Overview

The Ontario Digital Service (ODS) is a hub of technologists, designers and digital government experts who deliver user-centred products and digital policies using agile processes and data-driven methods. We collaborate with ministry partners to deliver services that make interacting with government simpler and easier for people and businesses.

What we do

Design and develop products and services

We build great, user-centred digital products, services, and platforms for Ontarians.

Our core products like Ontario.ca, Ontario’s Data Catalogue, and Notify (digital reminders), help ministry partners deliver best-in-class online services to the public, efficiently and consistently.

Modernize laws, policies and processes

We develop plans, frameworks, and strategies to support digital and data excellence, and help future-proof the Ontario Public Service as technology evolves.

The ODS collaborate with experts to ensure government’s digital and data laws, directives, and service standards are efficient, secure, and protect privacy.

Create culture change in government

We encourage better service delivery across government by advising and providing guidance on digital initiatives.

We also facilitate culture change across government by assessing digital products through our Digital First Assessment process, providing training, and enforcing standards to deliver high-quality services for all Ontarians.

Examples of our work

Ontario.ca

Build and run Ontario.ca official website for online services and government information.

Notify

Notify is an enterprise platform that allows the Ontario Public Service to send email, text message, and automated voice calls to the public. Contact the team to learn more.

Build applications with Jamstack

Develop performant, scalable and secure digital services that are ready to deploy to Ontario.ca. Download the kit from GitHub.

Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act

This new law significantly improves how government works to deliver services to the people and businesses of Ontario.

Digital and Data Strategy

Ontario’s strategy for building a world-leading digital economy, that puts people first and delivers a more prosperous future for everyone.

Data catalogue

Explore thousands of datasets owned by the Ontario government.

We also work on Digital Identity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance.

Ontario.ca

Build and run Ontario.ca official website for online services and government information.

Notify

Notify is an enterprise platform that allows the Ontario Public Service to send email, text message, and automated voice calls to the public. Contact the team to learn more.

Build applications with Jamstack

Develop performant, scalable and secure digital services that are ready to deploy to Ontario.ca. Download the kit from GitHub.

Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act

This new law significantly improves how government works to deliver services to the people and businesses of Ontario.

Digital and Data Strategy

Ontario’s strategy for building a world-leading digital economy, that puts people first and delivers a more prosperous future for everyone.

Data catalogue

Explore thousands of datasets owned by the Ontario government.

We also work on Digital Identity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance.

Get a job at the ODS

Image
Photo of entire team

The Ontario Digital Service (ODS) is a great place to work. We hire talented people with expertise in:

  • Technology

    Application architecture and technical advice, front and back end design and development, quality assurance, DevOps, Cloud operations and security.

  • Digital policy

    Implementing policies to support strong Ontario Digital Service product delivery, and building net-new digital and data policies for Ontario.

  • Content design

    Using data and evidence to write content that gives users the answers they need, at the time they need it, in a way they expect.

  • Experience design

    Applying expertise in user research, service design and UX design to understand user needs and create solutions that are useful, usable, and desirable.

  • Product management

    Strategy, vision, leadership, and management of the design, agile development, and operations of digital products.

  • Data access and analytics

    Data-driven insights and analytics, creation and management of publicly-accessible data and data assets, supporting data-related policy and legislation.

Work at the ODS

Help for Ontario government teams

We offer a number of free workshops and training for staff and teams in the Ontario Public Service or broader public sector. We also offer guidance through our Digital First Assessment process for teams working on large scale public-facing digital projects.

Contact us

Resources

  • Digital service standard

    The Digital Service Standard sets out 13 points to help Ontario ministries and agencies build and deliver simpler, faster, better government services and products for the people who live and do business in Ontario.

  • Digital first assessment guidance

    Any Ontario government project that involves creating or improving a digital service – whether in-house, or through vendors – needs to meet the Digital Service Standard throughout its development.

  • Ontario Design System

    The Ontario Design System includes things like buttons, navigation and form fields — and defines how they should look and behave. The design system helps you create Government of Ontario products that look consistent, align with the Ontario brand, use tried-and-tested code and are accessible.

  • Ontario style guide

    This guide sets out the rules we use to develop English content for Ontario.ca, while highlighting certain distinctions that exist between the English and French language. Our mission is to deliver information that is easy to find, use and understand — no matter who you are or what type of device you use.

  • User research guide

    User research will help you develop a deeper understanding of who the users are, how they behave, and what that means for the design of your service. This guide is a starting point to learn what works best for your users and services to develop your own approach.

  • Service design playbook

    A crash course on service design that works alongside the 13 points set out in the Digital Service Standard to provide the basics needed to get started on or continuously improve a service.

  • Notify

    Notify is an online, enterprise communication tool managed by the Ontario Digital Service that makes it simple, fast, and affordable to contact your users. Contact the team to learn more.

  • Build applications with Jamstack

    Develop online experiences and services that integrate with Ontario.ca. Explore the Jamstack Toolkit on GitHub, a free and open-source tool that is created and maintained by the Ontario Digital Service.