Snapshot: Lessons Learned Nationwide

We put a call out to the state and local government community in August 2021. GovLoop Managing Editor Nicole Blake Johnson made this request

We fielded tweets, direct messages and follow-up emails from California and Alaska, to Maryland, Louisville, Kentucky and states and cities in between — a fraction of which are featured in this guide.

Here are three common themes from those conversations:

Center solutions around people.

Knowing whom you’re serving and understanding their pain points, expectations and needs must be central to your problemsolving efforts. Without their perspective, you’ll lack the right focus and miss an opportunity to build trust. Co-create with a community.

Think beyond traditional boundaries. Are there employees outside your immediate team, partner cities or states, nonprofits, and industry experts who can support your vision? But remember, you’re in the driver’s seat. Ask the questions that haven’t been asked.

Sometimes it’s not solely the tech or policies that limit us, but rather our inability to consider what’s possible beyond current boundaries. Don’t be afraid or too hurried to stop and ask “what if.”

With these themes in mind, let’s review the innovations you’ll see in this guide. Pennsylvania (U.S. Digital Response): Created a no-code solution to help people understand their unemployment benefits year-end process. Michigan (Civilla): Reduced the public benefits enrollment process in Michigan from a standard of 30 to 45 days down to as fast as one day.

Louisville: Smoothly supported transition to distributed teams and the city’s strategic priorities by accelerating its paper-free by 2023 initiative. Colorado: Launched app-based COVID-19 exposure notifications for residents using Bluetooth technology.

General Services Administration’s 18F (state and local practice): Helped prototype and procure digital services for state and local governments to serve the public.