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Content designers need experts
You might have heard that people have had enough of experts. Those people are definitely not content designers. Experts help content designers write factually and legally accurate guidance. Without...
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Content clinic 10 November: what we talked about
The Defra content team held its first content clinic on a slack channel with editors from Natural England, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Rural Payments Agency, Environment Agency and Defra....
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Content clinic 23 February: what we talked about
We organise regular content clinics across Defra group publishers. Statutory guidance "What are the restrictions on publishing content as statutory guidance?" The style guide says use them for...
View ArticleA pause on activities
We officially enter a pre-election period as of midnight tonight, so there will be no new blog posts until after the election.
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Get active! Why content designers hate the passive voice
Image credit: Doug Savage www.savagechickens.com Which of these sentences makes you more likely to sit up and take notice? 'The content designer pulled out her red pen and started editing like crazy.’...
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Content design and artificial intelligence: friends or enemies?
(Photo above by delgrosso on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.) You’ve probably heard the scare stories about automation cutting swathes through traditional employment. Artificial intelligence (AI)...
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Long-term flood risk: a user-centred service
Surface water flooding, when drainage systems cannot cope with the amount of rainfall, is potentially a big problem: more than 3 million properties in England are at risk. The Environment Agency...
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Coronavirus: living alone and working from home in lockdown
I first heard about coronavirus (COVID-19) in January, when it seemed like a distant threat. My parents travelled to Australia, and we were more worried about bush fires than about illness. In...
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Content is for everyone: how we’re making Defra’s GOV.UK webpages accessible...
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. When it comes to the web, accessibility means making online content usable by all. It’s a subject close to the Defra content team’s heart. The team is...
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Let’s talk about……how we’re feeling
I am a content designer working in the Defra content team. It’s a very busy team which involves me working closely with colleagues from the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Animal and Plant...
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Giving nature a digital hand
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is an approach to development which aims to leave biodiversity, as measured by the Biodiversity Metric, in a better state than beforehand. When designed and delivered well,...
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Applying for content design roles at Defra
I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned about applying for content design roles over the years. I’ve been lucky that I’ve worked with people who have shared these hints and tips with me along the...
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User Research – what’s it all about?
I recently joined Defra’s Digital Data and Technology Services (DDTS) function as a lead user researcher and I’m already finding the role immensely fulfilling. Previously, I worked in another public...
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Celebrating Libraries Week with the Defra library team
We both joined the Defra library team at around the same time earlier this year, having previously worked in public, academic and independent (paid membership) libraries. In a nutshell, the Defra...
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User panel is key to success for the waste tracking service
The waste tracking project is a partnership between Defra, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, Environment...
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Email alerts – helping water abstractors do their bit for climate change
The Water Resources Licensing Service (WRLS) is a service that allows abstraction licence holders to manage their licences online. They can view their licences, delegate access to their account and...
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A Document Management Service fit for the future
The Environment Agency (EA) was set up to protect and improve the environment and promote sustainable development. Our work as an environmental regulator includes the permitting of organisations...
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Content design and artificial intelligence: friends or enemies?
(Photo above by delgrosso on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons.) You’ve probably heard the scare stories about automation cutting swathes through traditional employment. Artificial intelligence (AI)...
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Long-term flood risk: a user-centred service
Surface water flooding, when drainage systems cannot cope with the amount of rainfall, is potentially a big problem: more than 3 million properties in England are at risk. The Environment Agency...
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How we created a new security training course for the Civil Service
In recent weeks we’ve been rolling out a new mandatory training course, ‘Security and Data Protection Training’, to staff across Defra group. The work began two years ago as a project, driven by our...
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