The GOV Reuse Library turns one: lessons from a year of growing reuse

Theme: Share and reuse

Across government we often build things that already exist. Not intentionally, but because they are hard to discover. 

The GOV Reuse Library was created to surface reusable elements across departments and make reuse easier. 

One year on, we reflect on what we’ve learned from growing the library and building a cross-government reuse community around it. This talk shares lessons from expanding the library, exploring how AI might improve discoverability, and beginning to build an economic case for reuse. It’s a story about what it really takes to make reuse work across government.

Participant takeaways:

• insight into why reuse remains difficult across large organisations

• lessons from the first year of building and growing the GOV Reuse Library

• a clearer understanding of how discoverability and confidence influence reuse

• examples of how collaboration, experimentation and emerging technology can support reuse at scale

• how to get involved with the library and the community we’re building