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Summary
For our second gathering of the Civic Design Community, we’ll learn from Jennifer Pahlka, founder and former Executive Director of Code for America who served. as US Deputy Chief Technology Officer from June 2013 to June 2014 and helped found the United States Digital Service. We’ll explore the importance of designers inside and outside government moving upstream to work alongside policymakers to make alliances and push back when needed to strengthen conditions for designers and digital technologists to do work that delivers improved outcomes for residents and citizens.
Key Insights
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Code for America started as a fellowship bringing private sector talent into government with an emphasis on practical technology and design solutions.
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Early projects like Boston’s school selection website revealed that implementation often surfaces flaws in policy that require upstream changes.
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An agile feedback loop integrating policy makers, designers, and implementers is essential for meaningful government service improvements.
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Large, legacy government projects typically suffer from long delays between policy writing and implementation, reducing responsiveness and trust.
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The Quality Payment Program at CMS illustrates how digital transformation success depends heavily on effective collaboration between career public servants and design/tech partners.
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Many government public servants want to do user research but lack empowerment or training, making capacity-building vital.
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Long-term engagement of designers and technologists within government yields deeper learning and more sustainable change than short-term fellowships alone.
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Bridging cultural differences inside government, such as norms around meetings, is crucial for productive partnerships.
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Criminal record clearing projects demonstrate how laws need to be written with implementation and automation in mind to achieve real impact.
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Storytelling targeted at public servants themselves is the most effective way to promote Civic design adoption and support systemic change.
Notable Quotes
"I’m not a tech or design person; I’m more of a cheerleader for the role of tech and design in government."
"When we made that Boston school selection website, we found the walking distance policy didn’t actually match geography and had to go back and change the policy."
"Good tech and design people need to be at the table not just implementing policy but helping shape it."
"Healthcare.gov was a blow that opened eyes about how government tech projects needed to change fundamentally."
"There’s a story of a government leader who said if he was told to build a concrete boat, he would do exactly that, which is damaging to government trust."
"Doctors using the Quality Payment Program portal were so frustrated they were quitting or considering quitting Medicare due to complex and opaque systems."
"Career public servants wanted to do user research but needed permission and training to do it effectively."
"Long-term presence inside government is necessary because we learn far more in five years than in five months."
"We need to help legislators write laws that are implementable and automatable or risk no real impact despite good intentions."
"Community and relationships matter as much as craft when working in government; you must have a phone-a-friend for tough times."
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