PropTech innovation takes on housing delivery challenges  

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Digital Planning, PropTech
A group of people including Chief Planner Joanna Averley and representatives from the 12 selected pilots

Following rigorous judging, 12 project teams have been selected from 84 applications to tackle three fundamental problems holding back housing delivery in England. Working alongside local authority and developer partners, each innovator will work until March 2026 testing their solutions in the real world.

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

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Design, Ways of working
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.

Digital planning transformation gains momentum  

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Digital Planning
A large group of people posing for a picture

Open Digital Planning (ODP) is becoming a powerful force for change in local government, allowing planning authorities to modernise planning services. With 24 authorities joining this month, through the Digital Planning Improvement Fund, the movement is gaining momentum. Read about how ODP brings councils and experts together to drive innovation in the planning sector.

How user research is shaping the future of EPCs

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Energy Performance of Buildings
a picture of a laptop screen with an energy performance certificate shown

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) help people understand how energy efficient their buildings are and what they can do to improve it. They’re used by landlords, renters and buyers, homeowners but also by policy teams. Find out how we’re applying user research and user-centred design principles to redesign the EPC, to better meet user needs.

Understanding Elections user journeys: lessons from in-person mobile testing 

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Elections
an image of someone holding a mobile phone showing the register to page on GOV.UK

User researchers in the Elections Digital team are working on initiatives to improve voter registration by making the process simple and accessible. Find out how the team has been improving its understanding of the mobile-first experience of many citizens interacting with digital election services and what they learned along the way.

Standardising the planning application process: Kicking off work on decisions 

Graphic to illustrate planning data

Crucial planning decisions data is stored inconsistently across different local authority systems. We're now expanding our data specification work to standardise planning application decisions, creating consistent data flow throughout the system. Help shape this work to ensure it helps local authorities, central government, developers, and communities better understand how our places are changing.

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.

Digital Planning: From pilots to scale – how PropTech partnerships are unlocking its potential   

Through strategic partnerships with Geovation, the UK PropTech Association, and the Digital Task Force for Planning, the Digital Planning programme is evolving its approach to scale the adoption of PropTech. We're bridging public and private sectors with one shared goal: converting PropTech's proven potential into systematic change that can help deliver 1.5 million homes and …