Recognize that government digital products and services should ultimately improve people’s lives. Focus on meeting citizens’ needs and expectations and on improving service delivery. Build products and services for outcomes rather than outputs. Deliver consistently and sustainably through judicious use of public resources.
Deliver simple, effective products and services via human-centered design practices with the people who will actually use the product or service. Apply the highest standards of accessibility, inclusion and equity at every stage of product and service design, development and delivery.
Design or modify digital products and services with ethics in mind. Evaluate potential uses of emerging technologies to consider possible ethical, social and cultural implications. Ensure there is clear oversight and documentation for automated decision-making processes (e.g.: when using artificial intelligence).
Iterate and improve products and services to support learning and innovation. Use modern tools and approaches. Be flexible to change, seeking and accepting ongoing user feedback. Test early and often. Start small and scale up.
Collaborate, co-design and co-create with users transparently. Default towards open licenses, open and interoperable standards, open information and data, and open-source code.
Design and deliver solutions that are forward-thinking, adaptable and scalable. Support common components, interoperability and enterprise approaches. Share work and learnings with the aim of contributing to the wider community. Strive to collect data from users only once, re-using and sharing data whenever possible.
Manage information, including data, as a public asset in accordance with its value and user needs. Strive to improve the quality of information and data. Apply rigour around decision-making, using data to take a fair, ethical and evidence-based approach. Act as a trusted information steward.
Promote a risk-balanced approach that addresses security and privacy. Design clear and flexible risk mitigation strategies.
Empower all public servants to deliver excellent digital products and services. Create and support teams with diverse skillsets, providing them with technology, tools and training. Encourage innovation and controlled experimentation. Build an organizational culture that supports constant learning and engagement through the use of technology.
Acknowledge the historical relationships, inequity, trauma, and discrimination created by government; work in the spirit of reconciliation and B.C.’s Draft Principles guiding our relationship with Indigenous peoples.