We attended a set of GDS-led workshops exploring the emerging GDS Tech Stack and what it could mean for local authorities delivering modern, joined-up digital services.
Across two sessions, From Principles to Practice: Service Standards for Better User Journeys and Data Focused Architecture for Joined Up Services, a consistent theme emerged:
The intent of the Service Standard is strong, but the practical implementation across local government is still fragmented.
For us at Shape, many of the challenges discussed closely mirrored what we see when working with councils and public-sector teams in practice.
The first workshop focused on how councils depend on suppliers to deliver genuinely end-to-end services for citizens — not just isolated applications.
Conversations centred on:
One point raised by [Name], Lead Designer at GDS, resonated particularly strongly: service standards are only valuable if they translate into real, navigable journeys for users — not just compliant systems on paper.
A recurring topic was open APIs.
Open APIs are clearly encouraged within the Service Standard, but they are not yet standard practice across local authorities. Too many systems are still procured or built as silos — technically compliant, but difficult to integrate with anything else.
This creates familiar problems:
At Shape, we design everything with open APIs in mind by default — even when integrations aren’t part of the immediate scope. That’s not future-proofing for its own sake; it’s about recognising that public services don’t exist in isolation. If a service works today but can’t integrate tomorrow, it’s already limiting outcomes for users.
Being proactive about integration possibilities is often the difference between a service that merely launches and one that can evolve.
The second workshop shifted the focus to data-driven architecture and the challenges councils face accessing, linking and using administrative data effectively.
Unsurprisingly, data sharing between local authorities came up repeatedly.
Common challenges included:
The discussion wasn’t just about more data, but better data architecture.
A key insight we strongly agree with:
Data architecture itself should be user-centred.
User-centred design is often associated purely with interfaces, forms, content, and journeys. But the way data is structured, shared and accessed has a direct impact on the user experience.
Poor data architecture leads to:
Well-designed data architecture enables:
At Shape, when we design systems, we look at how data needs to flow to support the user journey, not just how screens should look. That means thinking early about canonical data models, ownership, interoperability, and how data might be reused responsibly across services.
In that sense, data architecture isn’t a backend concern, it’s a core part of designing for users.
The workshops also explored what a future, data-driven local authority architecture could look like, and what role GDS and central government might play in supporting it.
What was encouraging was the level of alignment in the room:
What’s still emerging is how quickly standards, funding models and procurement processes can adapt to support that vision.
Attending these sessions reinforced a few principles we already hold strongly:
Local authorities are under enormous pressure to deliver better services with limited resources. The intent behind the GDS Service Standard and emerging tech stack is clearly aligned with that reality. The challenge now is turning those principles into consistent, repeatable practice across the ecosystem.
For us at Shape, these workshops validated the approach we already take: designing services that are user-centred, integration-ready, and built to evolve, not just launch
