess the problem could be fixed in a different way now without fixing a canonical list & ownership. The stuff we did with Loti and Beam on rough sleeping data was the moment I changed my view on this type of thing. Still, just feels more elegant to fix the underlying issue #CareerRegrets