District heating is set to expand and provide significant help in achieving emission targets. Mark Pickard describes the benefits of district heating and where projects are in progress.

With the Marrakesh COP22 climate change summit fast approaching, the spotlight will be firmly thrown on all countries who have pledged to help mitigate the negative effects of climate change. What more can and must be done to reduce CO2 levels and ensure that climate reduction targets are met?

Read more on DISTRICT HEATING BOOST SUPPORTS EMISSION TARGETS…

Technology provides greater opportunities for faster, more effective, communication. This should mean that fewer people are lonely. But the reverse is true. In this article Tim Southern describes an initiative that is tackling the issue of loneliness.

Read more on SOLITUDE: WHY LONELINESS NEEDS ADDRESSING…

Database management in public sector organisations is challenging because of the volumes of data involved and long retention periods. In this article Joe Kim offers four principles to reduce complexity.

Confucius wrote, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” This is applicable to most aspects of life, yet could not be more applicable to the way government organisations manage data. Although it may feel necessary to collect large amounts of data and store it for many years, this process is actually extremely inefficient and unnecessary. It can escalate costs through constantly having to scale up with storage solutions, while complicating processes due to the vast amounts of data which need to be sifted through.

Read more on SIMPLIFYING DATA MANAGEMENT IN GOVERNMENT…

Graph databases are starting to be used to help not just the enterprise but also the Civil Service and Police force, says Neo Technology’s Emil Eifrem

Governments have many of the same data problems as commercial corporations do in the Internet Age, namely expansive and growing collections of data.

Read more on COULD GRAPH DATABASES GIVE US BETTER DIGITAL PUBLIC SERVICES?…

With academy conversion continuing to rise Mark Raeburn, managing director at Capita One, explains why data from schools will continue to be a vital element in getting the right help for children and families in place sooner.

Everyone has their own strategy for attempting a jigsaw puzzle, but many people find the best place to start is to check you have all the pieces. Missing pieces make it difficult to see the crucial clues you need to complete the picture.

Read more on WHY SCHOOLS PROVIDE AN IMPORTANT PIECE IN THE JIGSAW OF VULNERABILITY…

Data is critical to the planning and delivery of early help for vulnerable children and families. Mark Raeburn, managing director of Capita One, looks at the essential role of the local authority data crunchers and explores how they get knowledge from information.

Read more on UNLOCKING THE POWER OF DATA FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES…

The Science and Technology Committee released its Digital Skills Report in June, which contained a series of alarming figures. Digital skills levels are low, with over 12 million adults lacking even basic computer skills which, against a need for another 745,000 workers with digital skills to fill roles by next year , points to a serious gap between education and business need. So what is the answer? A study by Jisc, the leading provider of digital technology solutions into the education sector, suggests that investing in teacher development is the key to driving digital literacy in the UK.

Read more on TEACHERS AT CENTRE OF DEVELOPING NATIONAL DIGITAL SKILLS…

There is momentum driving a digitised public sector, but progress depends on continuing public trust that personal data is secure. In this article Paul Appleby stresses the importance of robust cyber security and discusses the learning available from the private sector.

Read more on THE RACE TOWARDS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION…

Relying less on paper and moving to digitized information is a long term aspiration of public sector organisations, but progress has been slower than in the private sector. In this feature Jason Howard suggests a data management approach to overcome the barriers that are impeding transformation.

Read more on THE PAPERWEIGHT OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR…

Improving services is a phrase which can cause groans in service users. The expression often means the challenge of grappling with change, with all the benefits going to the service provider. In this feature Stephen Morgan argues that there must also be user benefits.

Read more on DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT PUTTING SERVICES ON LINE…