Blog

In partnership with Directgov | innovate, the Home Office has today launched the beta version of its Safer Streets application.

Safer Streets allows residents of three pilot areas – Brighton & Hove, Luton, and Solihull – to tell their local councils and police teams (as well as other users of the service) where they feel safe or unsafe in their local areas.

We’re looking for someone for a 6 month contract as Head of Innovation, reporting to the Director of Strategy and Proposition. This person will work alongside the current Head of Innovation for a short time to come up to speed on Directgov | innovate and will help take the initiative to the next level.

If you are looking for a challenge and feel that you have what it takes to be an innovator at Directgov, then take the next step and apply through one of the agencies listed below.

To apply, please contact one of the following agencies:

Over the months since launching the Directgov | innovate beta we've listened and learned. Because the site was always intended to be more than a blog we've stepped back and reviewed the underlying technology, and after a bit of work (and months of listening to our users), have redeveloped the new Directgov | innovate space using open source technologies.

We welcome comments from everyone on the new site, and as always, consider it to be an ongoing, iterative experiment in innovation and collaboration in the government space.

So, in an environment where you want to explore new technologies and ideas, the idea of buying or leasing servers that you will have to rip down and rebuild constantly seems... well... antiquated.

I want to prototype in the cloud. I think it makes sense. After all, the idea here is to work with open source where possible, with the wider development community when we can, and not to limit ourselves to having to use only one way of developing prototypes.

Here enters the cloud. As I see it, these are the pros and cons of working in the cloud:

On Saturday evening, I trekked over to “Rewired State: National Hack the Government Day” held at the Guardian’s trendy new offices in Kings Cross. The event, conceived and organised by James Darling, Richard Pope and Emma Mulqueeny, sought to demonstrate how government could make better use of open source and non-personal data to better serve the digital needs of its citizens.