Ways of working

Renters’ Rights Act: how content design and policy collaborated to deliver the guidance

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Design, Ways of working
Screenshot of the Renters Rights Act overview for tenants page on GOV.UK

The Renters’ Right Act changed the law for 11 million tenants who live in private properties in England and the 2.3 million landlords who rent them out. Find out how content design and policy teams worked together to help them prepare for the changes, and what the teams learnt on the journey.

How GovPrint is supporting our efficiency and digital sustainability ambitions

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Technology, Tools and processes, Ways of working
a man using a printer

GovPrint is a cross-government cloud-based service that lets civil servants securely print documents from any enabled location. In this post, our Live Services team explains how it rolled out GovPrint across MHCLG offices, and how this shared solution supports our efficiency and sustainability ambitions.

The IT Reuse for Good charter: creating social impact with everyday technology

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A young person's hands typing on a laptop, with an adult's hand next to it holding a pen

MHCLG is the first department signed up to DSIT’s Reuse for Good charter – and we’re already making a difference. In this blog post, we share how old tech devices can provide quality second lives to digitally excluded people who urgently need them, and useful tips gathered by our Live Services team along the way.

What user research taught us about designing useful digital planning case studies  

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Design, Digital Planning, Ways of working
A person looking at a laptop screen that shows one of the case studies

What turns a case study into something people can use? Insights from local planning authorities shaped a user-centred approach to a series of digital planning case studies, helping them sit alongside plan-making guidance, support peer learning and build confidence in how planning teams use digital tools.

Designing a user-centred intranet to help our staff work more effectively 

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a laptop screen showing the new intranet homepage

An intranet is an essential digital platform that connects employees within an organisation, giving them easy access to internal news and resources. Sian, content designer, shares how user-centred design transformed our department's intranet, streamlining communication, knowledge sharing and accessibility to help our UK-wide staff work more productively and efficiently.

Introducing UCD Ops at MHCLG: Bringing ResearchOps and DesignOps together 

A venn diagram with Research Ops and Design Ops combining to form UCD Ops

User-centred design (UCD) is integral to building and delivering more efficient and effective policy and services for the public we serve. Yana and Cathryn, UCD Operations (Ops) Managers within MHCLG, share insights on the unique role of UCD Ops and how it supports scaling up UCD practices and impact across the organisation.

Unlocking planning innovation: 150 brilliant minds collaborate in Leeds 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Planning, Ways of working
Teams collaborating at the hackathon

Innovation was sparked at the Local Government Innovation Hackathon, where 150 planners, technologists and digital leaders collaborated to solve real planning challenges. MHCLG proudly co-organised the event with Government Digital Service, Incubator for AI and Open Digital Planning, reimagining planning services through this hands-on approach.

Funding Service: How we transformed Delta based on user needs  

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A screenshot of the Delta homepage on GOV.UK.

Delta is the main platform MHCLG uses to collect data and make payments. It helps the department make policy decisions, release national statistics and process payments to local authorities.  Read how the Funding Service transformed Delta based on user needs.

Open Digital Planning: a cross-sector partnership to transform local planning services

ODP community

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Digital Planning Programme coordinates Open Digital Planning (ODP) – a cross-sector partnership of forward-thinking local planning authorities (LPAs) working together to create a more efficient, data-driven planning system. Over the last 4 years, we’ve worked closely with council officers to understand their technology and data challenges …

Breaking down barriers: working together to support local authorities

Mike Rose at the LLC Workshop in Birmingham

Through collaboration between HM Land Registry and Local Planning Authorities, the Digital Planning team is working on a joined-up approach to reduce the burden of providing the data needed for local land charges and planning purposes. Previously submitting similar data to different systems, our new way of working will make the process more efficient.