Testing new planning data standards with industry: what we learned from phase 1 and where we go next
In November we shared details of 5 pilots testing new data standards for planning applications. Thes...
Our journey to delivering the Fire and Rescue Data Platform
Image credit: istock.com/VV Shots When most people think about Fire and Rescue Services (FRS), they ...
More local planning authorities commit to making their planning data open and join Open Digital Planning
Imagine being able to instantly check whether a property sits in a conservation area or whether a tr...
Building a data model for planning decisions
Every year, local planning authorities make hundreds of thousands of planning decisions. But right n...
Modernising democracy: Transforming the Electoral registration officer portal
The Electoral registration officer portal (EROP) is a secure web portal used by Electoral Registrati...
A year of transforming England’s planning system
We're wrapping up another year for the MHCLG Digital Planning Programme – and what a year it’s been....
The future of the Funding Service: solving a whole problem for users
The Funding Service is a multidisciplinary team in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Go...
How collaboration and innovation came together to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping
Birmingham's Millennium Point became the hub for something rather special a couple of weeks ago: the...
Understanding residents' experiences of housing safety and quality
The System Design team at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) includes ...
New draft guidance published to support faster and clearer local plan-making
Local plans are the backbone of England’s planning system, shaping how places grow and develop. But ...
International Volunteer Day: making a difference in our communities
Every year, International Volunteer Day highlights the important role volunteering plays in strength...
Mapping the housing safety and quality system
The System Design team at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) includes ...
Testing new planning data specifications with industry: 5 pilot partnerships paving the way
Faster and more efficient planning relies on open, accessible and trustworthy planning data. But dat...
The Local Deprivation Explorer: Making deprivation data easier to find, understand and use
The Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) rank over 33,000 small areas across the country by levels ...
Introducing the Mayoral Data Council: making data work for devolution
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working with England's Mayoral ...
Supporting councils with a Cyber Incident Response service
MHCLG is making a new Cyber Incident Response (CIR) service available to English councils, helping t...
Diving into planning decisions: What we learned from our latest user research
Across England, local planning authorities use different formats to record the outcomes of planning ...
PropTech innovation takes on housing delivery challenges
How do we embark on the journey of solving 3 fundamental problems holding back housing delivery in E...
Designing a user-centred intranet to help our staff work more effectively
At MHCLG, colleagues across the UK use the intranet daily for news, resources and guidance, such as ...
Digital planning transformation gains momentum
Open Digital Planning is becoming a powerful force for change in local government. This supportive c...
Building understanding of software markets in local government
Over the past six months, we’ve been developing our understanding of local government software marke...
How user research is shaping the future of EPCs
Energy performance certificates (EPCs) help people understand how energy efficient their buildings a...
Delivering a data standard to support Awaab’s Law in social housing
We’re pleased to share a milestone in our social housing data work, the delivery of a new data stand...
Understanding Elections user journeys: lessons from in-person mobile testing
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, user research in government has largely shifted online. This transition...
Understanding Elections user journeys: lessons from in-person mobile testing
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, user research in government has largely shifted online. This transition...
Standardising the planning application process: Kicking off work on decisions
Every year thousands of planning decisions are made which shape the future of where we all live, wor...
Introducing UCD Ops at MHCLG: Bringing ResearchOps and DesignOps together
User-centred design (UCD) at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is gr...
Digital Planning: From pilots to scale – how PropTech partnerships are unlocking its potential
The launch of the Opportunity for PropTech Report, earlier this year, at Google’s Headquarters in Lo...
Rapid Policy Insights: How user-centred approaches support improved policy design in MHCLG
Embedding digital into policy In MHCLG, a central element of our digital strategy is ‘embedding dig...
Standardising the planning application process: Progress and next steps
Since October 2024, our team has been hard at work standardising the planning application process. T...