Defra's Permanent Secretary talks #DataDrivenDefra, #DataMash and the joy of unconferences in this video and full transcription.
A week ago today I was lucky enough to attend the Sentinel-2B satellite launch event held at European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.
Every organisation has its commonly used phrases and, since starting in Defra in October, I keep hearing people use the term ‘we aren’t trying to boil the ocean’. It’s an evocative term, but we could use it to describe Data …
A blog from government fast streamer Tarini Fernando about what she learned working at Defra Digital for the last six months.
Our new digital rod licence application service has recently moved from private to public beta. So how did we do it?
We organise regular content clinics across Defra group publishers. Statutory guidance "What are the restrictions on publishing content as statutory guidance?" The style guide says use them for guidance that relevant users are legally obliged to follow. Don’t use for …
The UnITy programme has been set up to oversee the expiry of two large ICT contracts with IBM and Capgemini and replace them with a number of smaller contracts. Defra's UnITy Programme has now launched its biggest procurement so far - for Defra’s hosting and application support services.
Much of Defra’s work relies on good access to, and use of, various kinds of geographical data. At present Defra has numerous local repositories within individual organisations which, in addition to being costly to maintain, can also lead to problems …
Past incarnations of this working group have been no stranger to ambitious targets, and the latest is no exception. The group, which I am a part of, comprises Defra Data Programme Leads, Data Managers, Senior Managers and Solutions Architects from …
On a recent visit to Ordnance Survey (OS) I learned about the diversity of geospatial data and innovation OS undertakes. OS was born in 1791 under the ambition of creating a superior map of Britain. While world-famous for their paper …
