Tag: Usds

The Future of USDS: Trump, Civic Tech and the Lesson of GDS

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Across Washington, the country, and the world, the assumptions people have about various programs, policies and roles have been radically altered in the last 12 hours with the victory of President-Elect Trump. Many of my students and colleagues have asked me — what does this mean for the future of United States Digital Service and 18F? What should it mean?

This is not the most important question facing the administration. But for those of us in this space the question matters. Intensely. And we need a response. USDS and 18F improve how Americans interact with their government while saving significant amounts of money. Democrats and Republicans may disagree over the size of government, but there is often less disagreement over whether a service should be effectively and efficiently delivered. Few in either party believe a veteran should confront a maze of forms or confusing webpages to receive a service. And, the fact is, massive IT failures do not have a party preference. They have and will continue to burn any government without a clear approach of how to address them.

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To Fix Government Tech, Take Off the Headphones and Listen

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USDS staffers Marianne Bellotti, Sabrina Williams, and David Chang on the steps of the USDS “Townhouse” HQ.

The US government is famously slow and bureaucratic, but when it comes to digital transformation, the Feds have outdone themselves. Case in point is healthcare.gov — the original government solution for identity management cost $200 million to build and would have cost $70 million to run each year. Of course, it failed spectacularly — until a small group of Valley engineers recruited by the President re-built the site for just $4mm.

But while it’s easy to poke fun at our government, it’s also the single most impactful organization in our economy — with millions of employees and services that directly and sometimes dramatically impact hundreds of millions of Americans.

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