Mike Beaven talks about how GDS has been helping Technology in Business fast streamers learn about coding and design, the beta release of the employment tribunal fee service and the 'GIST' spending tool, which provides data visualisations of government spending. Next week we're hoping to publish performance data from the lasting power of attorney application.
Mike also welcomes new starters, and congratulates James Taylor on completing the Trailwalker 2013 challenge.
Full transcript below:
Interviewer:
Hello, Mike, what have we been up to this week?
Mike Beaven:
Hi there. Last Friday we ran a ‘Digital Learning Day’ in Manchester. That's really aimed at getting fast streamers – sometimes known as ‘TiBs’, who are Technology in Business fast streamers – and getting them familiar with coding and design principles, and actually letting them get their hands on it. Andy (Brown), Amy (Whitney) and Tom (Byers), plus a few others went up there last week and did a session with them.
Also, on Monday we had another one of our exemplars move into a public-facing beta. The employment tribunal fee service was launched as a result of some new legislation. That actually went live on Monday, the website went live on Monday, so you can now apply to initiate a tribunal hearing online using that website. If you want to know more about the project behind it, then if you look on the dashboard then you'll find all the data about what we're doing there.
Interviewer:
Excellent. We've also been working with colleagues elsewhere in government this week.
Mike:
Yes, so Carl Meweezen and his team over in ERG (Efficiency and Reform Group), who look at all things spending in government and look at where we're saving money. Mark O'Neill and Gill (Elderfield) worked with their team over there, to help them build a thing called the ‘Government Interrogation Spending Tool’, or ‘GIST’, as it's known. That went live and there's been some really good feedback from Stephen Kelly, Carl and his team, and the Minister (Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude), saying, “Thanks for creating something that's very easy to use and intelligent.” So well done to those guys.
Interviewer:
What have we got coming up next week?
Mike:
Richard Sargeant’s team are actually now connecting the performance dashboard to the transaction for Lasting Power of Attorney, and pulling all the data from the analytics out of that into that platform. That will be available for analysis and viewing.
Interviewer:
Excellent. Have we had more people joining GDS?
Mike:
Yes, we've had a couple of new starters this week. One of them interestingly is an individual called Malcolm Glennie. He's come in via the Civil Service Whitehall internship scheme, so he's just joined us.
We've also had a chap called Richard Grove, who's just joined the Transformation team as a transformation manager. He's been here two days and he's off to Scotland tomorrow to Student Loans, so he’s had a brief site of Aviation House before he's been sent out to the frontline.
Interviewer:
Is there anything else that the team have been up to?
Mike:
Yes, very impressively James Taylor completed a 100 km trail walk, which is no mean feat. That's in support of the Oxfam and Gurkha Welfare Trust. So well done to him.
Interviewer:
Excellent, until next time.
Mike:
Thank you.
