Skip to main content
GOV.UK
Blog: Defra digital, data, technology and security
Organisations:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Animal and Plant Health Agency

Invest in people if you want to transform

Posted by: Tracy Green and Colin Banno-Thorton, Posted on: 27 February 2018 - Categories: Digital transformation
Some of our "agile enthusiasts" stickers

A few weeks ago, we were invited to speak at an internal event for managers in one part of Defra. The subject of our talk was "What are digital skills, and how do we develop them?" We think that good …

Read more of Invest in people if you want to transform

Quite enthusiastic about agile

Posted by: John Clapham, Posted on: 8 February 2018 - Categories: Digital transformation
An agile enthusiasts meet-up

...It's an easy and accessible forum for people who want to know more about agile, or ways of putting it into practice, without having to set up meetings, book meeting...

Read more of Quite enthusiastic about agile - 1 comment

Stop irritating, start iterating

Posted by: Samantha Brown, Posted on: 7 February 2018 - Categories: Defra digital, Digital transformation
The long term flood risk page after iteration

...an invalid postcode, the error message wasn't clear enough. It said: “Please enter a valid postcode in England.” Users seemed to be registering the ‘valid’ part of the instruction, but...

Read more of Stop irritating, start iterating - 2 comments

Modernising Data Protection

Posted by: Lisa Allen, Data Protection Programme, Posted on: 6 February 2018 - Categories: Data protection, Defra digital

Digital technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives. A lot has changed over the last 20 years since the last Data Protection Act was passed in 1998. In that year Celine Dion had a chart topping hit with …

Read more of Modernising Data Protection

An agile approach to water abstraction licences

Posted by: Harriet Green, Joint Chief Digital Officer and Myra Hunt, Joint Chief Digital Officer, Posted on: 1 February 2018 - Categories: Defra digital, Digital transformation
Screenshot of water abstraction beta

...existing licences. Good prioritisation means faster progress. More advanced features, such as applying for or renewing licences, can be added later. … be flexible - by adjusting the way they...

Read more of An agile approach to water abstraction licences

Related content and links

Defra digital, data, technology and security: our story

This blog is about our experience of transforming Defra digital, data, technology and security services and information.

Find out more about what we do.

We're hiring

We’re always on the look-out for great talent.

Visit our recruitment hub for more information about the current roles on offer.

Find out more about our people.

Join us on LinkedIn

Interested in finding out more about what we do in Defra Digital Data Technology and Security?

Check out our LinkedIn page for all the latest news, stories and job openings. While you're there, why not give us a follow?

Want to know more about our Sustainable ICT journey?

Defra is at the forefront of ensuring that UK Government Information Communications Technology (ICT) is rationalised, resilient, responsible, and free from exploitation throughout our digital infrastructure and associated supply chains.

Find out more

Recent blogs

  • Why senior service ownership matters at Defra... and why now 7 July 2026
  • Services Week: What we are learning about introducing sustainability into service assessments 29 June 2026
  • Making every customer call count through more joined-up data 24 June 2026

Sign up and manage updates

  • Email
  • Atom

Pages

  • About Defra digital, data, technology and security
  • Blog comment and moderation guidelines
  • Subscribe
  • A guide to agile communication
  • Our people
  • Working for us

Recent Posts

  • Why senior service ownership matters at Defra... and why now
  • Services Week: What we are learning about introducing sustainability into service assessments
  • Making every customer call count through more joined-up data
  • Digital waste tracking: where we've been, what we've built, and why the market is our primary user
  • How we built the new Defra service manual with AI and community collaboration

Recent Comments

  • Geoffrey Bot on Radar 2026: A personal look at the technologies shaping our future
  • Paul Bailey on Making digital services more sustainable: introducing a 15th service standard point
  • Dale on Doing content-first design at Defra – part one
  • Rosie Brave on Doing content-first design at Defra – part one
  • Tom Parry on Identifying the environmental impacts of digital services: lessons from the 'Get air quality data’ service

Useful links

  • All GOV.UK blogs
  • All GOV.UK blog posts
  • GOV.UK
  • All departments
  • Accessibility statement
  • Cookies
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated
© Crown copyright