Location: United States
-
Procurement The TechFAR Handbook
The TechFAR Handbook highlights the flexibilities in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that can help agencies implement “plays” from the Digital Services Playbook, with a particular focus on how to use contractors to support an iterative, customer-driven software development process.
-
A Better Way to Connect People with the Benefits They Need
Outdated, cumbersome and inefficient government processes have long stymied innovation and prevented people from accessing social services for which they are eligible. BenePhilly has helped more than 110,000 Philadelphians, both in and out the workforce, enroll in assistance programs and has unlocked over $350 million in benefits.
-
Human-Centered Design Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means: Professor Don Moynihan
Professor Don Moynihan discusses how administrative burden is an effective tool to make it difficult for people to access certain types of benefits, noting that this is particularly harmful to communities of color.
-
Human-Centered Design Story-driven experience research on pandemic unemployment
Dana Chisnell describes work leading a team of researchers to interview people from across the US on their experiences applying for unemployment and other benefits during the pandemic.
-
Procurement State Software Budgeting Handbook
Handbook by 18F designed for executives, budget specialists, legislators, and other “non-technical” decision-makers who fund or oversee state government technology projects that receive federal funding and implement the necessary technology to support federal programs. It aids in setting projects up for success by asking the right questions, identifying the right outcomes, and equally important, empowering decision-makers with a basic knowledge of the fundamental principles of modern software design.
-
A Pivotal Moment
Technologists are crucial to help governments, social service providers, and advocacy groups use technology to confront and address the challenges and inequities that inevitably arise from technological change. However, there are not enough technologists working or interested in joining public interest fields to meet growing demand. This report identifies opportunities to build the field of public interest technology, and ways that philanthropy and other stakeholders can invest to best support such efforts.
-
Procurement How the Next Administration Can Use Technology To Prevent Another Unemployment Insurance Meltdown
Clearing applicant backlogs is an important solution to the UI crisis. State governments and federal agencies could facilitate access to public benefits by collaborating to develop interoperable technology platforms that use open source software and modular design. Panelists discuss opportunities to prevent future UI crises by reimagining how governments deliver benefits to their citizens.
-
How Well Insured are Job Losers? Efficacy of the Public Safety Net
An extensive literature in economics documents large and persistent declines in earnings following involuntary job loss. Though Unemployment Insurance provides the largest buffer against lost income, due to the structure of the program, the neediest are less-well insured (in terms of dollars transferred and percentage of lost earnings replaced) compared to middle and higher income job losers. This has important implications in light of the historic number of job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021
A bill proposed by Senator Wyden to modernize the technology for delivering unemployment compensation.
-
Policy National Unemployment Data Dashboard
This dashboard highlights key performance indicators for UI systems nationwide, including how they perform during the current economic crisis, the impact of the CARES Act benefits expiring, the timeline for which benefits are delivered, demographics of benefits recipients, and total benefits payments.
-
Human-Centered Design To reimagine unemployment insurance services, start small
Building modular, open-source, human-centered software is necessary to create equitable government services fit for the digital age. Nava emphasizes addressing large scale digital service challenges by building and releasing small, modular software components that are loosely-coupled by well-defined APIs. This enables agencies to quickly and conistently deliver services that help people immediately, whilst also building a flexible foundation for long-term technical evolution.
-
Diversity, Equity + Inclusion A Bold Policy Agenda for Work-Family Justice and Gender Equity During COVID-19 and Beyond
New America spoke to to the people at the frontlines of the pandemic—professional caregivers, family caregivers, parents, and essential workers—to understand the policy interventions people need most. This report discusses ideas for policymakers, private sector leaders, and community innovators to use in pursuit of work-family justice and equity across race, gender, and class.