## Notes from 05 January 2026 [[2026-01-04|← Previous note]] ┃ [[2026-01-06|Next note →]] Discovered [[Civic Future]], a UK organization focused on recruiting talent into politics and government/civil service. Core activities include leadership programs and networking. The Chief Executive is [[Munira Mirza]]. Mirza is also on the advisory board of [[Fix Britain]], a newly launched think tank focused on civil service reform and improving government functionality. Fix Britain has an interesting leadership duo at the top: - **[Matthew Patten](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-patten-11430121)** (CEO) — long career in leadership roles across charities and communications, former [[Reform UK|Brexit Party]] MEP - **[[Stephen Webb]]** (Director of Programmes) — former senior civil servant with three decades across Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office; later at [[Policy Exchange]] working on government reform and civil service reduction proposals; writes a [Substack](https://substack.com/@stephenfhwebb) worth following Both Civic Future and Fix Britain operate in the UK government reform space but from different angles: Civic Future focuses on talent pipelines into public service, Fix Britain on structural and policy reform of the state apparatus. Mirza bridges both. Mirza's trajectory: No.10 Policy Unit under Boris Johnson → resigned Feb 2022 → now CEO at Civic Future + advisory board at Fix Britain --- ### Panel: "Start-Up Cultures: More DOGE, less Blob?"  In July 2025, Civic Future hosted a debate chaired by Mirza with three panelists: - [[Tyler Cowen]] - [[Andrew Greenway]] from [[Public Digital]] - [Ruxandra Teslo](https://www.writingruxandrabio.com/) (I didn't know her!) The conversation addressed "[[the Blob (UK)]]" critique (now adopted across left and right), [[DOGE]]'s attempt at government efficiency, and what genuine start-up culture in government might look like. The conversation is absolutely great! I recommend watching it in full!