Derek Alton

Civic Punks

Government EN ↓ 57 episodes

This is my experiment in creating interesting podcasts about public sector innovation. Disclaimer: All opinions on this channel are my own opinions or the personal opinions of those who I interview.

Author

Derek Alton

Episodes

Something Cool - Reimaginning Employment in South Africa with Kate Philips 14.09.2025 40:41

What happens when a country treats employment as a public good, not just a market outcome? In this episode of Something Cool—a CivicPunks series that spotlights bold thinkers reshaping the public sector—I sit down with Kate Phillip, Program Lead for South Africa's Presidential Employment Stimulus Program, one of the most ambitious public employment programs in the world. South Africa is facing a d...

Travel Diaries Berlin - Systems Thinking, Trust & Transformation with Dr. Louis Klein 14.09.2025 11:09

Another dispatch from the Creative Bureaucracy Festival—this time from the official podcast studio in Berlin! I sit down with Dr. Louis Klein, head of the International Federation for Systems Research, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans continents and big ideas. We talk about his work supporting education reform in Morocco, the growing breakdown of trust in public systems, and why systems...

Travel Diaries Berlin - Reimagining Public Institutions with Mikko Annala 14.09.2025 11:58

In this episode of Civic Punks at the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, I sit down in the festival's "official" podcast studio with Mikko Annala from Demos Helsinki. We discuss the bold work that Mikko and his team are doing to reimagine how institutions operate in the 21st century—from building new governance models to driving systems-level change. We dig into his partnership with Apolitical, The Tr...

Travel Diaries Berlin - Three tensions shaping our future with Dr. Alex Ryan 14.09.2025 3:03

In this episode from my time at the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, I sit down with Dr. Alex Ryan to unpack some of the key insights from the recent gathering of the States of Change Network. Alex shares three powerful tensions the group explored—tensions that could shape how we respond to the unravelling of key systems in our society. From the future of democracy to the role of institutions, this...

Canada's Digital Decline Part 1 - An interview with the Dais's Viet Vu 14.09.2025 50:58

Join me in this first episode of my series exploring why Canada has slipped from 3rd to 47th in the UN E-Government rankings. I sit down with Viet Vu, co-author of the DAIS Report, "Byte-Sized Progress: Assessing Digital Transformation in the Government of Canada." Access the full report here: http://bit.ly/4hlUlQh Note: The report initially referenced Canada's 2023 ranking at 46th. By 2024, the r...

UK's Digital Centre - Part 1 - The State of Digital Government 30.03.2025 7:50

🚨 Major Update Alert! 🇬🇧 The UK just dropped its biggest digital government announcement in over a decade! Dive into this four-part series to understand what happened and why it matters. 🎥 In this first episode, I dissect the "State of Digital Government" report, a brutally honest look at the current state. I'll guide you through the crucial insights and lay the foundation for the UK's ambitious...

Key Trends from 2024 and Things to Watch in 2025 10.02.2025 11:25

In this podcast, I share my thoughts on the most important trends from 2024 that are impacting public service. I'll also share my top picks for the must-read books and must-listen podcasts for public servants around the globe. To cap it off, I discuss the critical developments I'm keeping an eye on for 2025 that could shape our work in the public sector. Don't miss out on these insights to stay in...