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About GDDN

A network for the people who build public services on Drupal.

Developers, designers and product people across government, sharing what works so nobody builds the same thing twice.

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The keynote audience at DrupalCon Prague 2022
Photo: Bram Driesen, CC BY-SA 2.0
01 Our mission

Better public services, built together.

Hundreds of public sector organisations run their websites and services on Drupal. Most of them face the same problems: accessible forms, content migrations, security patches, search that works, and never quite enough people.

GDDN exists so those teams can solve each problem once, together. We connect the people doing the work, give them a safe place to ask questions, and help good ideas grow into shared products that any organisation can pick up.

“To connect, support and empower Drupal professionals across government and the public sector.”

Our founding statement
02 Our values

What we believe.

  1. Build once, reuse everywhere

    If one council has solved it, no other council should have to pay to solve it again. We share code, patterns and lessons by default.

  2. Work in the open

    We talk in public threads, not private inboxes, so the answer helps everyone who looks for it later.

  3. Users first, then technology

    Drupal is how we deliver. What matters is the resident renewing a permit at 11pm on a phone.

  4. Generous and kind

    Everyone was new once. We assume good intent, give credit, and make it easy to ask a question you think is basic.

  5. Accessible by default

    Public services have to work for everyone, and so does this community. Accessibility is part of how we judge quality.

  6. Vendor neutral

    Suppliers are welcome as partners, but GDDN is run by and for public servants. Nobody sells from the stage here.

03 How GDDN is run

By members, for members.

GDDN is not a company and doesn't sell anything. It's a network of people who give some of their working time, with their employers' support, because sharing makes all of our jobs easier.

The closing session of DrupalCamp 2012, with a guitar
Photo: Ayaita, CC BY-SA 3.0

  1. Steering group

    Seven members from different organisations and countries set priorities and look after the budget, which is mostly event venues. Anyone can stand at the annual meetup, and the term is two years.

  2. Moderators

    Volunteers approve applications, look after discussions and handle reports under the code of conduct. Their names are public, and they don't moderate threads they're part of.

  3. Working groups

    Any member can propose a working group. Each one has two leads and works in the open, and it is closed when it has done its job.

04 Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Who can join GDDN?
Anyone who works on Drupal for a public sector organisation: central and local government, health, education, arm's-length bodies and agencies. That includes developers, designers, content people, product managers and service owners. You'll need a government or public sector email address to apply.
I work for a supplier. Can I join?
Not as a full member right now. Members can invite supplier colleagues into specific projects and working groups, and many of our events are open to everyone. We keep core membership to public servants so conversations stay candid.
Does it cost anything?
No. GDDN is free for members and always will be. Volunteers from member organisations run it, and members donate their time to events and shared projects.
How long does approval take?
Usually less than one working day. A volunteer reads each application to check it comes from a real public sector role. If we need more information we'll email you.
Can I share code from GDDN projects in my organisation?
Yes, that's the point. Shared projects use open source licences (usually GPL-2.0-or-later, to match Drupal). Check the licence on each repository before you reuse it.
Is GDDN only for the UK?
No. We started with UK local government but now have members across the UK, Ireland, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Discussions are in English and events are spread across time zones.
How do I report a problem or a post?
Use the report option on any discussion, reply or profile. A moderator will review it, usually within a day. For anything urgent, email conduct@gddn.gov.

05 · Code of conduct

How we treat each other.

Everyone who takes part in GDDN, online or at events, agrees to this code. It is based on the Drupal community's Code of Conduct and the Contributor Covenant.

We expect you to

  • Be kind and patient, especially with people who are new.
  • Respect different experience, roles, organisations and countries.
  • Criticise ideas and code, not people.
  • Credit other people's work and ideas.
  • Keep anything shared with you in confidence private, including security issues.

We don't accept

  • Harassment, discrimination or personal attacks of any kind.
  • Sales pitches, recruitment spam or unsolicited marketing.
  • Sharing personal data, or details of unpatched vulnerabilities, in public threads.
  • Posting on behalf of your organisation without permission.

If something goes wrong: use the report option on any post, or email conduct@gddn.gov. Moderators respond within one working day. Depending on what happened they may give a warning, remove content, or suspend the account.

06 Accessibility statement

This site is for everyone.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use GDDN. We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA, and we test with keyboards, screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver and JAWS) and browser zoom up to 400%.

Built-in accessibility controls

Every page has an Accessibility button in the strip at the very top. You can use it to:

  • make text larger without breaking the layout
  • switch to a high contrast colour scheme
  • use a dyslexia-friendly font (Atkinson Hyperlegible) with wider spacing
  • turn off animation (we also follow your device's reduced motion setting)

Your choices are saved in your browser and apply as soon as a page loads.

What we know isn't perfect yet

  • Some older content written by members may have images without alternative text.
  • Code samples in discussions are not always announced clearly by every screen reader.

Tell us about a problem

If you find something hard to use, email accessibility@gddn.gov or post in the Accessibility category. We reply within 5 working days. We last reviewed this statement in October 2026.

07 Privacy notice

Your data, plainly explained.

What we collect

Your name, work email, organisation, role and the reason you gave for joining. We also store anything you choose to post or add to your profile, and when you were last active.

Why we collect it

To check you're eligible, to run the community, and to show other members who they're talking to. If you sign up for the digest, we use your email to send it, and nothing else.

What we never do

Sell or share your data, use advertising trackers, or show your email address to other members. We only use cookies to keep you signed in and to remember your display settings.

You can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, or delete your account at any time by emailing privacy@gddn.gov. We delete accounts that have been inactive for three years, after warning you first.

08 Photo credits

The photographs on this site

All are real photographs from Drupal community events, shared under open licences on Wikimedia Commons. None are AI-generated.