Civic Punks

This is part of a series I’m calling Rent Free. The idea is simple. I ask people about a concept that’s living rent-free in their head. Something that’s shaping how they see the world and how they show up in their work. This time, I sat down with my good friend, and someone who consistently inspires me, Almero Oosthuizen. For Almero, what is living rent-free is the quote: “I participate, therefore I am.” Originally from Mugendi Kanampiu M’RITHAA, it’s a reframe on the African philosophy of ubuntu. We like to think we are our values. Our beliefs. The things we say we care about. But if you look at it honestly…you are what you participate in. Where you spend your time. What you contribute to. How you show up. So the real question becomes: Am I actually participating in the things I say matter? Or just talking about them?

I think we’re still designing policy for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. Last week I was in Canberra for the OpenFisca and Policy Innovation Conference, right after Government Innovation Week in Melbourne. Two very different conferences… and honestly, it felt like they were talking about two completely different realities. At OpenFisca, the conversation went deeper. Less about “what’s new” More about “why isn’t this working?” This video is my attempt to make sense of that. In it, I explore:
Why policy isn’t really a product anymore (it’s something you’re constantly managing)
How tools like Rules as Code, digital twins, and synthetic data are starting to change the game 
Why government might be losing its own institutional memory and the question I can’t shake: as AI becomes more central… what do we choose to keep human?
It feels like we’re in an in-between moment. The old way isn’t holding up. The new way isn’t fully formed. And we’re kind of stitching it together as we go. Curious how this is showing up where you are.

There’s a tension at the heart of government that we don’t talk about enough.
On the front lines, everything feels urgent. You’re dealing with real people, real problems, right now. You see what’s broken. You feel the pressure to act.
Then there’s the center. The place where resources sit. Where decisions get made. Where the stakes are bigger, the scale is wider… but the urgency isn’t always there in the same way.
And when these two worlds collide? That’s where things start to break down.
My friend Almero Oosthuizen who is living both worlds, as an Emergency Doctor and as an Innovation Specialist for the Department of Health in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Together, we explore that friction: why the frontline often feels ignored, why the center moves more slowly than it should, and why both sides are actually right (and wrong).
If we’re serious about making government work better, we need to understand this tension, not just complain about it.
Curious how others are experiencing this where you are. Drop a comment and let me know.

We might be starting to see the future of government take shape… and I’m not sure we’re ready for it.
In this video, I unpack Ukraine’s latest roadmap on the Agentic State — one of the first real attempts to move from theory to practice when it comes to AI in government.
This builds directly on my recent conversation with Manuel Kilian, where we explored the idea of the Agentic State. But this time, the question is different:
👉 What does this actually look like when a government tries to build it?
We get into:
What the Agentic State actually is
The three types of agents Ukraine is building (public-facing, internal, compliance)
The underlying architecture — shared infrastructure, orchestration, and data layers
Why this is about more than just AI tools — it’s a shift in how government operates
And some of the big, uncomfortable questions this raises for public servants
I’ve been sitting with this one for a bit. There’s something real here — but also a lot we don’t fully understand yet.
🔗 Related Videos
▶️ My interview with Manuel Kilian on the Agentic State:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSg96u2aDUc
▶️ Explaining “Rules as Code” (and why it matters):https://www.instagram.com/p/DWvshluEhjB/
🧠 Why this matters
This isn’t just about technology.
It’s about what happens when AI becomes part of how government actually runs — how decisions get made, how services are delivered, and where accountability sits.
If you’re a public servant (or care about how government works), this is a conversation worth paying attention to.
👋 About Civic Punks
I make videos exploring how government works — and how it could work better.
If you’re into public sector innovation, digital government, or just trying to make sense of where things are going…
👉 consider subscribing and following along
🗣️ Let me know what you think
Are we actually ready for something like this?
Or does this still feel a bit too far off?

Last week I was in Melbourne for the Public Sector Network Government Innovation Week. I’ve got a full series linked below from the trip, so check those out if you want the full picture. But there’s one idea in particular that’s been stuck in my head ever since. After the conference, I broke out of the usual crowd and spent an evening with a small, eclectic group of civic punks. Less stage, more conversation. Less polished, more real. We dug into what a more local, grassroots approach to government could actually look like. Then I hopped over to Wellington for a packed couple of days. But here’s the thing I can’t shake: It feels like we’ve lost a step since the pandemic. The people who carried the civic punk movement for the last decade are tired. Some are burning out. And the next generation isn’t quite plugging in the way you’d expect. So we’re in this strange in-between moment. An interregnum. The old energy that powered the movement has faded… but the new energy hasn’t fully formed yet. Which raises a bigger question: What comes next for civic punks—and for the future of government?Government Innovation Week Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGbB6ETwppLppBLlMQNSedbBEy9sMqHVk

I finally had a chance to sit down and process last week’s Public Sector Network Government Innovation Week in Melbourne… and there’s a lot that’s still rattling around in my head. From Minister Danny Pearson’s take on the “middle path” for AI, to the growing sense that Agentic AI is about to change the game (for better and worse), this week felt like a glimpse into where government is heading next. So I pulled together a quick post-game reflection to make sense of it all — what stood out, what matters, and what I’ll be watching closely from here. If you care about where government + tech is going, this one’s worth a watch.

I recently had the chance to spend a couple of days with one of my favourite Civic Punks, the author and public servant Amber Guette in Wellington, New Zealand.
We talked about what public service means to her and what inspired her to write her well-known book: Dear Minister - Letters From a Public Servant. She also gave a sneak peek into her next book that she is currently writing.You can learn more about the book here: https://www.dearminister.net/

Have you heard about Agentic AI? If not, you will, it is shaping to be the next major frontier for AI. What is it? How can we be ready for it? These are the questions I posted to Manuel Kilian, the author of the highly influential white paper: The Agentic State. Read it here: https://agenticstate.org/

For this week's Rent Free, I sat down with Brenton Caffin, the founder of States of Change, to learn more about the book that has most shaped his thinking.
He chose "Reimagining Organizations" by Frederic Laloux and shared how he has worked to apply its principles in both States of Change and Government.

I’m on a bit of a mission right now: find government projects that actually worked. Not theory but Real impact. And in Adelaide, I think I found one.
The Thinkers in Residence program did something pretty unusual… it brought in some of the world’s leading thinkers to work directly with government and help tackle big challenges. I sat down with Brenton Caffin, who saw it up close, to dig into what made it work (and what didn’t). Honestly, this is one of those ideas that sticks with you.