LocalGov Digital Blog and Manifesto

I've been blogging about my ideas on what a local government digital service might look like and sharing my works in progress since 2012, and recently they've turned into something of a Manifesto. I've copied the key articles from my original blogging engine into this site, and I'll be carrying on here.

Read my blog
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Content and UX Strategy

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I'm in the process of updating my 2013 Content Strategy for 2023 and beyond. It's still not quite finished yet.

The strategy

What's this site about?

Coastal skyline at night

This is an experimental site being put together by Simon Gray. It has two purposes:

  • As a platform in which I can learn how to use LocalGovDrupal, and
  • As a sandbox in which I can demonstrate some of the ideas I have about what a council online service should look like as we move through the mid-2020s and collectively have new problems to solve

As such, it's still a work in progress.

Technical information

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Information about how I installed LocalGovDrupal into some commercial webhosting under my own control

Technical information
Service designers

10 Principles for Good LocalGovDigital Design

If you have a liking for Apple products, then indirectly you have a liking for the design principles of Dieter Rams, whose work as Chief Designer at Braun has been credited as a major influence on Jony Ive, the former Chief Design Officer at Apple. Dieter Rams himself coined his 10 Principles for Good Design as a handy distillation of his whole ethos. I wondered if those 10 Principles could be translated into the LocalGovDigital dimension?

Read the 10 Principles

More information about Simon Gray

The work history of Simon Gray, the person behind this site. Or, putting it another way, my online CV.

Simon Gray's CV