Alex Morrison

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Scottish Government’s #Digital Directorate has set out five recommendations for increasing the value of #OpenData from the country’s #PublicSector. https://lnkd.in/enkwDgmb 𝟙. Set out a vision that makes the case for open data. 𝟚. Embrace long-term collaboration and commitment. 𝟛. Create an implementation strategy that is intentional, realistic, transparently monitored, and celebrates success. 𝟜. Set the standards for open data publication. 𝟝. Provide targeted technical guidance and support for publishers and users.

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Interesting to see a few discussion recently (like this one from TPXimpact | B Corp™'s Thomas Kohut) around how we need to evolve the Government Digital Service Service Standards and Standards Assessments to better reflect modern ways-of-working. “Sometimes meeting user needs is not the most important thing, despite being the primary focus of an assessment.” https://lnkd.in/eQymkV-9

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Our mission is to connect the dots. One outcome we aim to support is more joined-up government. #systemsthinking #joinedupgovernment #regenerate #climateaction

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There’s this UK Government article about “User research in government” titled: “Why we care more about effectiveness than efficiency or satisfaction”. https://lnkd.in/eJXAgW2E I googled the difference between effectiveness and efficiency and Britannica gave this: "The words effective and efficient both mean "capable of producing a result," but there is an important difference. Effective means "producing a result that is wanted". Efficient means "capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy". What approach would you employ when working on your own projects?

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Are there any public sector PMs, Service Designers or Delivery folks within my network? Keen to get a coffee ☕ Photo: the view from techUK conference earlier this week. Brilliant day with lots of insight from Government Digital Service, Ministry of Justice UK, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and many more. #publicsector #productmanagement #servicedesign

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The UK public doesn't know much about connected places/smart cities, and from what it does know it doesn't trust the technology involved, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It could be taken as a bad sign, given that plenty of local authorities are flagging up smart city initiatives. But I would say the lack of awareness is the key point, and that as more people become aware of what the technology does, and that generally it doesn't use personal data, they will become more relaxed with the outlook. https://lnkd.in/euWjABuX #localgovernment #smartcities #connectedplaces

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GOV.UK's new #Forms platform is ready to enter a public #beta phase according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology - the platform, developed by the Government Digital Service as part of its work in creating common components for digital services in government, is to be rolled out across central government. Christine Bellamy, CEO of GDS, said: “GOV.UK Forms enables people running government services to create online forms in minutes, without the need for coding or design skills... By enabling teams to replace paper based forms with digital alternatives that are quicker to process, more secure and more accessible, we’re helping to realise a more modern digital government that helps to give people their time back.” https://lnkd.in/edCMHr_q

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Updated digital placemaking advisory note on Bluesky: read this post by Dave Troy. If you understand the Lewis Mumford media principle that from bricks to bits, we make our tools and our tools make us, you should be almost as wary of Bluesky as you are of Twitter/Meta/Facebook/Threads. The reaction to and processing of the Extreme Right's wins in the U.S. have raised deep alarms. Options remain fluid and challenging. Frequent updates to revise awareness are wise, as I’ve had to do based on learning more about Bluesky. Key reflections: 1. Protocols just change the location of the problems Platforms have. 2. Technofixes can’t solve larger governance problems. 3. Financial environments shape reality: opaque ownership and crypto focused investments raise alarms. Corporate capture remains a threat. 4. Financial returns aren’t the only reason billionaires buy media/stations/sites. Control of media has intangible value — just ask the military, dictators, or Rupert Murdoch. 5. Since the invention of the printing press, owning the means of production remains a long-standing strategic value. Point 4 is non-trivial. This is why a return to a pluralist internet, the "pluriverse", matters. Mastodon remains a solid viable “good enough” ethical option. I’ve worked on newer protocols and am working on other efforts in this space, so I speak from experience. I’ve even chatted with Jack Dorsey about Bluesky, but that’s for another update. We are in a new era because of the failures of centralized big social. The libertarian vision is decades ahead of a pluralist governed, social place-led vision. We need support of all kinds — creative and financial. As we know, in placemaking/placekeeping the community work to tangibly and intangibly own a public space — made by and for all — is worth the effort and when done well, it's a rewarding joy to be part of. As I’ve advocated in my digital placemaking work since 2010, we must divorce ourselves from the consumerist shopping mall renter mentality we've become accustomed to. Many perceive the renewal of multicultural pluralist networks as "fragmentation," which reveals how deeply monocultural, colonialist, authoritarian, transnational corporatism has captured our imaginations. Nearly an entire generation only knows centralized "big social"... it's like growing up in a mega shopping mall and thinking diverse human-scale cities are a crazy idea. The renewed Indie Web and Small Web movements have made “digital ownership” easier than ever. Models like POSSE, show the way your communities and organizations can maintain wiser digital practices. If you’re interested in our shared purposes, please reach out about ways to work together. It will take all of us to evolve more wisely. https://lnkd.in/eCjJcm3Y #digitalplacemaking #placemaking #mediaecology #responsibletech #ethicaltech #indieweb #smallweb

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An interesting article on the hyper-local challenges. I believe a public social infrastructure is what will be required to accelerate this movement, an idea we are pulling at with our Fabrik platform at immedia. https://lnkd.in/de4ne6mC

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East Riding Council has adopted a formal policy for the use of generative AI. I wouldn't swear to it, but think this is a first for local government in the UK. Given the increasing use of the technology, and a sense that it could provide big gains in productivity, I should we'll see a lot more local authorities laying down clear rules for its deployment. While the policy lays out steps and safeguards that will be familiar to people in digital roles, it should provide useful guidance to those who are not familiar with debates on the safe and ethical use of digital tech. https://lnkd.in/eUkbQrGh #localgovernment #genai #generativeai

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Happy Friday - here's the latest environmental headlines from the past week. 🚗 Campaigners urge UK ‘pay per mile’ EV tax to fill £5bn revenue gap via Innovation News Network https://lnkd.in/e5spKPTj 🎶 MusicMagpie achieve annual energy savings of 67,137kWh musicMagpie Bee Net Zero https://lnkd.in/etdCF5zg 🥑 UK Government urged to launch National Food Security Strategy amid rising climate risks via edie https://lnkd.in/eU89THwT 🔣 Over half of waste and recycling datasets phased out under previous government via CIWM https://lnkd.in/ehru9ssR 🏭 UK leading the world in fusion power plant design https://lnkd.in/e2PjeYiK 🗑 A fifth of the world's plastic garbage is either burned or littered via New Scientist https://lnkd.in/eWPXdBWT ⛽ Volvo cars pulls back electrification, carbon reduction goals via ESG Today https://lnkd.in/eb6u5qeb

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New report from us at Creative Informatics! ‘The Future of Creativity and AI: Views from the Scottish Creative Industries’. In this paper we introduce the landscape of creative AI in Scotland in 2023, after consulting Scotland’s creative sector from May to November 2023 on their concerns about AI and how to address them. We provide concrete recommendations on how to support our creative industries through this increasingly urgent AI turn. https://lnkd.in/eQUxuGie

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Another great session in place for tomorrow's Think Data for Government conference. LESSONS LEARNED FROM CROSS-GOVERNMENT AND CROSS SECTOR-SECTOR COLLABORATION, with some brilliant insight coming from Craig Campbell from the Greater London Authority, Andrew Newman from the Open Data Institute and Simeon Souttar from Hippo. https://lnkd.in/es37nP2C #data #government #collaboration #thinkdata

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So you want a good interest rate on your savings account, _and_ you want to do your bit for climate change _and_ help schools save money? Here's how!

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Required reading for UK government communicators from the Government Communication Service: the new Innovating with Impact Strategy, Ethical Framework for Innovation, and Generative AI policy. Key takeaways for me: 💻 a commitment that the central GCS team at Cabinet Office will provide training for all government comms professionals on responsible use of generative AI 📃 a list of relevant UK legal frameworks to consider when planning your innovation project ✋ the latest guidance from Information Commissioner's Office on automated decision-making and profiling - and a commitment to the principle of transparency https://lnkd.in/eAeYbbUn

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I'm looking forward to heading to my home county of Yorkshire tomorrow for UKREiiF 2024 as part of the London Communications Agency contingent. Along with my LCA colleagues, we'll be bouncing in to town, speaking at events, hosting some of our own events, and supporting our clients at this really crucial couple of days in the built environment industry's calendar. This will be my first UKREiiF - my expectations are that it'll be a bit like a party conference (and I've been to a fair few of those over the years!) but with fewer politicians, and many more representatives from the property world! But a concentrated gathering of the like-minded in one place for a few days will be reassuringly familiar to me, and to many others no doubt, who've ploughed the circuit of Brighton, Blackpool, Manchester and Birmingham for Labour and Tory conferences over the years. A big topic of discussion in the panel events, the cafes and bars will be the looming General Election and what this will mean for the real estate world. The phrase 'stay alive until 2025' is banded about a lot, and this does neatly encapsulate the flatline mood of 2024, and the hopes of an upturn in the economy early next year. By then, we'll be past the General Election - if the polls are right, it could be Keir Starmer at the head of a Labour Government with a substantial majority. Labour has talked a lot about getting Britain building - not just homes, but infrastructure too. They're certainly talking the talk, but we're still waiting for details. We may well hear from some of the key players this week in Leeds. Yet with last week's unveiling of Labour's 6 pledges, housing, development and construction was conspicuous by their absence. Is the party backsliding on getting Britain building? Many will be looking for reassurance. Here at the London Communications Agency, as we head towards our 25th birthday, we're expanding fast - with clients beyond our traditional base, and also beyond the M25. We work across strategic communications, campaigning, public affairs, consumer, design and insight, and with some clients we now provide all of these services, reflecting the confidence many have in our in-house expertise and creativity. We are proud of our clients & represent some of the biggest and most exciting projects - from Earls Court, to King's Cross, to Greenwich Peninsula, to Westfield, to The Crown Estate. Our knowledge of London - the people & organisations that make it work, in local councils & at City Hall in Sadiq Khan's team - is our lifeblood, and we're building on this all the time as we increasingly work beyond the city's boundaries. This knowledge is more crucial than ever this year, with the General Election just a matter of months away. We know that political change introduces uncertainty for our clients, and it is why we're trusted to provide advice to help guide them through this coming period of change. If you're in Leeds, do say hi - let's grab a coffee.

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We'll be systems-mapping all the manifestos, but have started with the Labour Party's commitment to Five Missions. You can explore the mindmap but some early thoughts from me from a systems perspective: 1: Understanding how joined-up any of these manifestos will be, requires us to have some sort of national consensus on what it is we are going to be joined-up about. For example, we want a vibrant economy, but should this be delivered in a way which is good for our health and the environment? 2: To be truly joined-up we will need to look at ensuring local, national, and global issues are all considered in a coherent way. For example, can we tackle the crisis in the NHS without tackling issues like global warming, which will create medical problems, including heat stress and mental health issues following extreme weather events such as flooding? 3: We will need to look at root causes, not just tackling symptoms. For example, to what extent might short term measures for tackling migration be undermined if we don’t also address current and future causes of migration such as global inequality and climate change? Catherine Day Lorraine Mackin Tilly Campbell Prateek Buch Lord Iain McNicol Rupert Pearce Seb Royce FRSA Donna Stimson Nicola Peel Melissa Zanocco OBE Mahsa I. Mike Berners-Lee Dmitry Yumashev Joe Baker Kirsty Blackman Caroline Lucas MP Brighton Pavilion Natalie Bennett Tom Brake Richard Steer FRICS, Hon FRIBA, FCIOB, FAPM Olamide Raheem James Shearman Binki Taylor Charlie Waterhouse John Fellowes Shengqi Zhang #joinedupgovernment #systemsthinking #climateaction #migration

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