Description: The 2025-2026 mission of the Implementation Playbook Working Group is to co-create a refreshed Playbook with partners and practitioners: expanding content, improving usability, and grounding guidance in real country experiences to support inclusive, interoperable digital transformation.

1. Motivation and Background

Background of landscape, technologies, policies, and relationship to the ecosystem of GovTech, its users, developers, implementers, and industry.

The GovStack Implementation Playbook is a core knowledge product of the GovStack Initiative, created to help governments understand, plan, and implement digital public infrastructure (DPI) using a building-block–based approach. Since its launch, the Playbook has been used in trainings, advisory missions, and country implementations, becoming a practical bridge between GovSpecs, PAERA, and real-world delivery processes.

The broader ecosystem in which the Playbook operates has evolved significantly:

• Landscape & Technologies:
  Governments increasingly rely on modular, interoperable, and open digital components to deliver services. New trends—AI in public administration, cross-border interoperability, security-by-design, and digital trust frameworks—shape how countries design DPI. At the same time, digital building blocks such as digital ID, payments, and data exchange are becoming foundational infrastructure.

• Policies & Strategies:
  International frameworks like the UN Safeguards, and national DPI strategies influence how countries approach GovTech. Policymakers require guidance that is technically sound, implementation-ready, and aligned with emerging standards.

• Ecosystem & Users:
  The Playbook supports a diverse group of actors:
  – Public-sector implementers who design and deliver services;
  – Technical teams and architects who operationalize GovSpecs and PAERA;
  – Developers and system integrators building solutions on top of building blocks;
  – GovTech vendors and industry partners who engage with governments;
  – Civil society and users who assess usability, inclusion, and risks.

As countries digitize at different levels of maturity, the need for consistent guidance, reusable templates, tested methods, and clear implementation steps has grown. The Playbook revision responds to this demand. It ensures that the content remains accurate, up-to-date, and reflective of field experiences from GovStack pilots, regional initiatives, and global digital cooperation efforts.

The working group’s role is to steward this revision, ensure quality and coherence, and integrate inputs from partners, contractors, and external stakeholders.

2. Scope for 2025-2026

What goals are you hoping to achieve for this year? Please use section 4.2 of the Meta-Specification for reference of the types of activities your working group is trying to achieve.

The working group will oversee and co-create the structured revision of the Implementation Playbook between 2025 and Q1 2026. The scope covers both content development and process management.

Core Goals and Deliverables

1. Comprehensive Revision of Existing Playbook Content

   • Review and refine chapter structure, terminology, style, and usability.

   • Ensure alignment with GovSpecs 2.0, PAERA, and updated GovStack messaging.

   • Ensure accessibility, consistency, and clear version documentation.

2. Expansion of Strategic and Operational Chapters

   • Add or expand chapters on:
     – Architecture and design
     – Procurement and vendor management
     – Testing and quality assurance
     – AI in DPI
     – Digital strategy and governance
     – Change management, capacity, and digital leadership

   • Integrate updated tools, templates, and implementation workflows.

3. Integration of Country Examples and Field Evidence

   • Ensure inclusion of practical examples from GovStack pilots, EAC regional work, and other global DPI experiences.

   • Ensure content reflects real operational constraints and digital maturity levels.

4. Stakeholder Consultations and Validatio

   • Capture and integrate feedback systematically through GitBook change requests.

5. Quality Assurance and Terminology Harmonization

   • Align definitions with GovStack’s glossary, PAERA, and technical documentation.

   • Ensure that visuals and diagrams are clear, interoperable with GovSpecs, and open-licensed.

6. Documentation

   • Maintain clear version history.

   • Produce a final consolidated Playbook by Q1 2026 with updated tools, glossary, templates, and references.

2.1 Out of scope

The following features are out of scope, and will not be addressed by this (Working|Interest) group.

3. Deliverables

3.1 Activities and Deliverables

All items within the scope should be associated to activities and deliverables. e.g. if sharing real-world experiences regarding the implementation of specifications, please specify what activities are you planing and how can it be documented.

For Charters where the publication of specifications is expected, please use the following format:

Name of the Specification, version number

Link to proposal document

Link to Draft, if existing

Short description for the specification

Expected completion: YYYY-MM-DD or QX-YYYY

3.2 Timeline

[Rough timeline that details per quarter your activities]

4. Success Criteria

Detail here how you expect to measure the success of your charter.

5. Coordination

Detail here, if applicable, other GovStack Working Groups as well as external organizations you expect to coordinate with to achieve the work describe in this charter.

6. Participation

To be successful, this (Working|Interest) Group is expected to have 6 or more active participants for its duration, [_optional_ including representatives from the key implementors of this specification], [_optional in case of specification work_ and active Editors and Test Leads for each specification].

Facilitators are expected to contribute [validate: _half of a working day per week towards the (Working|Interest) Group]. There is no minimum requirement for other Participants.

The group encourages questions, comments and issues on its public mailing lists and document repositories, as described in Communication.

[_pending adaptation_ The group also welcomes non-Members to contribute technical submissions for consideration upon their agreement to the terms of the W3C Patent Policy.]

Participants in the group are required (by the ​https://govstack-global.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/GH/pages/1036124166) to follow the GovStack’s Code of Conduct.

7. Communication

Technical discussions for this (Working|Interest) Group are conducted in public: the meeting minutes from teleconference and face-to-face meetings will be archived for public review, and technical discussions and issue tracking will be conducted in a manner that can be both read and written to by the general public. Working Drafts and Editor's Drafts of specifications will be developed in public repositories and may permit direct public contribution requests. The meetings themselves are not open to public participation, however.

Information about the group (including details about deliverables, issues, actions, status, participants, and meetings) will be available from the [name] (Working|Interest) Group home page.

Most [name] (Working|Interest) Group teleconferences will focus on discussion of particular specifications, and will be conducted on an as-needed basis.

This group primarily conducts its technical work on the [Slack Channel] for the Group, their [Jira space] and [their Confluence Space]. The public is invited to review, discuss and contribute to this work.

8. Decision Policy

[TBD]

9. Patent Policy

[TBD]

10. Patent Disclosures

[TBD]

11. Licensing

[TBD]

12. About this Charter

1. 12.1 Charter history

2. 12.12 Change Log