03 Aug 2025
What I’ve been doing
I’ve handed over almost everything now, so enjoyed a week with some space in the diary.
I posted something on local government reorganisation and building websites, which a few folks have found useful.
Had a couple of handover chats with the person who’s holding the interim role for my new job. Helpful to get a headstart on this so we can make the most of the few days where we will overlap. I’ve come up with a useful set of questions that I will tidy up and share at some point.
Had a shared leaving drinks with a colleague. Nice and low-key pub chats definitely my preffered style of send off.
Put the finishing touches on a few statements of work for the Ministry of Justice. I will be sad to leave this work behind. It’s been amazing to work on something with such a direct link to impact. The blended TPX and MOJ teams have done a remarkable amount of work in 3 months. Unfortunately not my stories to tell just yet, but seeing something go from a raw prototype to private beta in 6 weeks has been a career highlight.
Had a call with Andrew Webb at Essex County Council. Really lovely to catch up and bounce some ideas around.
Finished the week by chatting to Dr Jaqui Taylor about open (data) standards. Something I’ve been fortunate to continue championing through our work with MHCLG.
What I need to take care of
A little more admin before our drive to the Alps. Crit Air sticker has arrived, high vis vests purchased, warning triangle located, GB sticker applied, headlamp sticker ordered, V5 and proof of insurance in the glovebox.
I’ve fitted a now functioning downstairs WC and some double glazing panes being replaced next week. I just need to fit out the utility room and we’re nearly ready to get this house on the market.
Watching
1923 is streaming on Netflix. Plugging some gaps in the Yellowstone lore. Goodness me Montana is beautiful.
WWE Unreal also on Netflix. Very polished docu-series as part of WWE’s move to Netflix. Feels like it spells the end of kayfabe, but I am here for it. Not quite as good as Drive to Survive of TDF Unchained, but good background TV.
8 out of 10 cats does countdown. Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade as team captains should be unstoppable TV, but the first episode of the new series felt a bit strained. Hope it gets better.
Reading
Because Internet thanks to a recommendation from Amy at my leaving drinks.
30 Jul 2025
I’ve had versions of this post lurking in a drafts folder since 2021. Now that local government reorganisation is centre stage it might be helpful to share some reflections on my experience in Buckinghamshire back in 2019 and 2020.
a blog is your brain, over time, on the internet. Giles Turnbull
I insisted we talk about the work openly. That’s the only way it’s possible to write this post now, by re-reading dozens of weeknotes and watching back livestreams we hosted on YouTube (with a jerry-rigged camcorder, a macbook and OBS - this was just before the pandemic, so no universal video conferencing platform for staff).
Make the argument
We were changing from five organisations into one. I was not the only person with an opinion about the new council’s digital services. I was the first person to articulate an approach in a slide deck and start pitching it to the decision makers.
The strategy was simple - use the new website as a trojan horse for user centred design, demonstrate how to get things done with agile teams, introduce open source tech and open ways of working.
Local Government re-organisation brings bigger problems to solve than building websites, but not many are as visible or will be accessed by so many residents.
My pitch centred on:
- consolidating all websites onto one trusted domain
- providing coherent services that are easy to discover and use
- making local government participative, open and accountable
- communicating with authority and trust
- making great digital and user-centred publishing easy
- delivery by an agile team who work in the open
Get close to the LGR delivery team
Landing safe and legal new councils on vesting day will be a clear and consistent message. There will be teams of people, led by a programme director and they’ll mostly be working in waterfall and Prince2 project management methods.
Running agile teams in waterfall programmes can be a recipe for trouble. Agree the outcomes you’re working to and help people see how governance is built into every step. It’s difficult to do this in abstract during the set up phase, but demoing working software at the end of the first sprint helps give senior people the assurance they need. Follow this with an early private beta well ahead of vesting day and you can give your colleagues one less thing to worry about.
Agile accepts that the scope of the project will change over time. I can absolutely guarantee that will happen during LGR. Requirements changed, the scope changed, the budget changed. We had the new site live weeks ahead of time and avoided any big bang release.
Build a multi-disciplinary team
The uncertainty about future organisation design will make this difficult. I created a centralised digital delivery team with colleagues from across the five councils, before any decisions about future structures had been made. This might require spending some political capital and relying on people’s good nature.
This team was then augmented with specialists from digital and design agencies, whose support was tapered off after the new council was born.
However well things go, you’re very unlikely to be switching off all the old websites on vesting day. Having folks in the team who understand the new and the old is pretty critical.
Use LocalGov Drupal
I’m not one for particularly strong opinions on the internet. Content management systems are a solved problem and you have lots of choice in both open source and proprietary technology. Lots of them are very good. Lots of them will be fine for building new unitary council websites.
Back in 2019 I made the case for technology with a bias towards openness and speed of change. In a period of massive change we wanted to be the most flexible piece of the puzzle. This meant open source technology and complete control over what got built. Wagtail (an open source python based platform) was being used in the NHS and suited our needs. The nascent LocalGov Drupal project was kicking off its discovery. Wagtail was the right choice at the time and is an excellent platform.
With 60 councils using LocalGov Drupal and collaborating to improve outcomes and save money, it’s the right choice today. I would love to see more examples of public money funding public code in Local Government.
Get a head start on content
Between the five councils we had an incredible amount of content in pretty variable shape. Write down your content strategy (or steal this one from Essex ) and get a content audit started early. The GOV.UK style guide is there to use and LocalGov Drupal has you covered with content types.
Establish clear governance and set very high standards. You’ve got a great opportunity to get strict control over publishing - start with a small centralised team. You will get some pushback. Clear, structure and helpful content is in everyone’s interest - even the AI bots.
Work in the open
The best digital teams in government work in the open. They don’t just share code, they also share their thinking, research, designs and things that didn’t go to plan.
It’s low cost and makes for better project management. Publish a weeknote, host show & tells, write longer blog posts. It will give your stakeholders a constant drip feed of information and let people flag issues early. People will spot dependancies and identify risks you’ve missed.
You’ll be making something that lives on the open internet. Decisions about how it’s funded will be published in council meeting minutes. Use this opportunity to take the next step and purposefully write and talk about the work. Get a copy of the Agile Comms Handbook to guide the way.
27 Jul 2025
Jukesie’s Nostalgia Act Era has been a good kick up the backside for my stop-start relationship with blogging. Or at least personal blogging and writing things down on the internet under my own website.
Weeknotes are a great way to get back into the habit. Giles Turnbull has written down what they are, how they work and how to start your own. A few of the folks whose notes I read:
- Ann Kempster - delivery, strategy, gardening, Wales
- Neil Williams - ex-GOV.UK, now at BFI, internet, culture, Crystal Palace
- Sharon O’Dea - digital, workplace, employee experience, comms, Amsterdam
- Ben Holliday - 20 years of blog posts on design adn digital
- Matt Edgar - Digital and Design in the NHS
What I’ve been doing
Handing over.
I’m moving on from TPXimpact. I’ve got about two weeks left and have mostly handed over to a colleague. I’ve found the right job in the right place (more on this in a week or so), so leaving a little earlier than planned.
Leaving the work with one of our major new clients in a good spot. The teams are happy, delivering well and we can see how the work will make a real impact on outcomes.
A bit of admin writing new statements of work before I sign off and give back the laptop.
What I need to take care of
Mostly life admin. Off to France in two weeks time, passports have all just arrived (gotta love the excellent and FAST passports service).
Doing all the jobs in the house to get it ready to sell. New job will mean moving back to South West London / Surrey.
What I’ve been inspired by
Juksie and the associated buzz around the power, peril and privilege of working in the open. It was enough to get me past playing with static site generators (you can read about this on the about page) and posting content.