Kara Kane

Bringing together international public designers in Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels Recapping the International Design in Government Community activities this year from a conference in Amsterdam to getting together in Berlin. And sharing what is planned for the community in 2026.

The Int’l #GovDesign community of design-minded people from governments all over the world come together to learn from each other, share best practices and design patterns.

In a new blog post, @karakane-kk.bsky.social, Viktoria and I give an update on the ‘Design in government’ blog for 2025/26:

Email us here and we’ll add you
intl-govdesign-team@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk.
We have a limited number of domains we can add for direct sign ups.

Alaa Abdel Fattah: British-Egyptian activist reunited with family After nearly six years in prison, Alaa Abdel Fattah is released from prison in Egypt.

Some good news in dark times

Alaa Abdel Fattah: British-Egyptian activist reunited with family - BBC News

Thank you!! Feeling very tired but also very inspired!!

How to exit our service design Groundhog Day experience? Making end-to-end service design finally happen Session type: Workshop Presented by: Martin Jordan, Digital Service (German government), and Kara Kane, Cabinet Office Session time: 19 Sep 14:15 — 15:15 Session duration: 60 minutes

1 week to go:

Next Friday afternoon, @karakane-kk.bsky.social and I will be running a workshop on making end-to-end #serviceDesign finally happen.

Join us if you’re attending @sdingov.bsky.social.

The format is just coming together – after (as always) valuable input from @claragt.bsky.social.

Public Design Evidence Review: Case Study Bank (HTML)

The new Public Design Evidence Review is interesting and so important

We must document and talk about design and research in the public sector, how it works and what it does.

I can't wait to sink my teeth into the Case Study Bank in particular!
www.gov.uk/government/p...?

@karakane-kk.bsky.social

Practical Test and Learn Clara Greo and Jo Carter are planning to develop a workshop series that helps people working in government and third sector organisations to adopt a test and learn approach to policy and service…

I'm developing a training course on how apply a Test and Learn approach in the UK government — something practical, focused on real examples and how to actually do it in day-to-day work.

If this sounds interesting to you, please help us by filling in this survey
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

DOGE done better: The case for progressive efficiency and a streamlined state Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

I know everyone is obsessed with efficiency just now but I find this framing really irresponsible. There is no DOGE done right because DOGE is a power play by fascists demos.co.uk/research/dog...

YouTube video by UK Gov Design Protecting our practice: How to not let things get undone

‘Protecting our practice’ was the title of the opening talk @karakane-kk.bsky.social and I gave at the Amsterdam User Needs First conference in April.

We discussed current events and what the #govDesign community can do not to let things get undone.

The recording is now available on YouTube:

Happy #GAAD reminder for later today:

Our int’l #GovDesign call #36 on #accessibility & #inclusion starts at
3:30 pm BST 🌍
4:30 pm CEST 🌍
10:30 am EDT 🌎
7:30 am PDT 🌎

—you’ll hear from @hidde.blog, @priyanca.bsky.social, and my @digitalservice.bund.de colleagues Christoph Schmidl & Marion Couesnon

Shout out to the disabled community for always showing up, always being on the right side of history and justice, always willing to put their bodies on the line, all for the cause of making sure *everyone* has the basic dignity of health care.

How to exit our service design Groundhog Day experience? — A workshop on making end-to-end service design finally happen

Proposal accepted!

LinkedIn post turned into a workshop format for @sdingov.bsky.social:

“How to exit our #serviceDesign Groundhog Day experience?”

@karakane-kk.bsky.social & I will run a workshop on making end-to-end service design finally happen.

We hope to see you there: Edinburgh, 17-19 Sep

YouTube video by UK Gov Design Beyond user needs: Why we need an expanded design philosophy for the digital public sector

One more terrific talk from the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference went up on YouTube:

@richardpope.org’s closing keynote, “Beyond user needs: Why we need an expanded design philosophy for the digital public sector” with plenty of food for thought—

youtu.be/0z3trE1RAlk

Developing standards and accessibility guidance Improving services by making standards and accessibility simple

@kerry1yons.bsky.social and I were asked to write an article for #servicegazette about our work on standards and accessibility guidance over the last couple of years. We're pleased to say you can now read the online version that was in the recent print version.

medium.com/the-service-...

‘If I die, I want a loud death’: Gaza photojournalist killed by Israeli airstrike Fatima Hassouna, who had been documenting war in Gaza for 18 months and was subject of new documentary, killed along with 10 members of her family

“If I die, I want a loud death,” Hassouna wrote on social media. “I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place.”

YouTube video by UK Gov Design Change through delivery: A strategy for transformation in the complex German system

The first talk from last week’s Amsterdam #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference is up on YouTube:

Stephanie Kaiser, Chief Product Officer of @digitalservice.bund.de, on ‘Change through delivery’ and a transformation approach for the complex German government system.

Enjoy!

📺

Selfie taken by a man of him and 2 other people, a man and a woman, standing on a stage with the words user needs in the background as lit letters and a projected slide saying good morning in Dutch

This morning, the
#UserNeedsFirst #UserNeeds conference in Amsterdam kicked off!

@zuydweg.nl and team have done a fantastic job creating a 3-day event full of learning, sharing and connection-building.

@karakane-kk.bsky.social and I had the opportunity to give an opening talk on our challenges.

A laptop computer on a train showing a Green slide saying “Protecting our practice: how to not let things get undone”

En route and writing—

And so is @karakane-kk.bsky.social from her side of Europe.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll have the honour to give a talk at the #UserNeedsFirst #GovDesign conference in Amsterdam.

We’ll discuss “Protecting our practice: how to not let things get undone”—cause that’s necessary.

😳, thanks for the tip!!

Internet of Public Service Jobs - Test/Learn/Grow This is a special edition supporting the Cabinet Office's Test, Learn and Grow team with their recruitment campaign. I have nothing to do with the team in any capacity and nobody asked me to do it but...

A special edition of my newsletter focused on the Cabinet Office Test, Learn and Grow team vacancies (and principles).

@karakane-kk.bsky.social

newsletter.digitalbydefault.jobs/internet-of-...

New Service Gazette created in ~4 weeks! We love an ambitious timeline and thankfully we have great writers and collaborators that join us in the fun sprint to our print deadline.

Promotion for the 'User Needs First' International Conference 2025, happening on April 9-11 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Features keynote speakers Kara Kane (Head of Design, Public Sector Reform, UK Government) and Martin Jordan (Head of Design & User Research, German Digital Service). Organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

How can we protect our practice in these unsettling times?

In our opening talk at the #UserNeedsFirst Amsterdam conference, @karakane-kk.bsky.social and I will be talking about how not to let things get undone.

Join us and hundreds of #GovDesign​ers on 9 April!

userneedsfirst.yellenge.nl/program/

The Cabinet Office Test, Learn and Grow team are hiring 11 roles across product, delivery management, data analysis and design. Come work with us on public sector reform! www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...

Thanks Matt! 🙌

Trailer | CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT | American Experience | PBS While curb cuts, ramps at building entrances, and braille on elevator buttons seem commonplace today, they were once the subject of a pitched battle that landed on the steps of Congress. CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT tells the emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the 1990 passage of the ADA, one of the most consequential civil rights bills in the nation’s history. Directed by Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp), written and produced by Chana Gazit, produced by Hilary Klotz Steinman and Sarah Keeling, and executive produced by Cameo George, CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT premieres Tuesday, March 25 at 9/8c on @PBS, YouTube and the PBS App. Official Website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/change-not-charity-americans-disabilities-act | #ChangeNotCharityPBS #History #Documentary This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate Subscribe to the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE channel for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanExperiencePBS Enjoy full episodes of your favorite AMERICAN EXPERIENCE shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR FOLLOW AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanExperiencePBS/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AmericanExperiencePBS/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@americanexperiencepbs

Directed by Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp), CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT premieres March 25 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on PBS, YouTube and the PBS App.

Watch the trailer: bit.ly/4iHmVfb

Get involved with Services Week 2025 Services Week is back 17 March to 21 March 2025 and the theme for 2025 is people-centred services. Designing effective public services starts with innovation, a strong understanding of what people nee...

#ServicesWeek 2025, 17-21 March, will feature around 80 sessions from 20+ organisations.

Great the annual event series for people working in the public sector is returning for the seventh year to grow skills, knowledge and networks 👍

Get involved:
services.blog.gov.uk/2025/01/30/g...

Environmentally sustainable services - Service Manual - GOV.UK GOV.UK Reducing the environmental impact of services.

🌏🌳🔥 NEW 'Environmentally sustainable services' guidance, just added to the UK government's Service Manual: www.gov.uk/service-manu...

Looking forward to getting more detail in there soon.

#govdesign #govdigital #climateemergency #sustainability

The Weaponization of Trauma The human toll being being paid by public employees

New, at Can We Still Govern: Rachael worked as a govt technologist, specializing in trauma-informed design of public services.

Then the Trump admin promised to put her and other public employees "in trauma."

She explains what this means.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-weapon...

Join Jukesie, me, and at least 432 other currently registered participants at the upcoming Amsterdam International #GovDesign conference in mid-April!

Simulating #accessibility personas, digitalservice.bund.de, This extension applies visual effects to web pages to simulate the browsing experience of people with accessibility-related needs. 0 ratings

Live in the Chrome Web Store:

Our extension ‘Simulating #accessibility personas’ is available and more easily installable.

Building on the GOV.UK accessibility personas, @jonowak.eu built it for our internal testing routine at @digitalservice.bund.de.

⬇️ chromewebstore.google.com/detail/simul...