# Government Curiosity Chronicle A curated collection of blogs, newsletters, websites, and thinkers exploring the workings, oddities, and innovations within government and public institutions. For public servants with personal blogs, see _[[Bureaucrats with Blogs]]_. ## Regular reads - [Statecraft](https://www.statecraft.pub/), published by [[Institute for Progress (IFP)]] (US) - [Eating Policy](https://www.eatingpolicy.com/), written by [[Jennifer Phalka]] (US) - [Autrement Autrement](https://substack.com/@vraimentvraiment/notes), an _infolettre_ by [[Vraiment Vraiment]] (FR) - [Works in Progress](https://worksinprogress.co/), by Sam Bowman and team - [Can we still govern?](https://donmoynihan.substack.com/) Written by Don Moynihan (US) - [Future State](https://endstate.substack.com/), written by James Plunkett (UK) - [Hypertext](https://www.niskanencenter.org/niskanen-center-substacks/), published by the [[Niskanen Center]] (US) - [Policy Fix](https://ravigurumurthy.substack.com/), written by Ravi Gurumurthy (UK) - [State Capacitance](https://substack.com/@thekevinruse), written by Kevin Hawickhorst (US) ## Around the world - Europe - EU (general) - [Silicon Continent](https://www.siliconcontinent.com/), by Luis Garicano and Pieter Garicano - [The Ministry of Experiments](https://ministryofexperiments.substack.com/), by [[Leonardo Quattrucci]] - UK - [SMF Wonk Week](http://bit.ly/SMFupdates) (love this one) - [Platformland](https://www.platformland.xyz/), written by Richard Pope (UK) - [Simon Parker](https://medium.com/@SimonFParker) - [Martin Stanley](https://ukcivilservant.substack.com/) - [Geoff Mulgan](https://geoffmulgan.substack.com/) - [Institute for Government](https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/) - [re:State](https://reform.uk/) - [Heywood Quarterly](https://heywoodquarterly.com/) - [Center for Public Impact](https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/) - [Demos](https://demos.co.uk/) - [Future Governance Forum](https://www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/) - [Digital by Default](https://digitalbydefault.com/), by [[Matt Jukes]] - [NHS notes](https://frankieroberto.github.io/nhsnotes/), by Frankie Roberto - [Statecraft](https://brunodent.substack.com/), by Bruno Dent - [Notes on Growth](https://www.samdumitriu.com/), by [[Sam Dumitriu]] - [Martha Dacombe's Susbstack](https://dacombe.substack.com/) on tech and science policy - [Michael Dnes' Substack](https://michaeldnes1.substack.com) on planning reform - Scotland - [Digital Policy](https://digitalpolicy.substack.com/), by [[Gordon Guthrie]] - France - [Acteurs Publics](https://acteurspublics.fr/) - [Horizons Publics](https://www.horizonspublics.fr/) - [La Boussole du Manager](https://www.fonction-publique.gouv.fr/toutes-les-publications/la-boussole-du-manager-valoriser-les-savoir-etre-professionnels) (The Manager’s Compass): A publication series by the French Directorate-General for Administration and the Civil Service (DGAFP), focused on supporting managers across the public sector. - Spain - [Rafael Jimenez Asensio](https://rafaeljimenezasensio.com/) - Germany  - [Re:Form](https://reform-staat.org/) - Ukraine - [[Digital State UA]] [substack](https://substack.com/@digitalstateua) - [[Valeriya Ionan]] [substack](https://substack.com/@valeriyaionan) - Latin America - Brasil - [Monthly newsletter](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/como-desenvolvemos-um-produto-digital-sob-medida-em-projeto-ir7yf/) from the [[ImpulsoGov]] tech, product, and data teams, sharing behind-the-scenes insights on building digital tools to strengthen Brazil’s public health system. - [Movimento Pessoas a Frente](https://movimentopessoasafrente.org.br/) (the website is only available in Brazil, use VPN) - [República.org](https://republica.org/) - [Universal Health Monitor](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/universal-health-monitor-7266249663400271872/), written by André Medici - [Magna Karta](https://magnakarta.substack.com/), by Magno Karl - [Daniel De Bonis' Substack](https://substack.com/@danieldebonis) - Others - [Diseño Público](https://disenopublico.substack.com/), published by [Unit](https://unit.la/) - [Gobernarte](https://blogs.iadb.org/administracion-publica/es/), published by IDB - [Futuro Público](https://futuropublico.org/) - Africa - [Interweave.Africa](https://interweaveafrica.substack.com/), by [[Luke Cavanaugh]] - [Our Long Walk](https://www.ourlongwalk.com/), by Johan Fourie - North America - Canada - [The Functionary](https://policyoptions.irpp.org/the-functionary-archive/) - [The Functional Government](https://www.fxgov.com/), by Alistair Croll - [Policycraft](https://policycraft.substack.com/), by Ashley Challinor - US - [Partnership for Public Service](https://ourpublicservice.org/) - [Volcker Alliance](https://www.volckeralliance.org/) - [The People Lab](https://peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu/) - [Effective Institutions Project](https://effectiveinstitutionsproject.substack.com/) - [Francis Fukuyama](https://www.persuasion.community/s/frankly-fukuyama) - [Futurepolis](https://futurepolis.substack.com/), written by Gideon Lichfield - [Government Works](https://governmentworks.substack.com/), written by Brian Wanlass - [Governance Cybernetics](https://www.governance.fyi/), by Dave Deek - [[Good Government Organizations#Center for Public Sector AI (CPSAI)|CPSAI Spotlight]], by Center for Public Sector AI - [Joe Lonsdale](https://blog.joelonsdale.com/), Trump supporter, Palantir founder, I know I know - but his [[Good Government Organizations#Cicero Institute|Cicero Institute]] and govtech ventures like [OpenGov](https://opengov.com/) and [Esper](https://esper.com/) are shaping US state-level policy) - [Reboot Democracy](https://rebootdemocracy.ai/), by Beth Simone Noveck (from the Burnes Center for Social Change and The Governance Lab) - [Prototyping Politics](https://prototypingpolitics.substack.com/), by Soren Dayton - [Divided Argument](https://blog.dividedargument.com/), by William Baude, [Nicholas Bagley](https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/nicholas-bagley) and many others - [Thought(ful) Leaders](https://jessicalynnmacleod.substack.com/), by Jessica MacLeod (very good HR stuff) - [Future State](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7419735004542558208/), by [[Loren DeJonge Schulman]] - [Against Intertia](https://nickdokoozlian.substack.com/), by [[Nick Dokoozlian]] - [The Politics of Making Policy Work](https://jaeyeonkim.substack.com/), by [[Jae Yeon Kim]] - Asia-Pacific - [GovInsider](https://govinsider.asia/intl-en) (South Asia) - [The Mandarin](https://www.themandarin.com.au/) (Australia) - [Australia Past and Present](https://ozhistoryandpolitics.substack.com/), by [[Andrew Kemp]] (Australia) - [Interweave.Gov](https://interweavegov.substack.com/) (Eurasia), by [[Luke Cavanaugh]] and Suraj Bulchand - [Bowl of Fish Hooks](https://fishhooks.substack.com/), by Annika Naschitzki (New Zealand) ## Podcasts - [The GovFresh Podcast](https://podcast.govfresh.com/). A podcast exploring the intersection of design, technology, and government. Hosted by [[Luke Fretwell]] and produced by [[GovFresh]], an open civic organization. - [The GovNavigators Show](https://open.spotify.com/show/2L9ntu5WY9PCAIMYuGqPE8?si=f15eac96effc411c). A podcast about government management in the United States. Produced by [GovNavigators](https://www.govnavigators.com/). - [Inside Briefing](https://open.spotify.com/show/3vMi6yxX3xlsrleSIE9Xbw?si=ec5a201316fe477b). Weekly episodes on British politics and public administration. Produced by the Institute for Government. - [Data@Work](https://open.spotify.com/show/1GarnUFl4KdLQm3vdCObDt?si=e12901e8cefc4965). A podcast about how governments use data to improve programs and services. Produced by [[Results for America]]. - [Work with Purpose APS](https://open.spotify.com/show/3vMi6yxX3xlsrleSIE9Xbw?si=a846d1b61f244bb2). A podcast about the Australian Public Service. Produced by [contentgroup](https://contentgroup.com.au/work-with-purpose/) (a government communications consultancy) in partnership with IPAA (Institute of Public Administration Australia). - [GovCast](https://govcast.buzzsprout.com/2279787). A podcast (in German) about state modernization and public administration (in Germany). Hosted by Faruk Tuncer, founder and CEO of the govtech company [Polyteia](https://www.polyteia.com/). - [The Government Huddle Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/4zR1pfsiedtMFpMMDToNuu). Podcast host [Brian Chidester](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abchidester/) is joined by expert guests from the public sector to discuss government technology issues. - [COREX Podcasts](https://www.cost-corex.com/podcasts). A series of podcasts produced with AI, featuring research by COREX scholars. [[COREX (Comparative Research on the Executive Triangle in Europe)]] is a pan-European research initiative that examines the relationships between executive politicians, senior civil servants and ministerial advisors (collectively referred to as the "executive triangle"). - [High Variance](https://open.spotify.com/show/19vjjI6amjfur4u0i6UeLh). An interview podcast hosted by [[Danny Buerkli]] featuring conversations with technologists and public intellectuals about how institutions can adapt to an increasingly volatile landscape. Buerkli draws on his background in state capacity and public sector innovation, having previously co-directed [[staatslabor]] (a Swiss government innovation lab). He is currently Director of Product and Partnerships at [[Windfall Trust]], an organization focused on the equitable distribution of the economic benefits of advanced AI. ## Collaborative Documents Below is a curated list of living documents, wikis and repositories on public management and government (open for annotation, feedback and collective editing). - [Proudly Serving: A Guide to People-Centered Digital Public Services](https://proudlyservingbook.com). A living playbook to help local governments design and deliver better digital services. Created and maintained in the open, it’s led by [[Luke Fretwell]] and [[Rebecca Woodbury]], with contributions from a wide network of public servants, technologists, and community members. - [Mapping Public Sector Reformers (Spreadsheet & Community)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NqihEirEYtKJX8qQXrLIWrGM7Ex2Bw0kZi3uawVAlhA/edit?usp=sharing). A crowdsourced project by [[Kinship Works]] to map the diverse communities of people and organizations modernizing government. - [GovTech Reckoning: A Framework for Government Modernization (Google Doc)](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MztFAK7Fk2vJxpJxlRhDTdMLxaQmRxXZpiRFIGaijzA/edit?usp=sharing) A collaboratively editable Google Doc by [Joy Bonaguro](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joybonaguro_govtech-reckoning-a-framework-for-government-activity-7308518544734920705-EcEx/) that introduces a six‑part “virtuous cycle” for GovTech reform (policy infrastructure, government capacity, market reform, ecosystem support, strategic philanthropy and civic hacking). - [Emerging Technology Policy Careers (Website)](https://www.emergingtechpolicy.org). A U.S.-based guide to public service careers at the intersection of emerging technologies (like AI, bio, cyber) and public policy. Created by the [[Good Government Organizations#Horizon Institute for Public Service|Horizon Institute for Public Service]], the site supports students and professionals (especially those without insider access) with clear, practical advice on policy pathways, institutions, fellowships, and career resources. Aimed at expanding access to high-impact roles in U.S. tech policy. - [Advice on Digital Government Transformation for Canada (Google Doc)](https://docs.google.com/document/d/12-Rz4vrI0nLskcx2vX18JWrlJL_IjU27w6Bz_bYWCrE/edit?tab=t.0) A collaboratively editable Google Doc initiated by [Derek Alton](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/derek-alton-99ab8921_advice-on-digital-government-transformation-activity-7262256036525355008-XHTK/) to crowdsource best practices, tools and case studies for digital transformation in Canada’s public sector. - [A Living Timeline of Public Sector Innovation (Google Doc)](https://docs.google.com/document/d/your-doc-id-2/edit) A collaboratively editable Google Doc by [Derek Alton](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/derek-alton-99ab8921_an-incomplete-history-of-public-sector-innovation-activity-7299548385512939520-Wg6Q/) that maps key milestones, frameworks and players in public sector innovation worldwide.