GaaP

Government as a Platform

A concept and approach to digital government service delivery. It involves the government providing a common set of tools, services, and infrastructure that can be used by multiple agencies and departments to build and deliver digital services more efficiently and effectively. The key principles of GaaP are:

• Reusability: Developing common components, tools, and services that can be reused across different government agencies and services, reducing duplication and improving consistency.
• Interoperability: Ensuring that systems and services can work together seamlessly, enabling data sharing and integration between different parts of government.
• Modularity: Breaking down large, complex systems into smaller, more manageable components that can be developed, maintained, and updated independently.
• Open Standards: Adopting open standards and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable integration and interoperability between systems and services.
• User-Centricity: Designing services around the needs of users, rather than the structure of government, to ensure that services are easy to use and meet the needs of citizens and businesses.
• Agility: Adopting agile development practices and continuous improvement to enable rapid development, testing, and iteration of services in response to user feedback and changing needs.

The benefits of GaaP include:

• Reduced costs and increased efficiency through the reuse of common components and services
• Improved user experience and satisfaction through more consistent and user-centered services
• Increased agility and responsiveness to changing needs and demands
• Enhanced collaboration and data sharing between different parts of the government
• Greater innovation and competition through the use of open standards and APIs

Examples of GaaP initiatives include:

• GOV.UK Notify: A common platform for sending notifications to citizens via email, SMS, or letter
• GOV.UK Pay: A common platform for processing online payments across government services
• GOV.UK Verify: A common identity verification service that enables citizens to prove their identity online and access government services securely

The UK government’s Government Digital Service (GDS) has been a leading proponent of the GaaP approach, and has developed a range of common platforms and services that are used across government. Other countries, such as the United States, Australia, and Singapore, have also adopted GaaP principles in their digital government initiatives.

• Abbreviation: GaaP