Service Canada Labs: Testing ideas for better services
Building and delivering better digital services means putting people at the centre of what we do. We’re dedicated to putting people at the centre of government services. One of the best examples of this commitment is Service Canada Labs (SC Labs), an Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) initiative.
Service Canada Labs is an experimental space where people in Canada can test new features, services, and projects in development. This platform invites feedback from the public during early development stages, supporting our mission to design client-centered digital solutions.
In this post, Rosanne Li, Business Strategies Consultant at Service Canada Labs shares how the team is working to design and deliver better services and benefits for people across Canada.
What is Service Canada Labs?
Service Canada Labs provides a unique opportunity for people in Canada to help shape digital government projects. By involving the public early on, it helps ensure projects meet real needs and avoid common pitfalls like low adoption rates or usability issues. “We’ve often seen government projects launch only to discover they didn’t meet user needs or were too difficult to use,” Rosanne explains. Service Canada Labs tackles these challenges by fostering a culture of testing and feedback, building trust, and creating services that truly work for people in Canada.
Projects in action
Service Canada Labs typically features projects at various stages of development, from Discovery (defining problems and exploring needs) to Beta (continuous improvement of tools with user feedback), and occasionally projects that are already live.
For example, during the Alpha stage—when draft tools are built and tested to see if they meet user needs—the team evaluates whether a project offers a new or improved digital service or enhances an existing one. One example is the work being done on the Benefits Finder and Employment Insurance (EI) systems, informed by research from the Benefit Delivery Modernization (BDM) team at ESDC. This research incorporates feedback from Indigenous peoples to improve the EI application process, addressing challenges faced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis applicants.
“EI on BDM’s goal is to find issues that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples might face when applying for and managing their EI benefits and work together to solve them,” Rosanne explains.
The new Benefits Finder builds on the current tool by adding search functionality, refined results using filters like life events and topics, and clear benefit summaries.
Some other SC Labs projects include:
- The Old Age Security Benefits Estimator (Beta)
- Digital Standards playbook (Live and currently being updated based on user feedback)
- The new My Service Canada Account dashboard (Live)
- Benefits finder (Beta)
- Transforming EI with Indigenous peoples (Discovery)
Designed with the user in mind
Service Canada Labs is built to involve users every step of the way. Users can test prototypes (when available), provide feedback through surveys, and view updates on projects. These interactions allow public servants to adjust designs in real-time, ensuring services evolve to meet user needs.
While feedback surveys are currently the primary engagement tool, some teams have leveraged SC Labs to conduct usability testing with members of the public. “We’re looking into new ways to collect feedback and engage the public,” Rosanne shares. By empowering users to share their experiences, Service Canada Labs ensures projects align with their needs. This collaborative approach strengthens trust and enhances service delivery.
Project development and testing
User feedback is essential to identifying issues and refining services at every stage of development. Early feedback helps project teams determine if a service meets user needs, preventing resources from being wasted on ineffective solutions. At later stages, feedback ensures projects are as user-friendly as possible.
Based on SC Labs feedback, the Old Age Security Benefits Estimator (OAS BE) team adjusted their priorities to clarify income, show partner results, and display results for younger users who weren’t yet eligible.
Looking ahead
The Government of Canada is committed to transparency and providing user-friendly digital services that put the needs and expectations of people in Canada first. Rosanne sees this as a step in the right direction. “We [Service Canada Labs] are already acting as an accelerator for setting up prototypes to test with the public and will work to bring on projects that are earlier in the development cycle. We are also a cross between a marketing platform and town square in the sense that Canadians discover projects they otherwise may not have been aware of, and can communicate with the teams building them.”
Next steps
People in Canada are invited to make their voice heard by providing feedback on digital projects and let us know when projects aren’t meeting their needs. To learn more about some of the ways the team is modernizing programs like Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, and Canada Pension Plan programs and how Canadians interact with them, check out the SC Labs website and provide feedback on current projects through the survey. SC Labs is continually adding new projects, so be sure to check back regularly for updates on ongoing projects.