We’re pleased to see the announcement this week of the creation of the new GDS Local.
At LocalGovDigital we feel this comes at a pivotal moment for the sector and the dedicated team in the Government Digital Service will have a key role in a shared aim of building better public sectors efficiently and effectively.
LocalGovDigital originally formed after the Government Digital Service was put in place but with a solid and (at the time) sole focus on central government. As practitioners we knew pioneering work was already happening at the grassroots and LocalGovDigital became the community to collaborate, amplify, and seed further work.
Now, the team within the Government Digital Service including our former chair Phil Rumens, shares that aim.
What will GDS Local focus on?
They say, “This isn’t just about technology – it’s about the people who use these services and the teams who deliver them every day. GDS Local is here to work with councils to deliver tangible benefits: reducing costs through shared learning, accelerating digital transformation and ultimately making services used every day by millions of people simpler and faster.”
In their announcement they have shared GDS Local will focus on 3 core areas:
- working with councils so that residents could eventually use GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK app to access both national and local services through a single account
- reforming how councils buy technology, breaking costly “ball and chain” contracts which see councils locked into long-term agreements with single suppliers – often paying premium prices for outdated technology with little flexibility to switch providers – and giving councils genuine choice and control over their technology decisions and budgets
- supporting councils to share anonymised data on issues like homelessness trends or service demand through the Government Digital and Data Hub, facilitating sector-wide learning and the ability to scale innovations that work – whilst maintaining strict privacy protections
A celebration and an invitation
It would be easy to treat the launch as a destination, but it feels more like an inflection point. For those of us who’ve been part of LocalGovDigital, this is both a celebration and an invitation.
The celebration is obvious: a national unit, resourced and mandated, whose whole purpose is to help councils deliver better digital services for residents. We love how software and approaches such as LocalGovDrupal, LocalGov IMS, and Open Planning (BOPS) have developed and been of real benefit to the sector so we look forward to seeing how GDS Local can help further scale these and other technology.
The invitation is quieter but just as important: to keep showing up with the same openness and generosity that got us here in the first place. We believe it will take a true collaborative effort by central and local government, suppliers, open source developers, and networks to really unlock the potential and build better public services.
In practice, that might look like:
- sharing one thing you’ve already built or learned locally – a pattern, a bit of code, a playbook, or even a story of something that didn’t work – into a wider community space
- joining (or rejoining) a LocalGovDigital or LocalGovCamp meet‑up, Slack, or cross‑council working group around things GDS Local is prioritising: login, market reform, data, or AI
More about GDS Local: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/people-across-uk-to-benefit-from-easier-access-to-local-services-as-councils-get-digital-boost
Join LocalGovDigital
There are already thousands of practitioners and sector supporters actively involved in LocalGovDigital – if you’re not already a member and would like to be look out for a new online joining process in the next few weeks.
Membership is free and if you have any questions or want access to our active Slack community now contact Sarah Lay, Carl Haggerty or Nick Hill.