Civil Service World was launched eight years ago, with the name Whitehall & Westminster World. Edited by Matt Mercer and published fortnightly by the political specialists Dods, it was the first newspaper targeted directly at senior civil servants, and steadily built up a unique and unrivalled level of access, recognition and support within the civil service. Known in Whitehall as the ‘pink pages’, it grew to become the only publication produced for – and read consistently by – top civil servants in both central departments and non-departmental public bodies.

The newspaper evolved gradually, slowly broadening its coverage away from profiles and submitted articles. The appointment of Matt Ross as editor in June 2008 hastened its move towards objective journalism, investigative reporting and independent analysis, and was followed a year later by its renaming as Civil Service World – a move designed both to reflect its readers’ dispersal around the country and in non-departmental public bodies as well as in Whitehall departments, and to align the newspaper’s brand with Dods government division’s other products.

As well as CSW, the division runs an extremely successful series of events under the brand name Civil Service Live; organises CSW round table debates and conferences; produces events at party conferences; runs the CSW Civil Service Awards and the Civil Service Diversity & Equality Awards; manages a social media website designed for civil servants and their partners outside government: www.civilservicelivenetwork.com; and, most recently, organised an international summit bringing together the top civil servants from six countries for informal discussions and briefings on the economic and financial challenges facing governments around the world.

Nowadays, each issue of CSW contains:

• A front section carrying the latest news on policy, departmental, and career-related issues;
• An Opinion section comprising the Editorial, letters and submitted opinion pieces;
• Analysis pieces and news features on topical issues in governance and politics;
• Exclusive interviews with senior civil servants, agency chiefs, politicians and other key figures;
• High-quality features exploring fields of public management and policy development;
• A ‘Policy Focus’ section examining in detail a particular field of civil service development or government policy;
• A ‘Culture’ section carrying reviews of books, theatre productions, films and restaurants relevant to our readers’ interests;
• A ‘Frontline’ column in which somebody working at the frontline of public service delivery gives their – anonymous – views on both the positive and the negative impacts of central government policies.

This is an important year for the newspaper. 2012 will be a critical year for the UK’s public sector – and Civil Service World will be uniquely placed to equip civil servants and their partners with the news, interviews, features and analysis essential to staying ahead of the game.

As budgets tighten, the public sector will be continually challenged to do more with less; we will explore and examine how the civil service can cut costs without damaging public services.

As reform, development and efficiency programmes are undertaken, civil servants will be asked to change the ways in which they work; we will focus on these developments, explaining their implications for public sector decision-makers.

During 2012, Civil Service World will continue its professional coverage of agencies and non-departmental public bodies as well as central government departments; of professional groups as well as fields of policy; of personnel changes as well as political developments. If the operations of government matter to you, it is quite simply essential reading.


"Civil Service World sets out the key issues clearly and coherently, in a form that is accessible to public servants and lay readers."
Sir Gus O’Donnell KCB, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service

civil service world

Last updated 163 days ago by Matt Ross