Working with central government, local authorities, arms-length bodies, and wider public service organisations, we provide end-to-end research and design services — from discovery and user research to service design, prototyping, usability testing, and design assurance. Our approach helps teams reduce delivery risk, improve accessibility, meet government standards, and build services that work for everyone.
Understanding Research and Design in Government
High-quality public services rely on deep understanding of user needs, policy intent, operational constraints, and technical environments. Research and design in government must also meet strict standards, including the Government Service Standard, Government Design Principles, and WCAG 2.2 accessibility requirements.
Designing for government means designing for scale, inclusion, and complexity. Services must work for people with varied needs, contexts, languages, digital skill levels, and assisted digital requirements. They must also integrate with legacy systems, comply with regulations, and support frontline operational processes.
6B supports government organisations with user-centred methods grounded in ethical research practices, accessibility best practice, and evidence-based decision-making. Our researchers, service designers, content designers, interaction designers, and accessibility specialists work collaboratively with policy, operations, and technology teams to shape services that deliver real public value.
Our Research and Design Process
Our process typically begins with a discovery phase, where we carry out user research, stakeholder interviews, service mapping, data analysis, and policy review to build a clear understanding of user needs and current service challenges. We prioritise diversity and inclusion, ensuring research represents the full range of users — including vulnerable groups and people with access needs.
Next, we move into design phases such as alpha or service redesign. Our designers develop journey maps, service blueprints, prototypes, and content structures, exploring multiple design options and validating them with real users. We use rapid prototyping to test assumptions, uncover risks early, and ensure solutions are technically feasible and operationally viable.
Throughout delivery, we conduct usability testing, accessibility testing, and iterative research to refine features and content. We collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure designs are buildable, compliant, and aligned with architectural decisions.
We also support service assessments, design assurance, and design operations. Our work ensures alignment with the Government Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, and relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.
Benefits of Research and Design for Government
Research-driven design reduces delivery risk by ensuring decisions are grounded in real user needs rather than assumptions. This leads to services that are simpler, clearer, and easier to use — reducing failure demand, improving completion rates, and increasing public trust.
Evidence-based design enhances accessibility and inclusion, ensuring services meet WCAG standards and work effectively for all users, including those with disabilities, low digital confidence, or complex life circumstances.
High-quality service design supports better alignment between policy, operations, and technology, reducing friction and enabling more efficient end-to-end service delivery.
For organisations, user-centred design accelerates delivery, improves cross-team collaboration, and provides a clear roadmap for implementation. For citizens, it results in faster, fairer, and more reliable access to government services.
Why Choose 6B for Research and Design?
We have extensive experience conducting user research, service design, and accessibility work across central and local government.
Our researchers use ethical and inclusive methods that align with government standards, ensuring insight is representative and actionable.
Our designers create services that meet the Government Service Standard, Government Design Principles, and WCAG accessibility requirements.
We work collaboratively across policy, operations, and technology teams, ensuring service designs are realistic, coherent, and feasible to deliver within existing constraints.
We provide end-to-end capability across research, design, engineering, and architecture, allowing us to validate design decisions with technical and operational insight.
We focus on measurable impact, supporting reduced delivery risk, lower operational cost, improved service performance, and better outcomes for users.
Estimate the Cost of Your Research and Design Project
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Want to speak to someone today? Call 6B on 0113 350 1290.
Readiness checklist for Research and Design
- Define the policy intent, organisational goals, and outcomes the service needs to achieve.
- Prepare any existing research, service performance data, or user insights to support discovery.
- Identify key user groups, stakeholders, and operational teams involved in delivering or consuming the service.
- Confirm compliance requirements such as the Government Service Standard, accessibility targets, and data protection considerations.
- Determine whether your project requires a full discovery, redesign of a specific journey, or targeted research to close insight gaps.
- Document current systems, integrations, and process constraints that may influence service design.
Speak To Our Research and Design Experts
Whether you're developing a new digital government services product or extending an existing solution with Research and Design, 6B brings the technical expertise, government insight, and experience needed to accelerate delivery.
