When the OPAL3 team met in October, one theme cut through every conversation:

in the public sector, trust is the product.

Civic leaders don’t use OPAL3 just to report numbers. They use it to demonstrate integrity, progress, and accountability to their communities. That’s a serious responsibility.

So as we plan OPAL3’s next phase, our guiding question isn’t “how can we add more features?”
It’s “how do we help people trust what they see?”

1. Improving Clarity Through Design

The first way we’re building trust is through simplicity.

As part of our Angular migration, we’re reworking how dashboards and reports are structured so that key information feels effortless to find and interpret.

When information reads clearly, loads quickly, and follows a logical flow, users judge it as more reliable. The new interface is being shaped with that behavioural insight in mind:
fewer clicks, clearer context, faster performance.

2. Provenance and Accountability

Every number in OPAL3 already has an owner and a source. We’re taking that a step further.

The upcoming AI Text Assist feature will generate summaries and report drafts, but each one will include a visible “why” trail: the exact data it drew from, when it was last updated, and where it came from.

There’s no mystery algorithm and no “magic” insight. Just faster, traceable work that users can review and edit with confidence.

3. Human-First AI

AI came up often over the weekend, not as a buzzword but as a tool that must earn its place.

Our stance is simple: humans stay in charge.
AI will never publish on its own. It can suggest, summarise, or forecast, but a person will always approve the final output.

That’s the balance we believe public organisations deserve: smarter tools that enhance judgment, not replace it.

4. Reliable Foundations

Trust isn’t only about visible features. It’s also about the infrastructure underneath.

The Angular migration is more than a facelift; it’s a performance rebuild that will make OPAL3 faster, more secure, and easier to extend. It’s the kind of invisible work that makes visible results possible.

Looking Ahead

Over the next year, you’ll start to see:

• The refreshed OPAL3 interface as Angular components roll out.

• Early access to AI Text Assist (alongside the familiar “copy last” icon).

• Design work beginning on AI Query Builder, the next step toward OPAL3 Insights.

Each change serves one goal: to make OPAL3 the most trusted, transparent, and usable reporting platform in government.

Because in our world, trust isn’t a marketing line. It’s a product philosophy.