I'm delighted to announce that the State Software Collaborative, that Robin Carnahan and I started in 2020, is growing up and leaving its @beeckcenter.bsky.social nest— @csgovts.bsky.social is taking it on as a major new initiative, building and supporting shared intergovernmental software.
Nominations for the Code for America Innovator Awards and the call for proposals for Code for America Summit both close on Monday! Share your award nominations and proposals by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, November 24, 2025.
https://summit.codeforamerica.org/call-for-proposals/
#CfASummit
NEW: DOGE no longer exists as a "centralized entity," according to the head of the government’s personnel agency --- But the longstanding White House tech team Trump used to house DOGE continues to work on tech projects throughout federal agencies.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Come work for me! I'm hiring at @usdigitalresponse.org—somebody with experience as a government procurement FTE who wants to join me in providing pro bono support to governments in the U.S. who want to move to a user-centered, Agile software procurement approach. Remote, full-time, $145–165k.
🏆 Join us Dec 2 for the Digital Service Champions Awards!
Celebrating government teams & civic tech champions transforming how digital services meet community needs. Free virtual event, 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET
RSVP: usdigitalresponse-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#CivicTech #GovTech #DigitalGovernment
Periodic reminder: I hold weekly open office hours at @usdigitalresponse.org. If you're a government employee in the U.S. with questions about procurement, budgeting, or oversight of custom software, I'm available to talk—there's no catch. That's every Wednesday from 3–4 PM ET (12–1 PT).
42 million Americans, including low-income families, seniors and children are at risk of going hungry as SNAP benefits set to expire November 1. 🥫
As we approach this lapse in funding, state IT offices are already struggling. Learn more 📹⬇️
📰 ➡️ statescoop.com/snap-benefit...
The Recoding America Fund, led in part by Jennifer Pahlka, is looking to build government “radically better — not incrementally better." via @madialder.bsky.social + @colinwood.me fedscoop.com/in-the-age-o...
Our friends at @usdigitalresponse.org are hosting the 2025 Digital Service Champions Awards to recognize folks doing great work in #civictech. Nominations close this Friday, October 10. ⏳
Government awards: usdr.link/champions-government
Individual awards: usdr.link/champions-individual
Sure! I led this project earlier this year, which was based on a great user research effort led by three @usdigitalresponse.org volunteers last summer and fall. Those findings are a good example of how to improve the user experience of reading RFPs.
It's time to recognize those making government work better for everyone. 🚀
Nominations open: Now - Oct 7
Government Awards: usdr.link/champions-go...
Individual Awards: usdr.link/champions-in...
#CivicTech #GovTech
🏆 The 2025 Digital Service Champions Awards are accepting nominations!
We're celebrating government teams & civic tech individuals modernizing digital services. Know someone who:
Built solutions helping multiple jurisdictions?
Delivered impact at lightning speed?
Innovated despite constraints?
To local, state, and tribal governments: Ready to modernize your digital services?
Connect with U.S. Digital Response and let's build something great together.
These partnerships are delivering real results. Over the past 5 years, USDR has:
600+ government partners supported
600+ projects launched
Serving 50% of Americans
New solutions every 3 days
We know that when governments have the right tools and support, communities thrive.
See how government teams across America are modernizing the way they serve their communities through digital services 🏛️✨
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQtz...
🚀 State governments: Applications open for Data & Impact State Action & Innovation Lab!
Funding + training to build solutions that integrate health, human services & workforce programs
📆 Info webinar THIS Thursday
Register: aphsa.zoom.us/meeting/register/KIuSIRP5Shy3L048FVbwPQ
During the Eaton Fire, Pasadena became the regional hub for emergency response. Their website needed to serve thousands of panicked residents.
See how USDR volunteers helped transform their emergency communications and created a template for future crises. www.usdigitalresponse.org/resources/wh...
If you’re with a state agency or legislature who needs help figuring out how you’re going to modify your benefits systems to deal with federally mandated changes (e.g. employment verification), contact us at @usdigitalresponse.org. We can help for free, thanks to grant funding. There’s no catch.
PDFs aren’t usually an exciting topic—but state and local governments have just 10 months to review every PDF on their websites.
For GA, that's 50,000 PDFs on *one* website, and @codeforamerica.org says AI can help.
Learn more from @colinwood.me 📽️ ⬇️
📰 statescoop.com/code-for-ame...
Summary Sheet Issue Date: 6/12/2025 Deadline for Questions: 6/25/2025 Proposal Deadline: 8/6/2025 Period of Performance: One year, with up to two optional one-year periods. Executive Summary: HESC is seeking Proposals from responsible bidders to develop a web-based portal that will provide HESC staff with a consolidated view of financial aid applications, to make application processing more efficient. This includes reviewing, updating, and verifying information using supporting documentation and data from multiple data sources; where possible the portal will streamline and automate processes to help make eligibility determination and reporting easier. The proposed application environment should be either a cloud-native .NET environment or a low-code development platform (LCDP). Contacts: New York State Finance Law §139-j and §139-k impose certain restrictions on communication between the Agency and Bidders during a procurement. Bidders should email all RFP inquiries, questions, or comments to RFP@hesc.ny.gov. Minimum Qualifications: The bidder must have completed at least two (2) successful implementations of comparable size and scope within the last five (5) years, one (1) of which must be a public-sector implementation. The system implementations of comparable size/scope must have met the following: • managed various file transmissions daily; • implemented an application lifecycle inclusive of user roles and permissions for workflow management and had the ability to ingest a data set of approximately 100-150 fields per program, not submitted simultaneously. The customers for these projects must be verifiable. Budget: Up to $2 million for the one-year period of performance and up to $2 million for each optional one-year periods upon successful performance of the vendor and available funding.
In March, @usdigitalresponse.org and @nascio.bsky.social recommended that govt include a page at the front of their IT services RFPs, listing the info our UXR found vendors most need. This week, the NY Higher Education Services Corporation published an RFP using that! www.hesc.ny.gov/RFP2025-01
Join our next Civilla Chats with our CEO @thejuliadale.bsky.social and @usdigitalresponse.org's CEO Tina Walha on leading boldly in a shifting government.
Register below!
Maybe the most important part of my job at @usdigitalresponse.org is teaching leadership in government agencies how software is built, so they can understand a) what's a fair price to pay and b) how long it should take to create.
It's such a simple intervention, but wow it does a lot of good.
@usdigitalresponse.org has a new blog post: Raised hands, changed lives: five years of USDR volunteer impact. I started as a volunteer in 2020, and now I'm staff and still working on projects that spark joy while helping partners. Glad our volunteer program is still strong and many others can, too.
Our founding CEO Raylene Yung has also shared her thoughts on this exciting milestone in a special letter about USDR's journey and next chapter of impact: www.usdigitalresponse.org/resources/in...
Read more about Tina's appointment and vision for USDR's future in our press release: www.usdigitalresponse.org/resources/u-...
Over 5 years, we've grown from an emergency response initiative to a lasting partner for governments. Our community now includes 11,000+ pro bono technical experts who've completed 600+ projects with nearly 550 partners across 50+ states and territories.
"As state and local governments are increasingly asked to do more with less, USDR's role as a trusted partner has never been more critical. By building digital resilience, we can ensure governments at all levels meet their communities' most pressing needs." —Tina
Tina brings a truly unique perspective to the role. Before joining USDR's leadership team in 2021, she was a USDR government partner during her time as Director of Innovation & Performance for the City of Seattle—she's experienced our work from both sides!
We're thrilled to announce that Tina J. Walha has been appointed as U.S. Digital Response's new CEO! As we celebrate our 5th anniversary of building government capacity, we're excited for this next chapter of impact under Tina's leadership. 🎉
USDR has officially transferred our federal grants tools to Nava🎉
After helping 530+ government agencies w/ grant discovery and reporting, we're thrilled these tools have found their perfect home
More on this milestone and what it means for public servants www.usdigitalresponse.org/resources/tr...
