Invuse are passionate advocates for the voices of end users throughout the UK Public Sector.
As active members of the LocalGov Drupal community, they collaborate with seven councils to accelerate their Digital Transformation journeys.
Their approach involves iterative design and development, guided by comprehensive user research and engagement with end users, stakeholders, and councillors.
Invuse and LocalGov Drupal
Our expertise lies in User Research, Digital Accessibility, and Content Strategy, ensuring that LGD websites are aligned with residents' actual needs, while delivering a positive impact to the public. We prioritise accessibility compliance and thoroughly test for a high-quality user experience that caters to all.
Working with LocalGov Drupal (LGD) and its CMS and microsites platform significantly benefits both the Local Government and the wider UK Public Sector. LGD offers a collaborative environment where councils and partners can work together to deliver high-quality, accessible websites through shared code, learnings, and best practices.
By partnering with LGD, we can create services that are user-centric, built on comprehensive user research and shared insights, resulting in impactful solutions that meet common needs and challenges. Our passion lies in driving positive change in the UK Public Sector, and with LGD, we can accelerate councils' digital transformation journeys, reduce costs, foster mutual learning, and amplify the voice of end users through a centralised platform.
We strongly believe in its mission and the impact it is making. As champions of the voice of end users, LGD collaborates closely with councils and suppliers to identify and address shared challenges faced by all councils. This aligns perfectly with our mission of ensuring public services are built on user research and creating an inclusive digital world.
A focus on user needs
Recognising the opportunity to work alongside LGD, we are dedicated to leveraging our experience and expertise to assist councils in enhancing residents' user journeys, making them more seamless, efficient, and user-friendly.
Our dedicated Local Government team has conducted over seven discovery and research projects, engaging with 57 councillors, 150+ stakeholders, and 548 end users to comprehensively understand their needs, frustrations, and success criteria for council websites.
This knowledge has informed the design and development of 7 LGD websites, and we have shared our insights with the community to shape the future roadmap of LGD. We actively participate in the security and accessibility working groups, conducting penetration testing and contributing to over 30 accessibility improvements.
We proudly advocate for LGD, highlighting its benefits and opportunities to every council we encounter.
PEN testing
Invuse and The SecOps Group worked together to conduct an application penetration test on the LocalGov Drupal Core Distribution. The aim was to understand how secure LGD is and provide a report that councils can show to their colleagues in IT/Security. You can find the results of the test on the Invuse website.
We would encourage any other supplier to get involved with LGD. It's an inclusive, open-source platform that promotes collaboration, drives digital transformation, and enhances service delivery. By joining LGD, you can make a real difference and contribute to the development of impactful, shared solutions instead of isolated platforms.
Invuse and Essex County Council
One of our notable LGD projects involved working with Essex County Council to develop their Local Offer SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) website. The aim was to address the challenge of providing accessible and relevant information to children, young people, parents, families, and professionals in Essex who needed support for individuals with SEND.
What set this project apart was that it marked the first time LGD was used to create a SEND Local Offer website. Aligned with our strong commitment to accessibility and user-centred design, our primary goal was to collaborate effectively and drive the adoption and transformation of the website, with a specific focus on accessibility and improving user journeys.
Initially, the website had a complex layout and information architecture that needed to be redesigned based on the user needs identified during our research. LGD directories were not originally configured with SEND in mind, which meant additional development and testing were required to successfully incorporate a SEND directory within the existing functionality.
Shaping the service for end users
Our research efforts played a crucial role in shaping the development of the service. We actively sought input from young people, families, carers, and professionals to ensure inclusivity. We conducted extensive user research, including travelling across the county to meet with over 100 children and parents, engaging with 75+ users through guerrilla testing, and conducting 30+ card sorting activities to inform the new information architecture.
Additionally, we reviewed and refined over 300 directories to ensure their accuracy and relevance.
LocalGov Drupal provided us with a reliable website template designed and built using best practices from local government. This foundation allowed us to co-design and develop a high-quality SEND service in collaboration with Essex County Council and its target audience. Since the website's launch, there has been a significant decrease in calls and emails to their service desks, demonstrating improved self-service adoption by users who now prefer to utilise the new service rather than relying on traditional communication channels.
Working with the LGD CMS proved to be a game-changer compared to other council web builds. The ready-to-use website template saved us significant time and effort, enabling us to focus on tailoring the platform to meet the specific needs of SEND services. By leveraging LGD's pre-existing functionalities and modular design, we delivered an optimised and accessible user experience for Essex County Council's audience.
Remarkable outcomes
The outcomes of our collaboration with LGD on this project were remarkable. The redesigned Local Offer SEND website empowered individuals to access the information they needed quickly and efficiently, supporting the care and education of children and young people with SEND. The reduced calls and emails to service desks indicated that users successfully navigated the website and found the information they required.
Additionally, the improved perception of the website resulted in increased user adoption and a shift toward self-service, demonstrating the positive impact of LGD's user-centric approach and the value it brings to council web builds.
Working with LGD we have a service that the Essex population are excited to use.
Other council projects
Invuse has worked with many council projects including:
- Southwark Council,
- Haringey Council,
- Surrey Heath Borough Council,
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council,
- Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council,
- Elmbridge Borough Council,
- Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.