Key Insights

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  Executive Order 13985, issued January 20, 2021, mandates a whole-of-government transformation to advance equity across multiple priority areas.

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  Customer experience and equity are inseparable; true customer experience requires understanding and addressing diverse barriers.

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  Federal and agency teams operate in complementary but distinct lanes, collaborating through shared learning programs and feedback loops.

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  The equity learning community at the federal level has held 25 virtual sessions and engaged 37 agencies through consultations and office hours.

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  Systems thinking and stakeholder engagement are critical civic design practices used to frame and solve complex government equity challenges.

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  Redistributing power involves actively involving people with lived experiences in co-designing government services to better meet their needs.

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  Building trust requires transparent reciprocity: exchanging information and valuing the time and knowledge of community partners.

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  Using power responsibly means anticipating unintended consequences and focusing interventions where they can be most impactful.

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  Government agencies often lack go-to models for equity assessments; simple starter tools can enable initial progress.

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  Human-centered design in government is evolving as a cultural shift, accelerated by the equity executive order’s mandate and civic design principles.

Notable Quotes