# It’s OK for departments to have their own design system

> Rather than take a central versus federal view, I think we should look upon the GOV.‌UK Design System as a common resource, and it should be shaped by a community of peers.

> Last updated: 2024-10-18

There’s been a lot of talk about whether departments in UK government should have their own design system recently. I think it’s fine.

Rob McCarthy wrote a post about [why MOJ has its own design system](https://medium.com/share-reuse/why-do-we-need-a-design-system-dd15ca8b2361) which kicked off [a flurry of commentary on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/benholliday.com/post/3l5wwgfbska2u). I met Rob early this year to talk about a ‘design systems assembly’, where the GOV.‌UK Design System team could gather with [all the other design system teams in UK government](https://github.com/ctdesign/gov-design-systems-list). 

Rather than take a central versus federal view, I think we should look upon the GOV.‌UK Design System as a common resource, and it should be shaped by a community of peers. The GOV.‌UK Design System was borne out of community, and I’d argue that’s what can sustain it.

Yesterday I gave a talk about [common direction and boring magic for NL Design Systems Week 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xhZnqF6dc8) which touches on community, network effects and how Elinor Ostrom’s rules for managing a commons apply to a design system.

It’d be great to see more people blogging or speaking about this, rather than short-form takes on social media. Please contribute to the conversation and send links when you’ve got them, I’d love to take it all in!