User Needs First
An accessible, usable and comprehensible digital government. Providing inclusive services that everybody can and is willing to use. Because it has been developed with people in mind, rather than being based on governmental systems. That’s what we are about.
Gebruiker Centraal (loosely translated: User Needs First) is an active community by and for professionals. All of us are deeply committed to inclusive and accessible governmental services and communications. We focus on several topics that you can read more about on our About User Needs First page.
International Conference 2025
We’re organizing an international conference in April 2025 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for anyone working on better government services. Will we see you there?
Read all about the conference Register straight awayNews
The Digital Agenda of Espoo: promoting the human centric and sustainable digital services of the future
Digital services are having an increasingly larger impact on cities worldwide. The city of Espoo, Finland is no exception in that regard. Their digital agenda and how it puts user needs at the centre of these services, is something we can all learn from.
Communicity: technological solutions for marginzalized groups
CommuniCity is a transformative citizen-centred EU funded project. It contains around 100 innovative Tech Pilots in Europe in urban and peri-urban areas to empower marginalised communities. Project manager Adeeb Sidani tells us more.
Involving users in policy making, the story of Talk London
Talk London made an impression during the UserCentriCities summit in Brussels in 2023. The digital engagement platform was listed in the top 3 of most user-centric services in Europe. Greater London Authority’s Kate Lindemans and Selina Holliday tell us more about the platform and its development over the years.
Addressing the digital gender gap in Emilia-Romagna
Michela De Biasio and Barbara Santi are working on addressing the digital gender gap in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, one of the challenges identified in Emilia-Romagna’s Digital Valley Common Good strategy. They aim to set an example and inspire other Italian regions, and even countries.
User-centricity: learning from Catalonia Digital Services Guide
Carme Rodríguez- Pàmias tells us more about The Digital Services Guide and the user-centricity projects Catalonia has been working on.
How the City of Tallinn uses digital twins
During the UserCentriCities summit in May 2023, it once again became apparent that Estonia is at the forefront of digitalization. Something that can also be seen in Tallin’s efforts related to urban and city planning with digital twins. Christopher Raitviir shares the details of Tallin’s smart city approach.
Events
User Needs First International Conference 2025
In 2025, we are hosting a multi-day and international event: User Needs First International Conference 2025! The event will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th of April 2025. There is also a pre-conference day on Wednesday the 9th, for visitors from outside the Netherlands. Will we see you there?
Field trip to City of Rotterdam for UCC members
We are excited to announce a live meetup for UCC members in Rotterdam on April 9! In this expedition, we will discuss challenges (and opportunities!) in designing user centric government services in the 21st century. This expedition is part of the User Needs First International Conference taking place from the 9th till the 11th of April. Ready to catch up?
UCC Café May
During a UCC Café, UCC community members exchange ideas and knowledge on user-centric governmental services based on examples in practice. The goal is to inspire each other and learn from each other with presentations on cases from members.