In the last decade, the UK Government has attempted to implement improved processes and procedures in modelling and analysis in response to the Laidlaw report of 2012 and the Macpherson review of 2013. The Laidlaw report was commissioned after failings during the Intercity West Coast Rail (ICWC) Franchise procurement exercise by the Department for Transport (DfT) that led to a legal challenge of the analytical models used within the exercise. The Macpherson review looked into the quality assurance of (...) Government analytical models in the context of the experience with the Intercity West Coast franchise competition. This paper examines what progress has been made in the 8 years since the Laidlaw report in model building and best practise in government and proposes several recommendations for ways forward. This paper also discusses the Lords Science and Technology Committees of June 2020 that analysed the failings in the modelling of COVID. Despite going on to influence policy, many of the same issues raised within the Laidlaw and Macpherson Reports were also present in the Lords Science and Technology Committee enquiry. We examine the technical and organisational challenges to progress in this area and make recommendations for a way forward. (shrink)

The depiction of events in the society and storing the knowledge of such is an important forte of the dramaturge. Drama has been a very pertinent cultural form (whether textual or performative) through which writers create memory and knowledge of varying issues, especially issues of women and the girl child rights. Methodologically using content analysis of Tess Onwueme's The Reign of Wazobia and The Broken Calabash, the article explores the language of revolution against the domination of women and the (...) girl child by patriarchal structures. It is anchored on Donal Cabaugh's theory of cultural discourse analysis (CDA) that focuses on how communication is shaped as a cultural practice. It illustrates the significance of theatre in the unpacking and interrogation of socio-cultural assumptions of cultural discourse that perpetuate the marginalization and abuse of women in Nigeria. It further examines the strength of theatre and drama as capable of creating a space for all concerned to explore and interrogate extant realities. The findings, through the content of the texts treated showcase an extensive subjugation and discrimination against women and the girl child. It is in light of this that the study suggests a deployment of a revolutionary space to address the issues of discrimination and marginalization through conversations by using theatre for development (TfD) method. (shrink)