Search Toolkits
Still in beta! You can also browse all toolkits, and check out this blog post for more information about how we're organizing toolkits into types and disciplines.
Government Digital Service Design Principles
The United Kingdom government's design principles and examples of how they have been used. Each principle includes links to articles with additional explanation and reflections.
1. Start with user needs
2. Do less
3. Design with data
4. Do the hard work to make it simple
5. Iterate. Then iterate again
6. This is for everyone
7. Understand context
8. Build digital services, not websites
9. Be consistent, not uniform
10. Make things open: it makes things better
Digital Policy Model Canvas
This canvas guides policy makers to derive specific policies and regulatory mechanisms in an agile and iterative manner – integrating both design thinking and evidence based policy making. An associated White Paper provides background on the approach.
Finland Principles of Digitalisation
Established in 2016, these 9 principles provide guidelines for information sharing and interfaces, operating models, rapid service development and preparedness within the Finnish government and beyond.
Australia Digital Transformation Toolkit
This resource provides South Australian Government organisations with guidance on the development and format of their digital strategies, which they distinguish separately from an information and communications technology (ICT) strategy. The toolkit contains guidance on the development and format of digital strategies, a digital maturity assessment tool, a digital transformation prioritisation tool, a digital strategy template, and an implementation plan template.
Algorithmic Impact Assessment
The AIA is a questionnaire designed to help assess and mitigate the impacts associated with deploying an automated decision system. It helps identify the impact level of an automated decision system. It was developed with the Canadian Directive on Automated Decision-Making in mind but it can be applied elsewhere. The questions are focused on business processes, data, and system design decisions.
The questionnaire asks around 60 questions and the results will demonstrate impact level as well as a link where you can learn about what requirements would be under the Directive. The questionnaire takes at least 35 minutes to complete. This is an open source project that can be adapted to suit your needs. It is available in English and French.
Digital Government Urgency, Readiness and Maturity Assessment
The "Toolkit: Digital Government Urgency, Readiness and Maturity Assessment" helps public sector entities assess urgency for digital transformation and evaluate their organizational readiness and maturity. Respondents of the freely accessible survey receive a suggested prioritization for digital transformation initiatives in the near future, depending on their context, as well as indicative digital maturity levels. An email address is required in order to receive the report.
USDS Playbook
A playbook of 13 key “plays” drawn from successful practices from the private sector and government that the publisher believes, if followed together, will help governments build effective digital services.
Open Government Data Toolkit
A collection of online guidance and knowledge to assist countries and others in setting up open data strategies and platforms.
The resource is comprised seven sections:
Open Data Essentials, Starting an Open Data Initiative,Technology Options, Demand & Engagement, Supply & Quality of Data, Readiness Assessment Tool, and Technical Assistance and Funding.
Data Collaboratives Canvas
The term data collaborative refers to a new form of collaboration, beyond the public-private partnership model, in which participants from different sectors — including private companies, research institutions, and government agencies — can exchange data to help solve public problems.
This resource outlines 8 Phases for designing and implementing a data collaborative (partnership) at an institutional level. The online resource includes examples, enablers, tools, and resources for each phase.
New Zealand Digital Service Design Standard
The purpose of the standard is to provide guidance for those in the New Zealand government or anyone who designs or provides government services regarding the provision of accessible, integrated, inclusive public services. It includes principles, rationale, information on how to meet the standard, related implementation guidance and resources, and a glossary.
OGP Toolbox
The OGP Toolbox is a collaborative platform that gathers digital tools developed and used throughout the world by organizations to improve democracy and promote transparency, participation and collaboration.
It is designed as a social network and includes use cases and tool "collections," technical criteria informed by the community and recommendations based on the experience of users that have already implemented existing solutions.
The goals of the publisher and platform are to:
- allow actors to identify the digital tools better suited to their needs, by collecting and describing them in the most objective way possible;
- collaborate to make digital tools more accessible and easier to use;
- create favourable conditions to further the development of better digital tools; and,
- foster the sharing of experience between actors and giving feedback on existing tools.
Do-it-Yourself Open Data Toolkit
The Do-it-Yourself (DIY) Open Data Toolkit provides a step-by-step guidance on how to develop an open data initiative. The Toolkit is primarily intended for municipalities that have not yet begun an open data project and need some guidance on how to implement one. It can also be referenced by other governments or organizations who are considering initiating an open data initiative.
The toolkit includes: Open data orientation, Planning considerations, Publishing sample data sets, Adopting an open data policy, Executing an open data pilot project with community engagement, and
Moving your open data initiative from pilot project to operational program.
Australia Digital Service Standard
The purpose of the standard is to provide guidance for those in the Australian government or anyone who designs or provides government digital services regarding the provision of simple, clear and fast services. It includes 13 criteria, rationale, information about meeting the standard, design principles, service design and delivery process, related training and guides, and a glossary.
The resource also includes downloadable posters.
Argentina Estándares de Servicios Digitales
Principles and guidance for developing digital services in Argentina and beyond. The resource is available in a Github repository and includes 9 principles, indicators, and standards for API's, website, mobile applications, and others.
Digital Skills Toolkit
The toolkit addresses the many complexities of devising and advancing digital skills at policy level. It maps out how digital skills take their place within a wider framework of soft, twenty-first century skills. It offers guidance on bringing together – and leading – different stakeholders and moving forward under one clear and focused framework.
Venture Design Process
The Venture Design Process offers set of templates, tutorials, and templates for systematic execution of continuous design and delivery. It covers the phases: Personas, Problem Scenarios & Alternatives, Value Propositions, Assumptions & Experiments, Customer Discovery & Experiments, User Stories & Prototypes, Product & Promotion, as well as modules covering agile management and business model generation. The resource is targeted at private sector entrepreneurs and focuses on digital products and services, but its principles and methods can be adapted to the public sector context. Some of of the templates are available as Google documents which can be copied and used interactively.