As of 01 April 2026, Open Referral UK (ORUK) officially begins a new chapter under the stewardship of iStandUK. This milestone not only marks a new organisational home, but a timely moment to pause, reflect and introduce the people who will be supporting and guiding ORUK’s work into its next phase.
Following a carefully managed and collaborative transition that began in November 2025, responsibility for ORUK has now fully moved to iStandUK (hosted by Tameside MBC). Over recent months, iStandUK has worked closely behind the scenes with MHCLG Local Digital and TPX Impact to ensure a smooth handover, protecting ORUK’s continuity, and the integrity of its mission.
Meet the Team
With this transition complete, we are delighted to introduce the new team that will be delivering ORUK work day to day under iStandUK:
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Paul Davidson, ORUK Product Owner
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Shelley Heckman, ORUK Programme Manager
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Nicholas Oughtibridge, ORUK Standards Specialist
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Craig Wilkins, ORUK Operations Manager
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Russell Bloore, ORUK Technical Specialist
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Michelle Kern, ORUK Partnership Office Manager
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Mevish Khalid, Comms & Social Media Manager
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Mike Thacker, Technical & Standards Advisor
What This New Team Will Be Doing
With the new team now in place, ORUK is entering a phase focused on delivery, adoption and impact. While ORUK’s early years were centred on developing the standard and creating the tools and foundations needed to support its use, the priority now shifts towards helping organisations put ORUK into practice.
This is where iStandUK brings proven expertise and new energy. iStandUK has a long track record of developing and governing data standards across local public services and crucially, supporting their real‑world adoption. Through programmes like SAVVI, iStandUK has demonstrated its ability to work with councils, national bodies, suppliers and community groups to turn standards into practical improvements in how services operate and collaborate.
For the next few months, we’ll be focusing on strengthening the technical stability of the newly transitioned ORUK standard and getting everything in place for a full period of incubation under iStandUK. This preparation phase will allow us to ensure the foundations are solid before we begin wider outreach and engagement from October onwards.
From that point, the new ORUK team will concentrate on:
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Taking ORUK out to the sector
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Supporting implementation in practice
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Accelerating adoption
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Strengthening interoperability across services
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Deepening relationships and growing the ORUK community
Together, this team will help ORUK move from strong foundations to widespread adoption, ensuring that high‑quality, consistent, standards‑based service information becomes normal practice across the UK. This next phase is about turning the promise of ORUK into everyday impact, and the new team is ready to lead that journey.
We are looking forward to sharing updates, introducing the team in more detail and working closely with partners old and new. Stay up to date with the latest from ORUK by signing up to the mailing list.