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What to expect during Services Week 2021

A computer on a desk showing a Services Week 2021 screen saying: Accessible, equitable, sustainable services

Services Week is back for the third time, until 5 March, with 34 public sector organisations running 57 sessions. Organisers share what to expect and why they are contributing.

Get involved in Services Week 2021

A person holding a phone showing a Services Week 2021 session

The third annual Services Week will be held from 1–5 March 2021, and we’d like to invite you to get involved in any way that suits you. This time, it will be a remote-first and location-independent edition of the popular event series. Here is how you can engage with it and propose a session.

Taking a community-led approach to the Service Standard and Service Manual

Close-up of a laptop screen showing the website of the GOV.UK Service Manual stating its purpose: Helping teams to create and run great public services that meet the Service Standard.

The Service Standard and Manual have been around since 2013 and continuously evolved since then. In summer 2020, a new team started taking things into a new direction. In this blog post, they share what they have learned in recent months and why the future is community-led.

Not meeting the Service Standard doesn’t mean you failed

A sticker with the Crown symbol saying ‘ASSESSOR – Digital Service Assessments’ on a white notebook

Service assessments ensure that a digital service is meeting the points of the Service Standard. But there have been times when services have not met the standard. That doesn’t mean failure. This blog post discusses the opportunities and support available for service teams.

Service demos: how to tell the story of your service

A laptop on a desk next to a pile of fresh sticky-notes; its screen shows guidance from the GOV.UK Service Manual on ‘What happens at a service assessment’ from the ‘Service assessments and pllying the Service Standard’ section

As part of service assessments, teams are asked to give an overview of the service they have developed and walk the assessor panel through the user journey. In this blog post, senior interaction designer Vicky Teinaki shares how to prepare a compelling service demo.

Transforming the flood service: responding to users

A smartphone in person's hand, displaying the flood information service page on GOV.UK, indicating the current flood warnings in England and Wales.

Over the past few years, the team behind the flood information service have made their offering more user-centred by designing it end-to-end, front-to-back, and for every channel. In this blog post, senior user researcher Silvia Grant shares what the service transformation looked like.

Transforming the ‘Request a bin’ service at West Berkshire Council

A woman’s hand holding a smartphone with the digital service interface of West Berkshire Council’s Request a bin or recycling container service

To redesign its Request a bin service end-to-end, a West Berkshire Council team worked with three departments, the waste contractor and a digital supplier. This blog post describes how strong collaboration led to measurable outcomes and benefits for citizens and government.