We had 3 learning outcomes:
- whether or not we’d be able to roll out GOV.UK Forms to local government with the current feature set
- how much operational work (e.g. support) we might expect to be associated with local government organisations adopting GOV.UK Forms
- how much growth we might expect as we allow local government to adopt GOV.UK Forms, in terms of organisations, forms and submissions
- Local government web publishing teams. Often also included council service team members and/or senior decision-makers.
- 9 organisations took part in introductory calls
- 7 took part in the first round of interviews
- 6 took part in the 2nd round (3 in depth)
- 4 orgs gave feedback on the form
- Analysis of support queries from pilot orgs
- Feedback from an optional feedback form
- First round of interviews
- Second round of follow-up interviews or in-depth reviews of the platform
By the end of Q4, no councils had published any forms and 1 had signed the agreement. 3 were particularly keen but had not managed to progress publishing for various reasons.
Learning outcome 1: Whether or not we’d be able to roll out GOV.UK Forms to local government with the current feature set
3 positions we heard:
- Want to use it now - there are some not ideal things but they don’t matter for some forms
- Might consider using it in future - there are quite a few things we’d need to iron out
- Would not consider using it any time soon - it would be their main platform, which it can’t do currently
Top rated blockers
- Branding and customisation
- Difficulties integrating form submission data with their systems and workflows
- Emails not secure enough
- Difficulties using S3 or automating csvs
- Want access to an overview
- Need to pre-populate data from external sources:
- Address lookup is a key example and seen as a basic functionality
- Need to validate data entered into a form, e.g. verifying eligibility or verifying identity
- Need more complex branching
- Want to be able to section/group questions
- Want more than one question per page
Learning outcome 2: How much operational work (e.g. support) we might expect to be associated with local government organisations adopting GOV.UK Forms
- Support topics unlikely to change
- Volume hard to predict, but likely to grow somewhat
- Potential new types of support/ engagement activities could create new work around community and collaboration on shared problems
Learning outcome 3: How much growth we might expect as we allow local government to adopt GOV.UK Forms, in terms of organisations, forms and submissions
Context and influences:
- The number of LA orgs is likely to change soon with the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
- In any given area of the country, you might expect anywhere between 250 - 500 forms from the LA(s) covering that area.
- All councils are different but have (mostly) the same responsibilities
- Typically, councils are using more than one forms package. Alongside their core platform, specific services use off-the-shelf providers, e.g. housing, revs and bens, education. They may also have “rogue” service teams that are going off-piste and using “unofficial” forms tools they can get their hands on, such as MS Forms. They all have a similar form creation process. a range of different things going on in terms of submission data processing. It requires more focused research if we wanted to address it more confidently.
- Quite a few have account logins for customers that connect data held about them.
- Their current challenges around forms fall into 3 categories:
- Existing systems
- Form filler user experience
- Internal challenges
Drivers
- It is important that the platform is easy and efficient to use
- It is important that the forms they build will provide a good, accessible user experience to form fillers
- Cost, especially cost saving, is a key driver
- The potential benefit of a local government GOV.UK Forms user community
- The potential for templates
- GOV.UK Pay is a big draw for many, but there can be significant blockers
Current strategies:
- Most are prioritising unstructured and document-based data collection.
- They are also focused on improving the user experience.
- Some are more process focused, considering automation or integration data.
How they might use GOV.UK Forms
- They recognise its main value is for simple forms
- Some mentioned replacing other data collection channels
- Mixed feelings on devolving work to other teams
How likely they are to use the platform in future
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Three councils were very keen to publish forms as soon as possible.
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Whether or not they can envisage using GOV.UK Forms as a tactical solution for certain forms or challenges is key (as opposed to needing it to be their core platform)
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The tool needs to offer significant benefits over existing tools to justify change
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Ease of adoption of the new platform is a key consideration and potential blocker. * They are factoring in how much resource it would take.
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Can't justify changing if they are already paying for other platforms (and locked into contracts)
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It’s often a big consideration for them, not a quick, easy decision
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It’s not always as simple as their team deciding they want to use it
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Many councils are living with high uncertainty about their future (LGR)
IMPORTANT NOTE: these findings should not be shared as actual benefits found by users. They are perceived benefits by people who had tried the platform out for a short period and never published a form. 🚨
- A platform that is easier to use and more efficient
- More staff can use it
- Less dependence on technical colleagues
- Easier to create and update forms
- Quicker to create forms
- Better data consistency
- A better form filler experience
- Consistency across forms
- GOV.UK Forms meet standards and compliance
- Improved accessibility
- Trust and familiarity
- Strategic benefits
- Various strategic aspects specific to individual councils
- Saves money
- Works with other government tools
- Resilience
- Data security
- Having a say on the product roadmap