An independent network for people who build public services with Drupal

Attendees in the front rows of the opening keynote at DrupalCon Prague 2022

Photo: Bram Driesen, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

About GDDN

An independent network, run by and for the people who build public services with Drupal.

Who we are

GDDN started as a handful of council developers swapping notes on the same Drupal problems. Most of us were solving them alone, in parallel, a few miles apart. The network exists so that doesn’t have to happen.

Members work in local councils, central government departments, the NHS, universities, housing associations and charities, and at the agencies and freelancers who build for them. Some write code; many don’t. Content designers, user researchers, delivery managers and accessibility specialists are as much a part of it as developers.

We are not a government body, a supplier framework or a vendor’s user group. GDDN is independent, and it is private: conversations stay among members so people can be honest about what went wrong.

The DrupalCon London group photo: hundreds of attendees filling a theatre
Photo: Drupal Association, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How it’s run

Run by volunteers, accountable to members

A small organising group of volunteer members runs the network. They are elected for a year at a time, and at least half must work directly for a public-sector organisation.

  • Decisions and spending are written up where every member can read them.
  • Sponsors can support events, but they don’t get a seat on the organising group or access to member details.
  • Every membership application is read by a person, to keep the network for people doing public-sector work.
Meet the people who run GDDN

Code of conduct

Everyone in GDDN, online and at events, agrees to this. It is short on purpose.

  1. Be kind and assume good faith. People are often asking because they are under pressure. Answer the question they asked.
  2. No selling. Suppliers are welcome as members and contributors. Pitching your services in threads or direct messages is not.
  3. Keep it in the room. Don’t share what a member said outside the network without asking them first.
  4. Respect the people who use our services. Never post personal data, screenshots with residents' details or anything covered by a confidentiality agreement.
  5. No harassment. That includes unwelcome comments about anyone’s identity, appearance or background, and continuing a conversation someone has asked to stop.

If something worries you, tell any member of the organising group or use the contact form. We will listen, act and keep you informed.

Sound like your kind of place?

Join, introduce yourself, and ask the question you have been sitting on.

Join the community