E-government is not known for its progressive approach to the design of e-services. An action design research approach is taken for the development of a tool for helping e-service designers work in an innovative way. The theoretical grounding is in open service innovation, service-dominant logic and service design, and the research was conducted with the help of local government prac-titioners in Sweden. The resulting tool is an adaptation of the well-known business model canvas – the innovative digital service canvas. Other contributions include an approach to design science incorporating theory-based design principles, and the design principles themselves.