Ethos journal

Ethos Journal has been published twice a year since 2008. It features a wealth of insight into the world of public services, in the form of opinions, debates, profiles, interviews, infographics and photo essays.

Issue 15 / Alliance Expand

Issue 15

Spring 2013  

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Issue 14 / Responsibility Expand

Issue 14

Autumn 2012

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Issue 13 / Economic recovery Expand

Issue 13

Spring 2012

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  • Austerity measures

    Is the government’s strategy for UK recovery and growth the right one? Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor of the Sunday Telegraph and William Keegan, Senior Economics Commentator of the Observer, discuss

  • Better by design

    Can good design improve efficiency in public services? The Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) investigates

  • Beyond social mobility

    "A broader statecraft is needed." The Director of IPPR argues that the definition of 'social mobility' has been unhelpfully narrowed

  • Investing in infrastructure

    Dr Tim Stone, advisor to KPMG, considers the future of financing for large public projects, post-PFI

  • Leading the civil service

    Peter Riddell, Director of the Institute for Government, takes a look at the current roles and previous experience of Sir Jeremy Heywood, Sir Bob Kerslake and Ian Watmore

  • Level the playing field

    ACEVO’s Sir Stephen Bubb argues that voluntary organisations should be able to play a fuller role in service delivery

  • Local vision

    Lord Heseltine recently produced an report on opportunities for growth in Liverpool. The Chief Executive of the RSA interviews him about the report, regeneration and local leadership

  • Nuclear future

    Dr Paul Howarth, Managing Director of the National Nuclear Laboratory, on the commissioning of a new plutonium research facility and other exciting projects

  • Payment by results

    “If we are to pay for results, who should decide what the right result is?” The Director of think tank Reform looks at the challenges of this public service delivery model

  • Recession lessons

    The Sunday Times Economics Editor on why the economy crashed and what must be learned before it can recover

  • Robotic future

    From robots to PDAs, Forth Valley Royal Hospital leads the way in harnessing technology to deliver better services for patients.

  • The state of public services

    Jeremy Stafford, CEO of Serco UK & Europe, examines the role of the state in maintaining quality public services during times of economic hardship

  • Time to innovate

    Reactions from a roundtable convened at the House of Commons to discuss the Open Public Services White Paper and its implications for local government

Issue 12 / Growth Expand

Issue 12

Autumn 2011

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  • Bold and reforming?

    What impact has the coalition government had so far? What's been prioritised, promised, cut and changed? Peter Riddell, Senior Fellow of the Institute for Government, reports

  • Common purpose

    Is mutualism the future for public service workers? ResPublica’s Phillip Blond and the Guardian’s Jane Dudman share their views

  • Engines of growth

    What are governments and big business doing to encourage the growth of smaller enterprises in the US and UK?

  • Ethos predictions

    Will Straw, Associate Director for Strategic Development at IPPR, identifies some headline-grabbing changes we can expect to see happening soon

  • Market-making

    The Director of think tank Reform considers how policy makers can best create – and sustain – public markets

  • May days

    How has Theresa May fared so far in ‘the toughest job in politics’? The BBC’s Allegra Stratton assesses her progress

  • Open access

    The FT’s Nicholas Timmins considers how the Open Public Services white paper might be implemented

  • Power to the people

    Ethos asked six contributors to share their views on localism. Council CEOs, Councillors and think tank Directors nominate their best practice examples

  • Ruling by consensus

    An insight into the inner workings of the coalition, based on 120 interviews with ministers, parliamentarians and civil servants

  • Second chance

    A behind-the-scenes look at how Serco-run HMP & YOI Doncaster is tackling reoffending rates and using a new payment by results system

Issue 11 / Innovation & Growth Expand

Issue 11

Spring 2011

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  • Apprenticeships: a golden age?

    David Way, Chief Operating Officer of the National Apprenticeship Service, looks at the history and future of UK apprenticeships

  • Better for less?

    Innovation will be vital over the coming years to ensure public services can achieve better for less. But where is it most needed and how will it be achieved? Nick Pearce, Joyce Moseley, Brian Bowsher, Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Susan Anderson and Phillip Blond share their views

  • Big society, better services?

    Nick Boles MP outlines the principles he believes underpin the coalition’s Big Society strategy for public service reform

  • Cash on delivery

    Lauren Cumming of The Serco Institute looks at the challenges of designing cost-effective payment-by-outcome systems

  • Home economics

    Will Hutton and Irwin Stelzer ask what role the government should play in stimulating UK economic growth

  • Investing in growth

    To bring the UK back to economic health, we must encourage business growth. Serco's Martyn Sene and Jerry Benson discuss

  • Oliver Letwin: the ideas man

    Daniel Finkelstein, Executive Editor of The Times, looks at the achievements and reputation of the current Minister of State

  • Predicting the future

    Neil O'Brien, Director of the think tank Policy Exchange, suggests some key trends we can expect in the next six months

  • Public service entrepreneurs

    As current models of public service delivery are radically rethought, Andrew Adonis argues for a truly entrepreneurial approach to reform

Issue 10 / Efficiency Expand

Issue 10

Autumn 2010

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  • Foreign policy

    David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague are writing a new chapter in British diplomacy, says James Blitz

  • Francis Maude

    The Executive Editor of The Times looks at the career of Francis Maude, former Tory party chairman and moderniser

  • Localism

    As the Big Society offers power to the people, the Chair of the New Local Government Network looks at the Total Place approach

  • Making the cut

    Efficiency expert and former Chief Executive of Logica Dr Martin Read talks to Nyta Mann about how he intends to drive down costs in the public sector

  • Market testing

    Competition helps reduce government costs, but some public services have benefited more than others

  • National Physical Laboratory

    The National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex delivers the most accurate measurements science and technology have to offer

  • Predicting the future

    The Head of Demos' Public Finance Programme identifies five changes to expect in the public sector over the next six months

  • Public service cuts

    As the public sector landscape changes, the Public Policy Editor of the Financial Times examines the impact on public services

  • Social enterprise

    The Editor of the Guardian’s magazine Public examines new models of cost-effective public service delivery

  • Virtual education

    Walsall Virtual School is for children who are looked after by the local authority, providing vital support services for children in care

Issue 9 / The state of citizenship Expand

Issue 9

Spring 2010

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  • Photography by Ingvar Kenne

    Australia on line

    For almost a century the legendary Ghan train has journeyed south to north, covering close to 2,000 miles on a three-day trip that takes in a range of contrasting landscapes.

  • Family values

    What role should government play to support families bringing up the next generation? The Senior Associate for the Young Foundation reports on what’s being said and done in the UK

  • Future predictions

    The Director of independent think tank Reform predicts six changes that we can expect in the coming six months

  • Mind the gap

    Serco’s Operations Director for Custodial Services on how to reintroduce ex-offenders into mainstream society

  • Mind the gap

    How can those on the fringes become part of society? Mark Easton, the BBC's Home Editor, looks at the risk that generational segregation poses to the fabric of our nation

  • Ones to watch

    Liam Byrne, Philip Hammond and Jeremy Browne, the rising stars who will responsible for their parties’ budgetary plans

  • Reducing inequality

    If we wish to reduce crime, we must first address child poverty and the disadvantage it nurtures, argues the Barnardo’s Chief Executive

  • Report from the frontline

    David Wright is Head of the Materials and Components Research Laboratory in Risley, owned and run by Serco, where he and his team are busy extending the life of the UK's nuclear reactors

  • Taking tough decisions

    Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith MP and James Purnell MP debate which public services and programmes government should prioritise during tough economic times

  • Tapping potential

    The Managing Director of Serco Welfare to Work looks at the opportunities involved in improving the delivery of unemployment services

  • The citizen

    If we wish to instil the values of citizenship, we must first agree on what they are. Sunder Katwala of the Fabian Society considers the challenge

  • The politics of happiness

    Should the happiness of citizens matter to politicians? Former President of Harvard, Derek Bok, considers whether policymakers should be guided by research on what makes us happy

  • Time for change

    The Director of Public Services and Skills for the CBI calls on the government to take an innovative approach to public sector reform

  • What does it take to become a citizen?

    Different countries set different rules for those seeking citizenship, as these facts and figures reveal

Issue 8 / Global view Expand

Issue 8

Autumn 2009

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  • Arms control

    If there is to be a new age of international arms control, how can nuclear weapon states verify disarmament? VERTIC's Executive Director reports

  • Building the future

    The Chief Executive of International Financial Services, London, explores why the time is now right for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) on a global scale

  • Dealing with the deficits

    David Smith, Economics Editor for the Sunday Times, considers what the credit crunch means for budget deficits, unemployment rates and fiscal consolidation in different countries

  • Freedom to deliver

    The Executive Director of The Institute for Government, asks whether the people tasked with delivering public services in the UK face barriers to innovation

  • Introducing Sheila Dikshit

    The Chief Minister of Delhi, India's capital city, has focused on providing quality education and healthcare and an efficient public transport system. She talks to senior journalist Kalyani Shankar

  • Protecting nations

    As public services continue to move online, the Head of Security and Counterterrorism for the Royal United Services Institute considers what can be done to improve security

  • Public or private?

    Are there activities that must be carried out by government? How much of the public service should be opened up to the private sector? Gary Sturgess of The Serco Institute reports

  • Public or private?

    Dr Allan Burman considers how to define functions that are inherently governmental

  • Public or private?

    Polly Toynbee of The Guardian asks how much public service should be opened to the private sector

  • A health education clinic in Zambia

    Public service in action

    Take inspiration from the UN's Public Service Awards (UNSPA), established by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, to reward outstanding public service around the world

  • Report from the frontline

    Three Serco people, working in Australia, North America and Dubai for a prison, a call centre and the Dubai Metro, report on the challenges they face at the front line of service delivery

  • Second chance

    Ashfield Young Offenders’ Institution, England, managed by Serco, offers 400 boys the opportunity to learn new skills in a bid to break the cycle of reoffending

  • The nuclear debate

    The nuclear weapons agenda is complex. Dr Paul Cornish, from Chatham House, considers the challenge

Issue 7 / Credit crunch Expand

Issue 7

Spring 2009

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  • Barack Obama

    Andrew Rawnsley looks at how America's new President will change the US and his potential influence on the global stage

  • Brighter future

    Real change and efficiency savings in public services can only come from a greater focus on front-line managers

  • Bunking off

    From counselling to custody, the Guardian's Education Editor looks at how the world is tackling truancy

  • Dennis James, Docklands Light Railway

    The man at the helm of a driverless train reveals how he helps to keep the Docklands Light Railway safe and stress-free for passengers

  • Earth's crisis

    We cannot afford to put climate change on the back burner while we wrestle with the economy. What happends between now and the end of 2009 could determine the future of humankind

  • How do you tackle a problem like... hospital waiting times?

    Ethos looks at a range of social and political conundrums, asking various contributors to draw on their expertise and suggest solutions to the issues at hand.

  • Tackling rising numbers

    How can we tackle rising unemployment numbers? John Rentoul talks to Iain Duncan Smith MP, Frank Field MP, David Freud and Richard Johnson

  • The future of public services

    Now, more than ever, we need to make further performance improvements in order to put public services on a sounder footing for the future.  By Lord Lipsey and Ian Mulheirn

  • The skill pill

    The ailing economy is an opportunity for the UK to improve skills to catch up with its international competitors, and failure to do so will compound the problems ahead

  • Working together

    Working together across the private-third sector divide has its problems, but it's proving well worth the effort for all parties, not least the service users, says the Chief Executive of Acevo

Issue 6 / Behaviour change Expand

Issue 6

Autumn 2008

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  • Behaviour battles

    Whether persuading us to give up smoking or stop carrying knives, politicians are making behaviour change a goal of policy. But will it make us mend our ways?

  • Brain twister

    The brain is changing rapidly in response to a life lived increasingly in a virtual world. So who are we becoming? The government needs to act to find out

  • Helping hand

    With an ever-ageing UK population, care of the elderly is in turmoil. So what lessons can be learned from other countries?

  • How do you solve a problem like... knife crime?

    Ethos looks at a range of social and political conundrums, asking various contributors to draw on their expertise and suggest solutions to the issues at hand

  • John Barclay, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton

    The man who spearheads Serco's support for the Royal Navy from the Yeovilton air station talks to Peter Felstead about his innovative approach to essential helicopter maintenance

  • Leading by example

    Rather than advertising bad behaviour and exhorting us not to copy it, research has shown that highlighting the good our neighbours are doing is the most effective form of altering our habits

  • Oliver Letwin

    Oliver Letwin, MP for West Dorset and Chairman of the Policy Review and of the Conservative Research Department, talks to the RSA's Matthew Taylor about why helping people to help themselves is the way to deal with social issues

  • Purnell v Grayling

    Fraser Nelson reports on how the political rivalry between James Purnell and Chris Grayling has radically reshaped British policy

  • Teaching happiness

    If we believe that the aim of education should be to teach children how to think, solve problems and understand how to achieve contentment, what would a school with this focus look like?

  • The call of duty

    What do the findings of the Julius Review tell us about the scale of the public services industry?

  • Transformation

    Change is inevitable with 'transformation' the latest public service reform buzzword. What is less certain is how much the public can expect governments to do and how they should do it

Issue 5 / New thinking Expand

Issue 5

Summer 2008

Issue 4 / Localism  Expand

Issue 4

Spring 2008

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  • A hit or a miss?

    The impact of targets within the public sector is a much debated topic across the globe, from Germany to Canada to Japan

  • City renaissance

    Drawing on success stories, the Director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs asks: is the government's investment in cities enough?

  • Competitive edge

    The Executive Director of the Serco Institute reveals how competition can drive performance within public services

  • David Cameron

    From gesture politics to serious policy making, Irwin Stelzer looks at David Cameron's progress as a Prime Minister-in-waiting

  • Heart of the matter

    Chris Ham, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Birmingham, outlines his view of how the next stage of NHS reform might unfold

  • How do you solve a problem like... MRSA?

    MRSA – or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus to give it its full name – has migrated from being a small and relatively obscure bug to a hot political potato in recent years

  • People power

    The director of the Young Foundation considers the future of local decision-making

  • Philomena Mullins, Headteacher, St Francis of Assisi, Walsall

    The head teacher of Walsall's St Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, judged to be 'outstanding', talks to Amy Raphael about the pace of change in education and the influence of the school motto 'only the best is good enough'

  • Team work

    Sharing back-office functions delivers efficiencies, improves services and saves money.  So why are only a third of councils working in this way?

  • Virtual reality

    A hospital created in online civilisation Second Life is making an impact on healthcare in the real world. Surgeon James Kinross reports

Issue 3 / Sustainability  Expand

Issue 3

Autumn 2007

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  • Border control

    Effective border control is central to worldwide security and is a challenge that all countries face – from the US to Israel to the Netherlands

  • Congestion challenge

    Although it’s not a new concept, road pricing could help address the ongoing problem of the UK’s crowded transport network

  • How do you solve a problem like... benefit fraud?

    Ethos looks at a range of social and political conundrums, asking various contributors to draw on their expertise and suggest solutions to the issues at hand.

  • How to innovate

    How can innovation be encouraged and supported within the world of public services?

  • Olympics 2012 and beyond

    What will be the long-term impact of the 2012 Olympic Games on London's transport network and local communities? And will 2012 be the most sustainable Games yet? Three experts report

  • On the attack

    John Lloyd explains why the media no longer acts as an inquiring check on the excesses of the political class and how this affects public services

  • Paul Jennings, Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust

    The chief executive of Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust talks to Amy Raphael about the challenges of working for a service frequently criticised by the media, what he’s achieved and his plans for the future

  • Power games

    The government faces some tough decisions regarding the future of the UK's energy supply

  • Securing the future

    Central government is the biggest constraint on the kind of innovation and leadership on which the future of the UK depends

  • Target practice

    Sir Neville Simms, chair of the Sustainable Development Task Force, talks about the government’s procurement challenge and finds out why goals are being set but not delivered on

  • The current climate

    It’s a vital responsibility for the future and can’t be ignored, but who should take the lead on tackling global warming?

Issue 2 / Resilience Expand

Issue 2

Summer 2007

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  • Better by design

    What constitutes good design and how much should we pay for it? Today’s buildings should reflect the activities that go on within them and should be designed to adapt to change

  • Brian Anderson, Doncaster Prison

    The UK’s first black prison boss and ex-champion boxer tells Amy Raphael how he is tackling re-offending rates at Doncaster Prison and helping prisoners find a life away from crime

  • Community ties

    Philip Johnston assesses the tightrope that the police, local authorities, community workers and politicians are negotiating in a bid to bear down on radicals without stigmatising law-abiding citizens

  • Different strokes

    Iain Macwhirter considers the public sector philosophy differences between England and Scotland

  • How do you solve a problem like... the big squeeze?

    With passenger numbers increasing and trains filled to bursting, what can be done to relieve Britain's overcrowded railways? Christian Wolmar finds out

  • Job seeker

    Tackling unemployment is a priority from the US to Norway to Japan

  • Lessons to learn

    A report on the transformative education reforms going on in schools in Qatar by James O'Shaughnessy of think tank Policy Exchange

  • On the ground

    Ex-CIA officer Gary Berntsen talks about his hunt for Osama bin Laden and how the man dubbed 'Elvis' by the CIA slipped out of his grasp

  • Science and security

    A look at how the UK and US governments are harnessing technological innovation to boost their counter-terrorism efforts

  • United nation

    With the many and varied threats to our national security and economy, we need a coherent and unifying national security and resilience strategy

  • Vote winning promises

    Irwin Stelzer considers the presidential campaigns and the key policy differences unfolding in the USA

Issue 1 / Leadership  Expand

Issue 1

Spring 2007

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