We all like to be inspired by what others are doing; seeing what someone else is doing helps us understand ourselves better. The stories that have the biggest impact resonate with us in some way. We relate to what is being said yet at the same time the different frame of reference helps us to …
We all have the capability to be creative; what we too often lack is the time and space to let that creative thinking happen, and the self belief that our ideas are considered important enough to be worthwhile. There is a creative spark being lit for local transport this summer, but before I tell you …
Teresa Jolley reflects on her first 6 months studying Online Journalism, and what she’s planning next to bring a voice to local transport. All talk, no action. As was evident at the recent regional DfT / HMEP roadshow events (I attended the one in Exeter), we all know things need to change, the tricky part …
In preparation for the second half of the Multimedia module on the MA in Online Journalism at Birmingham City University, Stephen Quinn, showed us how to produce great quality videos using nothing more than an iphone and / or ipad. Welcome to the world of Mobile Journalism (MoJo for short). Think about it. This is powerful …
Thanks to some volunteers and Open Mercia, RnR and Data Unlocked, the West Midlands now has a Data Store. Next question: what should we do with it? Having joined the West Midlands Open Data Forum in November 2013, I realise how important it is to capture and store local open data. The government’s data.gov.uk is …
Teresa Jolley shares the experience of her first ‘hack weekend’ creating an interactive map for tweeting your MP on High Speed 2 (HS2). As part of the HS2 team winning the Crowd Category award at The Times Build The News weekend in February 2014, we proved that with a nose for a story, some basic …
Teresa Jolley reflects on the key messages from the South West engagement session held by the Department for Transport in Exeter on 3rd March 2014 to consult on proposed funding changes for Highways Maintenance block capital funding post 2015. The Department for Transport is proposing greater certainty of funding for Highways Maintenance between 2015/16-2020/21, which …
Three funding sources £8.5 billion was spent on Local Transport in 2010-11. The funding English local authorities receive to deliver local transport come from three primary sources (National Audit Office report: Funding for Local Transport, October 2012): Department for Transport, comprising: Money given directly to councils via block funding for Road Maintenance, Integrated Transport and Highways Maintenance …
Within Central Government in England, responsibility for ensuring the country has a good transport infrastructure lies with the Department for Transport. With an annual spend of around £12 billion, the Department for Transport ranked 11th amongst Central Government Departments in 2010-11 and 2011-12, representing just 2% of the total central government spend. See post on …
Central Government Spend on Transport in England Read More »
Thanks to some great work at the Guardian, in their datablog Government Spending by Department 2011-12: get the data it is now easy to see how nearly £700 billion of public money is spent by Central Government Departments. Here’s an interactive version of their work to explore (available also on the link above): As the Guardian …