115m
signatures collected to date from over 29,000 petitions
10
weeks from kick off to live launch
The Petitions platform needs to be easy for the public to use while also handling a high volume of requests of daily email sends. These could be anywhere from 150,000 on most days to 500,000 at busy times. A petition with a large public following could attract over 1 million signatures.
We wanted to streamline the user experience through a simple submission flow, using Government Digital Service (GDS) practices.
Pete Herlihy | Product Owner, GDS
“We managed a complete service redesign and rebuild, changed hosting provider, gained security accreditation, and launched the UK’s new Petitions service - all in just 10 weeks."
Following a report on improving public engagement in politics, the UK Government wanted to make it easier for people to launch a petition online.
In the UK, public petitions with 100,000 signatures are considered for debate in Parliament. GDS partnered with Unboxed to redesign and relaunch the legacy e-Petitions as a new platform, better able to meet user needs.
We understood the system as we had been involved in the development of e-Petitions, but needed to update it to meet modern user expectations of a digital experience.
We took an agile approach in response to emerging needs. By focusing on minimum viability and testing frequently, we gave the team a product that worked at every stage, iterating new features quickly.
Our work made it much easier for the public to engage directly with Parliament. For the first time, the public could digitally petition Parliament Committee to consider topics that might never have been raised or debated.
Petitions cover all sorts of topics, from online abuse to animal welfare to mental health in education.
The platform also makes it easier to gather support through social media and gain wider media coverage.
Unboxed went on to build and support online Petitions for the State of Jersey, Wales and Scotland.
300+
petitions debated in Parliament
up to 300k
signatures submitted and processed per hour
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