Get Involved
Get involved with the Digital Government Network by subscribing, joining a community of practice, engaging with an interest area, participating in research, or attending events.
The Digital Government Network (DGN) empowers governments to use human-centered strategies to design and deliver digital government services that are accessible, effective, and equitable—ensuring they meet people’s needs and expand economic opportunity.
There are several ways to engage with the DGN:
- Monthly Newsletters
- Communities of Practice
- Interest Areas
- Research & Storytelling
- Events
- Contact Us
- About Us
All network activities adhere to our Beeck Center Network Community Norms & Code of Conduct.
Monthly Newsletter
Digital Government Newsletter
The Digital Government Newsletter is a monthly update for practitioners working across public benefits and digital service delivery. It highlights the people driving digital change, shares the latest stories and research from the Digital Government Network, and keeps you informed about new resources on the Digital Government Hub. Each issue includes opportunities to engage with network work, upcoming events, and relevant job openings.
Visit our archive for past issues of the Digital Benefits Digest and the Digital Benefits in the News newsletters.
Communities of Practice
Communities of Practice (CoP) are groups of individuals who come together through shared goals or passions to improve practices and outcomes by interacting and supporting each other. These learning communities collaborate to address challenges in their field and problem solve by sharing best practices and cultivating new knowledge to improve practices and outcomes within their context. We believe that CoPs are powerful tools in driving digital transformation and improvement in government service delivery, as well as supporting the humans leading that change.
State Chief Data Officer (CDO) Network
The State Chief Data Officer (CDO) network is a closed group designated for the top appointed data official in U.S. states. This community is not open to people working for private companies or on government contracts.
Chief Digital Service Officer Community of Practice (CDSO)
The Chief Digital Service Officer Community of Practice (CDSO CoP) is a closed group designated for leaders of government digital service teams from across North America. This community is not open to people working for private companies or on government contracts.
Interest Areas
The Digital Government Network offers additional opportunities to engage on select topics. These spaces are for practitioners who want to learn, share, and collaborate on these topics. They allow you to connect with peers, exchange resources, and stay informed about relevant discussions and opportunities. All members are able to join a Google Group for the select topic(s). Government practitioners will also be sent an invitation to join a closed Slack space. All members will receive guidance on our communications norms and the different ways to engage.
Digital Identity (DI)
The DI interest area focuses on the delivery of public benefits to all eligible individuals, including vulnerable populations by informing how digital identity approaches should be used in public benefits delivery. We build toward our mission by bringing together stakeholders with varying levels of familiarity with digital identity.
Rules as Code (RaC)
The RaC interest area creates a shared learning and exchange space for people working on public benefits eligibility and enrollment systems — and specifically people tackling the issue of how policy becomes software code. We bring together cross-sector experts who share approaches, examples, and challenges.
User Experience Research (UX)
The UX interest area is an open and safe space for learning and connecting with others in government for support, inspiration, and ideas for bringing and strengthening user research within government. This community is not open to people working for private companies or on government contracts.
Subscribe & Join
By subscribing to the DGN, you’ll join our network and get notified of new events, research, engagement opportunities, and will receive our monthly newsletters.
Research & Storytelling
The DGN regularly publishes original research and storytelling publications. Explore all of our publications.
The State of State Digital Transformation
Explore The State of State Digital Transformation—your gateway to the Beeck Center’s landscape research into how states are modernizing government operations and services. This interactive map gives public servants, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers a faster, clearer way to glean insights from our research into the policies, teams, tools, and tactics shaping state digital transformation today.
Digital Doorways to Public Benefits: Beneficiary Experiences with Digital Identity
Led by the Digital Benefits Network in partnership with Public Policy Lab, the Digital Doorways research project amplifies the lived experiences of beneficiaries to provide new insights into people’s experiences with digital identity processes and technology in public benefits. This report details the project’s findings, directly highlighting the voices of beneficiaries through videos and photos.
AI-Powered Rules as Code: Experiments with Public Benefits Policy
This report documents four experiments exploring if AI can be used to expedite the translation of SNAP and Medicaid policies into software code for implementation in public benefits eligibility and enrollment systems under a Rules as Code approach.
Government Digital Service Team Tracker
The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation’s Digital Service Network (DSN) maintains a Government Digital Service Team Tracker: a living database for those seeking to learn more about the locations, structures, mandates, and more of government digital service teams across the United States.
The 2025 State Chief Data Officer Survey: Insights from the field
A nationwide survey capturing how state chief data officers are structured, resourced, and operating, and how the role is evolving to support data-driven government.
Implementing Benefits Eligibility + Enrollment Systems: A Review of State Practices
A collaborative research project to understand first-hand experiences of members of the public who use digital identity systems as they apply for and access public benefits.
Events
The DGN regularly hosts events and promote events from across the ecosystem. Subscribe to get notified about upcoming events and explore past event recordings and recaps.
BenCon
The DGN hosts the annual Digital Benefits Conference — “BenCon” for short — the premier, invite-only event for government leaders, cross-sector practitioners, researchers, and students who are improving digital delivery of vital programs including SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, TANF, unemployment insurance, child care, basic income, and more. Core themes of the 2024 conference included improving digital service delivery, digital identity, automation and artificial intelligence, and timely topics in public benefits.
FormFest
The DGN hosts the annual “FormFest” virtual event — an international showcase of governments working to promote equity, leverage research to optimize, and make services accessible to everyone through forms.
Contact Us
We’re here to help! If you have questions, needs for support, or ideas, we’d love to connect with you! Email us at digitalgovhub@georgetown.edu to get connected.
Please note: References to the Digital Benefits Network (DBN), Digital Service Network (DSN), and State Chief Data Officers Network (CDO) on the Digital Government Hub or Beeck Center websites and materials reflect legacy naming. These efforts have been unified as the Digital Government Network (DGN), where you can now find the same high-quality information, engagement opportunities, and practitioner support in one place.