Contribute to the digital.gov.bc.ca blog
Learn how to share the great work of your team and ministry on the digital.gov.bc.ca blog.
Share your story
We know that stories and the real people behind those stories are key to improving B.C. government services in the digital era. We invite you to contribute a blog post about your own journey modernizing services and growing your skills.
Your writing will play a crucial role in shaping a more connected and digitally-advanced public service.
Get started
We’d love to hear about:
- Your expertise or experience using a specific tool or method
- Insights and reflections on using the Digital Plan or the Digital Code of Practice to guide your work
- Your experience using Agile methods for the first time
- The challenges and hurdles you’ve faced in digital modernization
- Your success in transforming service delivery for the better
For examples of the finished product, check out our blog on accessibility or our profile of the NRIDS sustainment team.
Choosing your theme (or themes)
Your experiences can offer unique insight into how our government operates in digital service delivery. By sharing, you contribute in multiple ways and can illuminate a variety of topics. Potential blog themes could include:
Working in the open
Showcasing your dedication to transparent and accountable digital service delivery
Sharing ideas and expertise
Helping other teams navigate complex challenges and new concepts
Encouraging best practices
Demonstrating the real-world application of digital practices
Building community
Contributing to a collaborative digital government network
Inspiring innovation
Sparking new ideas and approaches in digital services
Raising awareness of services
Highlighting the diverse range of services offered and their impact on the public
A success story to inspire others
Sharing how you made a digital experience better for everyone
Your blog doesn’t have to accomplish all these themes at once. We suggest framing the post around 1 or 2 themes that fit your story, and are exciting and important to you.
We may group your blog into a category with other similarly themed posts to make it easier to find. Success stories are currently our most popular category, so your project or idea might be included here if we think it’s a good fit.
What we look for
The digital.gov.bc.ca team will help every step of the way. Here’s what we like to see in blog writing:
Real-life stories and first-person writing
Provide examples, data or statistics for depth and context. Focus on the human aspect of your work, and hook your readers by opening with a true story or anecdote.
Accessible, reader-friendly text
Use plain language, concise and short sentences and bullet points when possible. Short, readable headings will help make your story flow. Imagine you’re sharing to a friend or family member who doesn’t work in government and make it easy for them to follow.
Relatability, personality and fun
Offer information that will resonate with both public service employees and a general audience. When appropriate, use humour to keep things lively and relatable. Let your unique personality show in the writing!
How to submit your writing
We’re here to make this as easy as possible:
- Send us an email that outlines your idea
- We’ll review your content and meet with you to fine-tune the story
- Submit your draft. A member of our team will help edit for clarity and readability
- We’ll import your revised draft into WordPress for final review
- A publish date will be determined and we’ll work with you to source images
- Content is reviewed for approval by GCPE (assume a 1 week turnaround)
- The blog is published!
Approvals
Please note that we reserve approval on blog posts and may edit parts of your post for length or content. We will work with you to determine a publish date, but this may shift in response to other content in our calendar. Leave yourself enough time to collect any approvals necessary from your own team and ministry.
Sample template
There’s no required format for the digital.gov.bc.ca blog. Above all, our audience will be interested in what you’re most excited to share.
If you need a hand to get writing, feel free to use this template as a starting point.
Blog title
A good blog title is 3 to 7 words long and uses plain language.
Introduction
Open with a friendly, inviting tone. Start with something intriguing, like a surprising fact, a provocative question or a short, compelling scene to immediately engage your reader’s interest.
Remember to introduce yourself, your team and your project focus. Establish what you do, why it’s important and how your work helps people.
Section 1: The challenge
It’s important to be transparent, especially when others might be experiencing similar challenges as yourself. Help the reader understand barriers your team identified and worked to solve. Tell us how people were being negatively impacted by these barriers, and why.
Some possible examples:
- A service delivery or policy challenge
- A legacy system
- An organizational or structural challenge
- A request from a minister or the Premier
- A Cabinet priority
- A natural disaster or emergency response
Section 2: The process
Share insights or lessons you’ve learned with an informal, conversational tone. Tell us why your process is important, and how your team thought it might make things better for people.
This could be a good section to connect your work back to the Digital Code of Practice or the Digital Plan.
Section 3: Real-world impact
Share a true story or case study to illustrate the effectiveness and impact of your team’s work. Tell us about how this work has improved the lives of your users and people living in B.C.
Conclusion: Reflection and the future
End with reflections on the journey, key lessons and a look into what comes next. Sharing a personal connection can make your conclusion especially insightful and memorable.
For example:
- Our team/branch/division has changed the way we do things
- I found a new passion/career path
- I want to grow and learn more
- I see the value in digital modernization
Further learning
Suggest next steps and resources for readers interested in similar work, learning more or connecting with your team.
Blogs we like
Here’s a sample of blogs from outside BC government that demonstrate what we like to see.
- Inside Figma for designers and creators
- The Button blog on design in the digital age
- blog.gov.uk on digital public service