As I start my new role as Government Chief Architect, one of the questions I want us to think about is what it really means to be a technical architect in government and how architectural thinking can help us design better public services.
What does it mean to be an architect in government?
The official answer, from the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework, is a professional role group focused on designing, structuring and aligning public sector capabilities, systems and data to deliver effective government services.
In practice, that means looking beyond any one service or system and asking how the pieces fit together, whether the technology, data and ways of working we've inherited are still serving the people who use them, and what needs to change if they're not. This wider view helps people across public services make better informed decisions, avoid solving problems in isolation and design services that work more effectively together.
Redesign, not renovate
Public services have often grown incrementally and without a joined-up design. A new system here, a workaround there, another layer added to keep things running. Renovating to deliver short-term improvements can only take us so far.
Like a building that's outlived the purpose it was designed for, the structure itself can often be the problem.
In some cases, redesign means knocking down walls to create a more joined-up approach, for example to share data, which is something the National Data Library is working on.
Data locked in unconnected systems, held under individual arrangements and described in separate ways makes it harder to deliver services that work for people, and harder to make good decisions. A more open plan approach but still locked in the confines of a secure environment works better.
In other cases, it means designing something new from the ground up, which is the approach of CustomerFirst. Starting from what people need, rather than from what the existing architecture can do, opens up different choices.
In both examples, this isn't about improving within the constraints of the current constructs. It’s about redesigning them so they can support joined-up public services that are simpler to access, easier to navigate and better able to respond to people’s needs.
Architecture is for everyone
In September we ran our first cross public sector architects community event, “Architects Assemble”, hosted by the Local Government association, and one thing came across loud and clear; the design of new architecture isn't limited to people with “Architect" in their job title.
Service designers, developers, product managers, data specialists, delivery leads and policy colleagues all make decisions that shape how a service fits together. Frontline workers also have an important part to play, bringing real-world insight into where the connections between technology, data and services could be improved.
Every choice about how data is stored, which components to reuse or how a service connects to others is an architectural decision, whether or not it happens to be labelled as one.
This the approach GDS Local is taking with co-creating the Local Government Architecture Model, with people working in councils, government departments and the private sector all contributing, and we continue to build out and iterate it, to make it even more useful for those who use it.
Working in this way also gives practitioners the opportunity to learn from others facing similar challenges, share approaches that have worked, build connections across organisational boundaries and contribute to how architecture practice develops across the public sector.
So, architecture works best as a shared responsibility, with a common language and a shared understanding of what good looks like, not something done by a specialist team alone and handed over but co-created with the teams that use it.
Shared responsibility, specialist expertise
None of this means the specialist roles go away. We'll always need people whose job is to see the big picture and build firm foundations.
Enterprise, solution and technical architects and others in the profession, who can see across organisational boundaries, spot dependencies and duplication, and make the case for long-term coherence when short-term pressures pull the other way.
Specialists help teams apply architectural thinking consistently and effectively.
They can provide the patterns, standards and guidance that make good decisions easier, and challenge and support teams on the trade-offs, and it’s why the Government Digital Service published an Architectural Decision Record Framework, to establish the practice of documenting architectural decisions across teams, programmes, and organisations.
Making architecture everyone's business needs strong specialists to help it work. That's what we mean by “Architects Assemble”: bringing together the people who contribute to architectural thinking, with the expertise and leadership of the architecture profession at its heart.
Help shape architecture across government
If we're serious about designing better, more joined-up public services, we need to bring together the people who shape the services, technology and data they rely on.
That's why we're building Architects Assemble, a community bringing together architects and others involved in architectural thinking from across the public sector. Whether you're an architect by profession or your work contributes to architectural decisions, the community is a place to connect with others facing similar challenges, share experience and expertise, and learn from approaches being developed across government.
Through events, webinars and other opportunities to connect, the community will help practitioners build stronger relationships across organisational boundaries, discuss common challenges and contribute to how architecture practice develops across the public sector.
Our next webinar takes place on Tuesday 3 November 2026, 11am to 12.30pm, providing an opportunity to hear more, connect with others and get involved in the conversation.
If you'd like to be part of the community and help shape what comes next, register your interest in joining Architects Assemble.
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