3 Principles

Nine core principles that are followed by GovStack building block architecture and subsequent digital service components.

High-Level Government Architecture Principles and Recommendations

This page outlines preliminary principles and recommendations to guide the design, development and evolution of digital government systems utilizing GovStack. These principles support consistency, scalability, interoperability, and long-term sustainability across services and institutions.

3.1 Openness and Neutrality Principle

GovStack specifications, guides, documentation and any other published materials are intended to be open source. Works are published under Open Source Apache 2.0.

Open source is not required for GovStack compliant software and related solutions in whole or in parts. However open source is highly recommended to be preferred by governments to avoid vendor lock-in.

Software development is recommended to follow guides published at https://standard.publiccode.net/

Architecture must allow for multiple technology choices, avoiding vendor or platform lock-in. Standards should focus on interfaces and functionalities, not implementations.

3.2 Modular and Flexible Architecture Principle

Government systems should be composed of loosely coupled modules or building blocks that can be developed, maintained, and replaced independently. This supports reuse, flexibility, and faster time to market.

GovStack is rooted in the concept that Building Blocks should be re-usable and configurable, such that they can support multiple use cases with minimal effort

3.3 Interoperability Principle

Systems must be built to integrate and communicate efficiently through standard APIs and data exchange formats. Interoperability ensures that services can work together across institutions and levels of government.

All services and capabilities must be accessible via documented and discoverable APIs. Internal and external consumers should be able to integrate without direct coupling to implementation details.

3.4 Sustainability and Robustness Principle

Any Building Blocks should be developed in a manner which is sustainable and ensures that the technology will continue to be updated and maintained.

Deployments of Building Blocks should follow these considerations:

• Any client-facing functionality should operate in low-resource environments:

  • Occasional power

  • Low bandwidth

  • Low-reliability connectivity

• Easily scalable for high availability and reliability

• Eventual consistency for data to be considered in design

Technical debt should be actively managed using automation, refactoring, and proactive maintenance strategies.

3.5 Security and Privacy Principle

Security, identity, and privacy protections must be built-in at every layer, not bolted on as afterthoughts.

With any technology deployment, security is paramount. Detailed security requirements are defined further under 6 Cross-Functional Requirements.

Building Blocks are expected to have the following attributes:

• Building Blocks are audited and certified before being made available

• Development processes and standards enforce quality and security

• Different certification levels reflect level of standards-compliance

• Regular security scanning and auditing

• Public ratings and reviews

• Comprehensive logging and exception handling

3.6 Data Ownership and Portability Principle

Citizens and institutions have clarity and control over the data they own or manage. Data is portable and reusable, avoiding unnecessary silos and ensuring sovereignty, transparency, and accountability.

3.7 User-Centered Design Principle

Architectural decisions must consider usability, accessibility, and inclusiveness across different user groups and delivery channels. Both for the citizen as well as the government employee.

The best tools evolve from empathizing, understanding and designing for the needs of end-users. Accordingly, we’ve identified a series of use cases and user journeys here: GovStack Use Cases

Each use case is composed of a collection of modules, or building blocks. As you can see, a relatively small set of these building blocks can be readily applied to a wide variety of applications in low-resource settings.

Additionally, the Principles for Digital Development are especially relevant when designing for low resource setting. Refer to https://digitalprinciples.org/ for information on these Principles.

3.8 Observability and Maintainability Principle

Each GovStack Building Block must be designed to be observable and maintainable, enabling operators and developers to monitor health, diagnose issues, and update functionality without disrupting dependent services. Observability and maintainability are essential for the reliability, scalability, and longevity of modular government systems.

3.9 Policy as Code Principle

Wherever feasible, policies, rules, and entitlements should be expressed in machine-readable form, enabling consistency, automation, and transparency across systems.