We've seen some encouraging growth of Communities of Practice at Defra over the last year since Emily Webber got them started, helped by support from our new joint CDOs and by a great deal of enthusiasm on the ground. On …
I’m a government romantic. I think there is a Nirvana out there where all I need is trust, not approval, to deliver.
For our first team outing, the Data Programme team went to a bog. We are spread all over England, so gathering together is a big thing. We do things like unhangout to get over the boundaries, but team gatherings are …
Last year, Defra group was set a challenge: a target to release at least 8000 new open datasets in one year.
Imagine losing 7 million plant specimens in a fire. Kew’s plant store (herbarium) faces this risk. The ‘server room' as it’s known, holds 250 years worth of international plant data. To lose generations of passion, love, care and meticulous attention …
Our boss told us to get out of London, so we visited Cefas - the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science - in Weymouth.
So we decided to put some structure around our work. We chose to do weekly sprints of focused delivery in #teamhack.
We spent 12 months trying to publish 8000 new open datasets which was fun and stressful. We had decided whatever the outcome, we would set aside time to reflect and re-energise – a 'firebreak'. This was also a chance to unpick …
