“As the Biden years begin, there are hopeful signs that the new administration is serious about using technology to streamline the work of the government. The U.S. Digital Service and 18F—tech-forward “startups” that formed within the government during the Obama years—may get renewed attention and funding. While those groups were successful within government agencies, much work needs to be done to better coordinate federal programs with states and counties, work that was largely ignored during the Trump years.
Code for America CEO Amanda Renteria hopes the new administration will put in place the people and technology needed for that kind of coordination. Renteria, who was once the political director for Hillary Clinton, has a uniquely clear view on the subject. Code for America has used technology and the principles of user-centered design for a decade to help more than 100 state and local government agencies improve the way they deliver services. That work is done by a large volunteer network (25,000 people at any given time) and a more modest full-time staff of 110 researchers, designers, engineers, and government relations people.
I spoke to Renteria to understand how she thinks the Biden administration will approach using technology to improve government, and how the government’s in-house startups could supercharge that process…” Read the full article here.
Source: How Biden is using internal government startups to lure tech talent to DC – By Mark Sullivan, March 9, 2021. Fast Company.
