Civic participation can be beneficial to both residents and municipalities and other public bodies. The European Commission reports that it can improve resource efficiency and build transparency, whilst fostering “inclusivity, ensuring that all voices are heard in decision-making processes. It builds public trust in government institutions by providing residents with the opportunity to directly influence...
Artificial intelligence has become a common feature of the workplace. McKinsey found that 88% of organisations regularly used AI in at least one business function by the end of 2025. This was up from 78% a year previously. However, only a third of companies have begun scaling AI across the entire business, despite 64% confirming...
Assistants spend their days protecting other people's time. Their executive's calendar gets defended fiercely. Meetings start on the dot. Deadlines are tracked, reminders sent, diaries organised into shape. And yet, ask most assistants when they last felt in control of their own time, and the answer is usually a rueful laugh. That's the paradox Abigail...
The role of the executive assistant has changed more in the last decade than in the fifty years before it. Middle management has thinned out, AI is absorbing routine tasks, and remote work has redrawn how executives and their assistants actually work together. So what does the modern assistant role look like — and where...
With evermore elements of our lives guided by digital interactions, the opportunities arise for cyber criminals to cause disruption to essential services and industries. The European Union’s cybersecurity agency ENISA found that 53.7% of recorded cyberattacks in the EU during 2025 were targeting public administration, transport, digital infrastructure and services, finance or manufacturing. The majority...
In its 2025 Report on Citizen Engagement and Participation and Local Governance in Europe, the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) examined the importance of government bodies working together with community members. It states that “effective local governance and meaningful citizen engagement are essential to ensuring that democratic systems remain responsive, inclusive and trusted.” This...
A 2024 Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) survey of English citizens found that only 43% trusted local councillors to work in the best interests of local people and that 62% wanted greater insight into how councils took decisions. These results feed into each other. The more we know about the processes involved in converting our...
The effectiveness of a non-profit organisation hinges on robust governance. If it was ever just seen as a compliance obligation, that is no longer the case. With the non-profit sector contributing on average around 5% of a European country's GDP, you need a sophisticated approach to leadership and oversight. Today’s non-profit boards must become strategic...