See how digital government fits together.
Digital transformation involves people, institutions, services, technology, and decisions. This explorer shows how the ideas in EDT's guidance connect—and helps you follow those relationships to the original material. Visit the EDT website ↗
From organized words to connected knowledge
We started with EDT’s published guidance. First we agreed on the words and categories used to describe it. Then we recorded the meaningful links between ideas. Finally, we made those links something you can explore here.
- Controlled vocabularyAgree on terms for ideas such as registries, credentials and interoperability.
- Taxonomy and thesaurusArrange terms into EDT’s seven topic categories and any useful broader/narrower hierarchies; add synonyms, acronyms and related terms. See the Taxonomy Glossary →
- OntologyDescribe what kinds of things those terms refer to—and how they work together. For example, a digital wallet stores a digital credential; that is more specific than simply saying the two topics are related.
- Knowledge graphRecord those concrete relationships between actual EDT ideas, with references to supporting material. The ontology gives the graph its meaning; the graph gives examples of the ontology in use.
- Ontology Explorer — this pageThis is the interactive window onto the graph. Select one concept to follow its relationships, or zoom out to see the wider network. The full evidence collection is larger than any one drawing.
Key terms to know
Ontology: the rules of the map
An ontology is a shared way of describing things and the kinds of relationships they can have. For example, a wallet can store a credential. A public service might require a capability.
Knowledge graph: the connected knowledge
A knowledge graph puts real subjects and their relationships into that model. Here, those relationships come from EDT guidance and have links back to their source material.
Ontology Explorer: this tool you are using
You are using the Ontology Explorer now. Choose a concept, follow its relationships, and inspect original EDT sources. Switch to the full network for a broader picture.
Concept: one thing in the map
A concept is anything represented here, such as a government service, digital credential, institution or technology.
Relationship: how two concepts relate
A relationship links two concepts and tells you how they interact—for example, “stores”, “provides to” or “controlled by”. Each link has a direction.
Why two network views?
The curated overview is easier to explore. The complete approved core shows more concepts and relationships. The original EDT publications contain even more detailed evidence.
Explore a concept
Best when you have a particular subject in mind. Start with one and follow its relationships without a crowded screen.
Full network
Start with a curated overview or switch to all 666 approved core concepts. Zoom, pan, filter and select any concept to inspect it.
Relationship and concept types
Read plain-language definitions of every relationship type and concept type, with multiple real examples from the graph.
How this helps AI work with EDT
An AI system can search EDT pages using ordinary text alone. Structured knowledge gives it additional ways to find the right material, make sense of it and show where an answer comes from.
Synonyms and acronyms help AI match questions to EDT topics, even when people use different terms.
Rather than finding pages that happen to share a keyword, AI can follow connections such as a task requires a capability or a wallet stores a credential.
With links to supporting EDT passages, AI can assemble evidence when explaining a topic or helping draft a plan, policy or RFP—and flag where evidence is missing.
This Explorer uses a curated overview for clarity, with the full approved core available in the network and reference pages. Detailed source-specific claims remain in EDT’s evidence system. Open the original EDT material when making technical or policy decisions.
Explore a concept
A concept is one thing represented in this map, such as a service, registry, role or capability. Choose a concept to see its relationships.
Select a concept to explore it. Select a relationship label to find out what it means. The right-hand panel includes all relationships, not just those on screen.
The knowledge network
Switch between a readable 148-concept overview and the complete approved core graph of 666 concepts. These are two views of the same evidence-based model; the deeper source-specific knowledge contains thousands of additional claims. Colors indicate the source-defined concept type, not importance. Lines are recorded relationships; circles that appear near each other are not necessarily related. The visual arrangement groups concepts for legibility; only a drawn line establishes a recorded relationship.
Relationship and concept types
A concept is a thing in the map; a relationship describes how two concepts are linked. Here you can learn the kinds of relationships and concept types, then browse where they occur.
Relationship types
A relationship type is a reusable way to describe how two concepts relate. The same type can appear in many different parts of the graph. Select one to see every example in the chosen graph layer.
Concept types
A concept type tells you what kind of thing a concept is—for example, a service, a role, a document or a technical component. Related technical types are grouped below, while their original classifications are preserved.