Month: January 2015

Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2015

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The House of Commons has received its result in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for 2015 and we are delighted to inform you that we have risen 29 places to rank 126th out of 397 participating employers.

The Workplace Equality Index is an effective way to measure efforts to tackle discrimination and create an inclusive workplace for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees. Since 2005, more than 800 major employers have taken part in the Index using Stonewall’s criteria as a model for good practice. Stonewall revises the Index criteria every three years.

ParliOUT members are thanked for completing the anonymous survey, as well as their contribution to making parliament a more inclusive employer and service provider. We still have a lot of work to do but this proves that we continue to move in the right direction.

Anne Foster, Head of Diversity and Inclusion.

Exploring Digital: New Seminar Series Starts 22 January

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A new series of monthly seminars, talks and presentations exploring the wealth of possibilities offered by digital technology. Every month successful professionals from the digital industry will be coming to Parliament to share and discuss their experiences with us. These events are open to Members of both Houses, staff of Members, and all parliamentary staff.

The first seminar takes place on Thursday 22 January, Attlee Suite, 10am-12noon

How to ensure success with agile

The presentation will cover a brief overview of agile and scrum for those who are not completely familiar with it. You’ll learn about a number of techniques that will allow you to go beyond the basic mechanics of iterative development that can help to ensure the success of an agile project. We’ll discuss why some agile projects fail and how to avoid the common traps of just “talking the talk” to cover up the fact that your team is really not very agile at all. We’ll look at different types of software projects to understand when to apply levels of governance (and how much) to your agile project. You’ll also learn what agile software development has in common with the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Two enthusiastic agile ambassadors, James Cannings and Karoliina Luoto, will deliver a presentation looking at running successful web projects using Agile methodologies; in particular, how this works in the public sector and traditional Prince 2 environment.

Please email the webandintranetservice@parliament.ukto reserve a space.

The Speakers

James Cannings started MMT Digital in his bedroom in 1999 after he graduated from University in the UK with a 1st in Computer Science and Cybernetics. He spent many years learning his trade as a developer, working with almost every technology that came along whilst constantly refining the companies approach to developing large scale digital projects for clients. In recent years James has hung up his development hat and has focused on solutions architecture and consultancy. He has spent the last two years fully immersed in the world of agile based development and has rolled out the successful processes across the business for a wide range of clients and projects. Almost every project that James is involved in requires discussion around the “tablet / mobile strategy”.

Karoliina Luoto is a consultant focusing on agile purchasing, great web concepts and agile customer/client co-work management. In Karoliina’s world, project methodology is not a black and white issue, but a series of questions which require creative and preferably simple solutions. Projects are not about waterfall or agile, they are about vision, inspection and adaptation. Before consulting, Karoliina has been in charge of web service and collaboration development in different organisations. She also has background in marketing, communications and publishing.

 

Are you the Researcher of the Year?

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It’s that time again – you’ve got until midnight on January 14 to get your nominations in for the researcher of the year awards.  The form is here, and there’s more information on the ROTY website, http://www.rotyawards.co.uk

All staff working in a research or casework capacity for an MP or a Peer, from parliamentary or constituency offices, can be nominated to win an award, which  are intended to promote the extremely valuable role played by all individuals working for parliamentarians.

Parity of Esteem for Mental Health – New POST Note

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Achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical health in care standards and public attitudes has been attempted for decades. A new publication from POST outlines the history of these efforts, the various ways in which parity is defined and measured, the challenges of achieving this ideal and the strategies that may be employed to that end and is worth reading.

Parity of Esteem for Mental Health – POST Note

Parliamentary Art Collection features Winston Churchill

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'Sir Winston Churchill' by Bernard Hailstone

‘Sir Winston Churchill’ by Bernard Hailstone

January 2015 marks 50 years since the death of Sir Winston Churchill and this portrait is the January artwork of the month from the Parliamentary Art Collection – read more on the Parliament website

Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was a leading statesman, writer and orator who is best remembered for leading Britain to victory during the Second World War. In an influential political career that spanned 64 years, he held numerous ministerial positions and served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55).

This portrait shows Churchill at the age of 81, during his second term as Prime Minister. It was painted in 1955 by Bernard Hailstone (1910–87) during sittings for a portrait of Churchill as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, an ancient ceremonial position that he held from 1941 until his death in 1965.