Ontario Digital Service

Digital first plan to deliver simpler, faster, better services

Ontario’s Government is putting the people first in everything it does by adopting new digital practices and technologies that will deliver simpler, faster, better services to Ontarians. As of August 6, 2019 the Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act came into effect. This new law will significantly improve how government works and the services it delivers to the people and businesses of Ontario.

We have introduced the Digital Service Standard outlining 13 points for delivering good online services. It applies to policies, programs and services government provides for the people of Ontario.

The government's plan will improve the quality of service provided to Ontarians by:

• enabling adoption of digital practices across government
• eliminating outdated approaches to processes, including at ServiceOntario, that prevent the delivery of people-centred services and
• allowing data sharing to support digital government and unlocking high-value data to increase innovation and economic growth
• the government is also improving its digital platforms to increase online uptake of ServiceOntario's top 10 transactions

Who we are

We’re coders, user experience experts, content designers, product managers, digital strategists, data experts and partners shaking things up inside government to make life better for all Ontarians.

You can find us at our headquarters in downtown Toronto and at our lab in Kitchener at the Communitech Hub.

Jobs at the Ontario Digital Service

Check for job openings, sign up for job alerts so you know when we’re hiring, and find out what to expect from our workplace culture.

Join our team

How we work

At the Ontario Digital Service, we:

• use the tools of the digital age to build services that are user-centred and inclusive
• put accessibility and people’s needs front and centre, so that everyone can use digital services
• collaborate with partners across government to build digital capacity and use it to improve access to services for people and businesses
• evaluate outcomes and advise teams how to meet the Digital Service Standard

Resources

Ontario Digital blog

Follow the Ontario Digital blog to learn from our successes and challenges. We have case studies that show how government teams are using the standard to build better services. You can also read insights from Ontario’s first-ever Chief Digital and Data Officer and Deputy Minister, Cabinet Office, Hillary Hartley, who pioneered eGovernment for federal and state governments in the U.S.

Guides

Find best practices, templates and tools to help you design and improve government services. Our guides cover a range of topics - agility, accessibility and inclusive design, user research, content, web design and more.

Digital training

We offer drop-in coaching in user research and Google Analytics, service design meetups and more.

User research lab

Build user-centred products and services using this dedicated research space that’s open to all Ontario government teams. The lab is home to user research experts who support government teams with the tools, guidance and best practices to create and scale user-centred service design practices.

Rapid prototyping lab

Design, test and improve products in one-week cycles at the Communitech Hub. Product design and software developers help teams expand their understanding of user’s problems during the first phase of service design called discovery.