News & views

We collate and provide links to news and views from around the world to help share ideas and thinking for policy makers, procurers, providers, and any other organisations working in the public sector sphere to deliver better public services.

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News: Dubai introduces VR technology to train drivers
Dubai has become the first government body in the Middle East to use VR technology in driver training and rehabilitation in bid to improve the passenger experience. (source: intelligenttransport.com)
1st August 2019
News: UK’s first secure school to be run by academy trust
The UK’s first secure school – an education-focused alternative to youth jails – is to be run by an academy trust that specialises in schools in deprived areas. (source: theguardian.com)
25th July 2019
New Thinking: New wave of smart cities has arrived - and they’re nothing like science fiction
An abandoned mine shaft beneath the town of Mansfield, England is an unlikely place to shape the future of cities. But here, researchers from the nearby University of Nottingham are planning to launch a “deep farm” that could produce ten times as much food as farms above ground.(source: theconversation.com)
22nd July 2019
View: In a world of autonomous vehicles, this is why we'll need more public transport than ever
The media is fascinated by autonomous vehicles (AVs), in particular their safety and when or if they will arrive en masse. A bigger and more important question is how AVs will work together as fleets and whether they work with public transport to move more people with fewer vehicles to solve our urban congestion and pollution challenges. (source: weforum.com)
22nd July 2019
UK Science Minister Speech: Becoming an Innovation Nation - Driving up private investment into research and development
"It is a great pleasure to be here at this event, to celebrate the successes of the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, and to reveal the winners of the latest round of the scheme"
19th July 2019
View: Cutting crime and the skills gap - taking the risks for big rewards in prison education
Earlier this week, I shared a radio studio with a colleague from HMPPS who was explaining the work of the New Futures Network (NFN), a key driver within the Ministry of Justice’s Education and Employment Strategy for adult prisoners, which links employers and prisoners to find staff for one and work for the other. (source: fenews.com)
19th July 2019
News: U.S., U.K. embrace autonomous robot spy subs that can stay at sea for months
Unmanned robot spy submarines that are able to stay at sea for months at a time may be coming to both the United States and its ally across the pond, the U.K. According to a pair of new reports, both nations are hard at work on developing technology for carrying out future underwater data-gathering surveillance missions, without any risk to human personnel.(source: digitaltrends.com)
18th July 2019
View: Global health security requires cooperation between the public and private sectors
Global health security requires cooperation between the public and private sectors in order to properly manage the economic, security, health, and social disruption of epidemics and pandemics, according to World Economic Forum global health security expert Ryan Morhard.(source: devex.com)
18th July 2019
View: Playing catch-up, how the public sector can embrace digital transformation
In the UK, the public sector is heavily reliant on older IT infrastructure, which can significantly hamper the ability of staff to deliver the high-level of service that we have come to expect thanks to pioneering industries such as retail and logistics.(source: itproportal.com)
17th July 2019
News: Trump administration pushes U.S. at-home kidney care, transplant availability
The Trump administration on Wednesday set goals to move more kidney disease treatment into patients’ homes and increase transplants while reducing the U.S. reliance on more costly dialysis clinics. (source: reuters.com)
17th July 2019
Blog: Fighting Pollution with Innovation
91% of the world’s population live in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most polluted places in the world are the major cities, where poor urban planning has led to urban sprawl and over-reliance on private rather than public transport. So where can governments and city-planners turn to solve these problems? All over the world they are already looking to private sector organisations to enhance public services, notably through various smart-city initiatives.
10th July 2019
Story: How Norway Turns Criminals into Good Neighbours
In the early 1990s, the ethos of the Norwegian Correctional Service underwent a rigorous series of reforms to focus less on "revenge" and much more on rehabilitation. (source: bbc.co.uk/news)
10th July 2019
News: Canada’s first open roads autonomous shuttle begins operations in Montreal
The city and Transdev Canada worked together on several test projects, including one within Montreal’s Olympic Park and Stadium, prior to the start of this service. The current project, which operates using two EasyMile EZ10 autonomous shuttles, will serve for planning purposes and help determine the technology’s potential for sustainable public transit in Montreal. (masstransitmag.com)
3rd July 2019
New Thinking: Five steps for building the world’s most innovative government
Earlier this month, the government published its Technology Innovation Strategy. This announcement represents the government’s strongest ever commitment to embracing innovation and cutting-edge technology. (source: tech.newstatesman.com)
3rd July 2019
News: Smart cities spending to reach $189 billion in 2023
The latest IDC smart cities spending guide highlights priority areas as resilient energy and infrastructure projects followed by data-driven public safety and intelligent transportation. (source: smartcitiesworld.net)
3rd July 2019
News: New Prisons Minister's speech on modernising criminal justice
Robert Buckland QC spoke at the Modernising Criminal Justice Conference in his first keynote speech as the Minister of State for Justice. (source: gov.uk/government)
26th June 2019
New Thinking: Healthcare technology will change lives, eventually
There is some way to go before game-changing technologies are deployed to revolutionise patient care and the working practices of healthcare professionals, but there are encouraging signs of progress. (source: raconteur.net)
21st June 2019
News: Darwin switches on Australia's largest smart city
The $10 million project includes 912 LED lights, installation of 138 CCTV cameras and, the addition of 39 new hotspots to extend the city’s free wi-fi. (source: smartcitiesworld.net)
19th June 2019
New Thinking: What does the next generation of digital public services need to deliver?
To help bridge the inequalities in our society, we must further look to deploy technologies to support citizens to make informed choices and access the various public services and benefits to which they may be entitled.(source: pwc.blogs.com)
18th June 2019
New Thinking: How Stockholm is leading the way for Smart Cities
Stockholm is one of the world’s most connected cities, and a beacon for innovators and international talent. We are also a forward-looking city, leading the environmental and smart city agendas. By 2040, we have the ambition to be both carbon neutral and the smartest city in the world. (Source: raconteur.net)
14th June 2019

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