Our Approach

When governments digitalize, they often reinvent the wheel. GovStack breaks this cycle by promoting the use of interoperable, generic, and reusable building blocks to digitalize any service. This approach is based on global best practices and enables governments to create human-centered digital services that empower individuals and improve well-being.

A whole-of-government strategy

A whole-of-government approach refers to cross-department coordination and consideration of individual needs to deliver services in a more integrated, user-centric manner. Being resourceful requires a holistic approach, taking advantage of economies of scale that are not available when delivering digital services in a piecemeal fashion. Evidence from countries illustrates how a government-wide approach to investing in digital infrastructure can lead to a more rapid scaling-up of development services, with strong protection for citizens’ rights at a fraction of the cost.

This approach encourages governments and their partners to take new approaches both to architecting and investing in digital infrastructure to prioritize reusability. But this doesn’t necessarily mean ditching legacy systems or technologies. Learn more about how governments have used a government-wide approach in digital infrastructure through the CIO Digital Leaders Forum.

What does it look like in practice?

When governments digitalize, they often reinvent the wheel. GovStack breaks this cycle by promoting the use of interoperable, generic, and reusable building blocks to digitalize any service. This approach is based on global best practices and enables governments to create human-centered digital services that empower individuals and improve well-being.

A whole-of-government approach to investing in digital infrastructure means delivering reusable digital services based on generic, interoperable components – which we refer to as building blocks.

Building blocks are interoperable, reusable software components that provide key functionality for generic workflows across multiple sectors. Because they are reusable and interoperable, they facilitate the deployment of digital services at scale, with fewer resources and a greater return on investment.

Characteristics :

Reusable software components
Open-source, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), or freely available with open access to data
Facilitates one or more generic workflows
Applicable to multiple use cases across multiple sectors
Interoperable with other ICT Building Blocks

Designed for scalability and extensibility
Standards-based

Read the GovSpec Specifications

GovStack is defining the technical specifications for building blocks as well as the functional descriptions for service use cases. By defining the foundational building blocks that are needed for core eGovernment services, we hope to enable faster and more efficient development of life-improving digital services. We welcome community participation in this process – you can access and comment on current GovSpecs in our documentation library.

We will be releasing specifications for individual building blocks as part of regular version releases. Below, you can review which building blocks have been published and which ones are forthcoming.

Published

Forthcoming

Catalog of Digital Solutions

To learn more about individual building blocks, how they can be stacked for different use cases, and the SDG targets they can help achieve, visit the Catalog of Digital Solutions.