Weekly briefing: Self-driving boats, innovators' reading list

Top Stories

Reading list for the future of government: 9 essential books and reports. The challenges the public sector faces, from automation to digital disruption, are fast-changing — and to meet them, civil servants need to evolve, too. Get started with our top reads for the new age of government.
(Apolitical)

The UK’s ‘govtech minister’ is opening government to a new kind of business. Too often, innovative startups are locked out of government contracts by unwieldy, complex processes. This is how Oliver Dowden helped the UK spend half of its tech procurement budget on SMEs.
(Apolitical)

Evidence-informed policy: How to bridge the academic-policymaker divide. Policymaking is inherently messy and complicated, which makes it difficult to integrate evidence into the process. ‘Knowledge brokers’, who work to translate science to the government context, may be the solution.
(Sarah Quarmby, Research Assistant At The Wales Centre For Public Policy)

A mini-guide to public sector innovation in Switzerland. Switzerland is often ranked first in the world for private sector innovation — but the state lags behind. From fast-tracking citizen-centred design to making data transparent, here are seven steps government should take to catch up.
(Maximilian Stern, Vice President Of Staatslabor)

A nervous system for the public sector: the case for an Evaluator General. To truly understand a policy’s impact, we need an independent body that transparently monitors and evaluates it. It would build evidence on what is and isn’t working, acting as “an independent and critical friend".
(Nicholas Gruen, CEO Of Lateral Economics)

Governance and Citizen Engagement

Scotland will be the first country to teach LGBTI issues in all schools. The national curriculum will be amended to include lessons on LGBTI history, terminology and identity, as well as ways to combat homophobia and prejudice. Teachers will get access to free training.
(CNN)

Singapore is Asia’s cleanest, greenest metropolis — here’s what it took to get there. It instituted clever advertising campaigns, public education activities and volunteer cleanups — alongside more aggressive tactics, like fines and spot checks by government officials.

BBC

Gender Equality

A new study found a “huge and significant” decline in female genital mutilation in Africa. Over the last two decades, the prevalence of FGM in under-14s in 29 countries fell from 71% in 1995 to 8% in 2016. The authors attribute to today’s mothers having better access to education.
(Time)

Energy, Environment and Economic Opportunity

Bhutan is one of the world’s only carbon-negative countries. It takes in more greenhouse gases than it emits, largely thanks to constitutional protections that say 60% of Bhutan's land must be forested. It also gets its electricity from hydropower and plans to make its agriculture 100% organic by 2020.
(CNN)

Technology Frontiers

Amsterdam is testing autonomous boats. The Dutch capital wants to ease road congestion by using self-driving boats to ferry commuters along its extensive canal network, which covers nearly a quarter of the city. The boats will also be used to collect household waste.
(Cities Today)

Florida is building a zero-emissions, hurricane-proof neighbourhood. The town of Cortez, just south of Tampa, runs on solar power, batteries and carbon fibre, which helps protect against storms and prevent outages. It’s the first net-zero rental community in the US.
(Fast Company)

And finally

A dead brothel owner won a Nevada assembly seat. Republican Dennis Hof, a reality TV star who died last month, defeated his Democratic opponent by more than 7,000 votes. State law stipulates that county officials must appoint another Republican to take his seat.
(NBC)