Welcome

Directgov (www.direct.gov.uk) is the Government’s official website for the general public. This discussion paper analyses how well Directgov delivers on its promise to consumers to ‘provide information and online services for the public all in one place’. The analysis is approached from a user’s perspective, and highlights the types of problems consumers frequently encounter with the service. The paper is based on opinions from consumers, developers and designers, a study of the website’s architecture and users’ journeys. It is intended to promote a debate, and at the end of each chapter, suggestions are made for rethinking key areas so that they can deliver more effective online public services. The report ends with an invitation to interested stakeholders to join the debate on how Directgov, and digital public services more generally, could be improved for the future.

We want to hear your thoughts and ideas on this discussion paper so please add your comments in the ‘Your feedback’ section that appears on each page.  The paper will be open to comment til March 2010. 

We held a workshop on 15 March with Directgov, consumer representatives, digital innovators and public service providers.  Please visit  http://socialbysocial.net/group/DPSworkshoplivefeed for reports of how the day went.

If you prefer to read the PDF version of the report, you can download it from here: Consumer Focus – Does Directgov Deliver? PDF, 1MB