{"id":578,"date":"2013-08-04T12:10:23","date_gmt":"2013-08-04T12:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/exponentialdecay.co.uk\/blog\/?p=578"},"modified":"2023-07-10T18:19:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T17:19:53","slug":"the-civil-servant-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exponentialdecay.co.uk\/blog\/the-civil-servant-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"The Civil Servant Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">To begin with, one must <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">explain<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> the title <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">of this blog and<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> rather than representing the civil service as a whole I want to represent <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><i>my<\/i><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> perspective of the civil service. <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">It is i<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">nspired by the title of The Hacker Perspective a <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">quarterly<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> article written by readers of <a title=\"2600.com: The Hacker Quarterly\" href=\"http:\/\/2600.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2600 Magazine<\/a><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">\u00a0that describes <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">an individual&#8217;s own, <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">and very specific<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> view on what it means to be a hacker. <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Having\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">said that<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">, <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I do want readers to keep in min<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">d<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> that the perspective I present is one that I happen to know is shared to varying degrees am<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">o<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ng many of the other public sector workers and civil servants I am happy to count as <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">colleagues and<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> friends.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">It <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">i<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">s going on four weeks since I <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">found myself in<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> discussions with two people who both had interesting views on the work we do in the civil service. One a private sector worker <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">who<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> had an understandable <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">naivety<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> to the differences between the two; the latter someone who I perhaps gave <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">far<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> too much credit to their understanding <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">of<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> the mechanics of government, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">professional <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">life<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> and comprehension of my own <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ambitions and <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">area<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">s<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> of expertise.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">An example of the comments <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">thrown at me<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> include:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Being the cheapest form of labor in the country<\/li>\n<li>Being the lowest rung of the professional ladder<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">We h<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ave the ability (and opportunity) to put <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">our <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">feet up <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">between <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">nine<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">&#8211;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">to<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">&#8211;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">five <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">before<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> clock<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ing<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">-off<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Work that doesn&#8217;t require inspiration, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">creativity<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> or original <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">cognition<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">W<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">e a<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">re<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> solving problems<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> that <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">the private sector might solve <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">trivially<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Any public sector worker reading w<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ould perhaps take offenc<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">e immediately <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">if these statements weren&#8217;t as far away from the truth as they could be.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I work at Archives New Zealan<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">d<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> and have worked at The National Archives in the UK. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I am a software developer; <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I am a c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">ivil serv<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">a<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">nt, public sector worker, researcher, analyst; however one wants to frame it. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I&#8217;ve had my time in the private sector as a <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">technical <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">support analyst and <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">software <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">developer and it has served me well coming into th<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">is field<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">My work involves the understanding and development of solutions that will aid in the preservation of born-digital records produced by government which have long-term business or archival value.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I am privileged to work where I do. A <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">realization<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> that only came <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">to<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> me recently <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">on being introduced to <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><a title=\"Cassie Findlay (ICA 2012): People, records and power: What archives can learn from WikiLeaks\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ica2012.com\/files\/pdf\/Full papers upload\/ica12Final00220.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a paper<\/a><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">\u00a0by colleague Cassie Findlay at <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">The <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">State Records <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Authority<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">, New South Wales. <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">While her paper discusses current imperfections in the system, the ultimate <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">role of the archives is not passive as I once thought. <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">They are central to preserving cultural heritage, a nation<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">&#8216;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">s memory, and c<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">rucially they are<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> central to democracy. Cassie <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">describes the archives in Athens around 400 BC<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">This archive housed the law, contracts, diplomatic records, court proceedings, and other records \u2013 even archiving the day\u2019s art forms such as the plays of Sophocles and others. These were the raw materials of the first democracy, and they were open to any private citizen to access and make copies. The archive\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">was watched over by the magistrate, or \u2018archon\u2019, hence our word \u2018archive\u2019. This indicates the extent to which the archive related directly to the law; the archive was the law, it provided the foundation from which power in society was wielded.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The importance of our work becomes even more prominent if we pay careful attention to the New Zealand Public Records Act (2005), <a title=\"Legislation.govt.nz: Public Records Act (2005)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.legislation.govt.nz\/act\/public\/2005\/0040\/latest\/DLM345536.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Section 3 (c)<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">To enable the Government to be held accountable by\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>(I) ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and<\/li>\n<li>(ii) providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For those with a deep seated belief in democracy; <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">for those who understand the fragile link between <a title=\"Jack Kirby: With great power comes great responsibility\" href=\"http:\/\/kirbymuseum.org\/blogs\/dynamics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2012\/03\/lgppr40105+great-power-great-responsibility-spiderman-art-print.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">power and responsibility<\/a>; <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">for activists who, <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in general,<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> might not have a favourable opinion of government there <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>cannot<\/b><\/i><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> be a more powerful reason for the existence of a public body.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">The mandates of other departments <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">in the public sector<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"> are <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><i>equally worthy<\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">We sit within broader government departments or ministries and we form the <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">backbone of a country and <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">infrastructure that enables <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">it <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">to function effectively day<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">&#8211;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">after<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">&#8211;<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">day and in\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">perpetuity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><b>Discipline<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Our daily work is naturally nine-to-five but my normal work mode is after hours when the world is at peace. Because of this, the most important thing I can be in my job &#8211; is disciplined. This requires an incredible amount of focus to work between the core daytime hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">There are myriad resources on the Internet that discuss <a title=\"Wikipedia.org: Digital Preservation\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Digital_preservation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">digital preservation<\/a>, the field I work in within Archives New Zealand. The challenge is in solving a problem that exists because of the transient nature of technology and the need for technology to address the concerns of the present and not the future. Digital preservation needs to look at the present, the future and the past. It requires traditional academic research practices, a well supported community, technical ecosystem and a huge amount of innovation, <i>inspiration<\/i>, and ingenuity from the people who work in it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">Together we&#8217;re archivists and librarians; historians, developers, hackers, inventors, multi-taskers, context-switchers, academics, and non-academics, and each of us are made up of parts of all of these. That means wherever we work, civil service or private sector we&#8217;re working far beyond a nine-to-five and a 37 hour week. We&#8217;re reading to constantly to keep up to date and we&#8217;re constantly thinking of how to solve new and emerging problems that we&#8217;re seeing from the past while keeping one eye on what&#8217;s likely to appear in the future.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">It&#8217;s a challenge, and a problem that is ever-evolving, one that likely always to exist in one form or another. But that&#8217;s digital preservation specifically. Those in the public sector attempting to solve this problem also have to take care of other business.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><b>Principles<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">As a public servant I am aware of a responsibility to the country and to the tax payer. The civil service doesn&#8217;t take this responsibility lightly. The layers of bureaucracy that the government and civil service might be known for in some circles are there for a reason. Bureaucratic processes are the checks and balances that ensure we&#8217;re always doing the best by the tax payer. Along with making sure that the civil service employs the top candidates for all jobs and disciplines, it ensures, much like the role of the archive, that we are accountable, we are responsible, and most importantly, that we&#8217;re democratic, representative and fair.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">On top of these core responsibilities, I also feel it important to take extra care looking after my own specific principles. Something that I know others do as well &#8211; intuitively, but often discussed and questioned, in work hours and <i>out of hours, <\/i>beyond our nine-to-five as we seek to do the very best for ourselves and the departments or agencies that we work for. As such I will often ask a number of questions of myself and of the work I am doing:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is this the most effective way to perform this task<\/li>\n<li>Is it the best value for the public purse<\/li>\n<li>Is the solution sustainable<\/li>\n<li>Does it contribute to a community ecosystem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">More subtly, I sometimes think back to friends, colleagues and the existing generations of individuals in my family and think would they approve of <i>any<\/i> decision I might make on a daily basis.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">And I&#8217;ve been privileged to work with colleagues in the past who have similar principles, <i>higher<\/i><i> principles<\/i> even. In New Zealand I continue to work with strong individuals who are under no shadow of a doubt that for all the layers of directorship and management on top of us, for those who report to managers that\u00a0report to managers, the civil servant from the very lowest pay grade leads from the ground up as those above us lead from the top down.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><b>But to conclude&#8230;<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">I don&#8217;t want to separate the civil service from any other walk of life. It&#8217;s all relative. Good people exist in all realms. The types of people I have spoken about and work with on a daily basis are all around us, in academia, in the private sector, in self-employment, in unemployment. One distinction might simply be that the civil service as it continues to exist has an obligation to consistently seek out these people in order to support the vitality and health of a country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">If the civil service seems slow or unresponsive, lacking in dynamism, or whatever else is perceived to external parties, it may very well be for good reason. I have experienced sluggishness surrounding my own requirements but appreciate it is always for a reason, as expressed above.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">The civil service is a framework, and the skill of those brought into it like myself, and others with skills and from disciplines different to my own is working within this framework to deliver what they deliver &#8211; to the best quality, to the best of their abilities and in such a way that ensures a continuity from one generation of civil servant to the next.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\"><b>Further reading:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">The New Zealand <a title=\"New Zealand Pubic Sector: Code of Conduct for the State Services\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ssc.govt.nz\/code\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Code of Conduct for the State Services<\/a> and United Kingdom, Civil Service <a title=\"UK Civil Service: Values\" href=\"http:\/\/www.civilservice.gov.uk\/about\/values\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Values<\/a>, further describe the role of civil servants and the principles we adhere to.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_578\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"578\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon small\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/exponentialdecay.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nTo begin with, one must explain the title of this blog and rather than representing the civil service as a&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/exponentialdecay.co.uk\/blog\/the-civil-servant-perspective\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;The Civil Servant Perspective&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_578\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"578\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon small\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/exponentialdecay.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86,3],"tags":[46,71,47],"class_list":["post-578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-digital-preservation","tag-civil-service","tag-digital-preservation","tag-ethics","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Civil Servant Perspective - ross spencer :: exponentialdecay.digipres :: blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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