Rufus Leonard helps the OGC deliver value for money to the tax payer

07 August 2006

The OGC (Office of Government Commerce) has unveiled its new website, designed, built and supported by Rufus Leonard (see the site at www.ogc.gov.uk ). The comprehensive information and services on the site contribute significantly to fulfilling the OGC’s mission – enabling public service organisations to deliver better value for the tax payer.

The site combines a highly accessible interface with a fresh online brand identity and user-centred information architecture. As well as entirely redesigning the site, rationalising the content and developing a bespoke Content Management System on the RedDot platform, Rufus Leonard also provided the technical infrastructure for the site and comprehensive guidelines to help the OGC develop content on an ongoing basis.

As the independent office of the Treasury responsible for improving efficiency and value for money within the public sector, the OGC needed to set an example with a website that shared its expertise in the most streamlined way possible. Having won the pitch to create the website, Rufus Leonard worked with the OGC to define a new role for its online presence and rationalise existing content.

The idea of ‘accessible expertise’ was the result of Rufus Leonard’s research – a ‘self-service’ approach that makes products and services easily available to customers. This runs through the information architecture, interface design and copy guidelines created by the agency.

Conforming to stringent accessibility standards was also a key part of delivering this solution. All templates conform to level "Double-A" of the W3C WAI WCAG1.0 guidelines and the priority 3 checkpoints that are considered 'UK best practice requirements' in the Guidelines for UK Government websites.

The technical solution for the OGC site, in addition to building the site and backend, was also a large infrastructure project. Rufus Leonard procured the complete hosting solution, including hardware, server security and technical support.