Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation

Next Wednesday, December 4, Secretary Savage and Governor Wes Moore will kick off FormFest 2024, sharing how the State of Maryland is diving into the nitty gritty details of improving government services through intelligent form design. Colleagues from our sister agency, the Maryland Department of Human Services, will also be at the virtual conference, leading in-depth breakout sessions and sharing how they have been serving the people of Maryland. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eVNK8499 “FormFest is a free virtual event showcasing governments working to make services accessible to everyone through online forms. Discover best practices and tools that are shaping the future of form design and service delivery. Whether you’re a government decision-maker, a designer, a civic tech enthusiast, or simply curious about the future of government service delivery, you’ll find your people at FormFest. FormFest is presented in partnership by the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and Code for America.”

When a typical work project goes off -track, it stays between you and your boss. But when your work project is overhauling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, well, that’s a different — and much bigger — story. Just ask Tait Chamberlain and Sean Cassidy, the user experience duo charged with redesigning the form — and then with managing the related rollout crisis. The rebooted relaunch resulted in a hands-on testing process that solicited direct feedback from users, resulting in a host of meaningful changes that have already improved submission metrics. And a commitment to better transparency and communication kept stakeholders engaged, renewed public trust, and — most importantly — helped more students apply for financial aid. 📚 Read their profile and hear more from them at #FormFest2024 ➡️  https://lnkd.in/eUEdARfg #GovEfficiency #DigitalTransformation #TechForGood #CivicTech #GovernmentInnovation #HigherEd #UXDesign #GovTech #Innovation

The Beeck Center is accepting proposals for Media Relations + PR Services. Reminder to submit your proposal by December 6 ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e3D_HfyD

🦃 Digital Benefits in the News makes it easy to stay up to date! Read the November news 📰  https://lnkd.in/gAAKtXgc Catch up on latest digital benefits news: 🌟 Federal transition news 📋 Register now for FormFest! https://lnkd.in/gE3pc2eR 📱 New from Code for America: Improving online applications playbook! https://lnkd.in/gghFYkVX

Applying for benefits during times of need should not compound a person’s crisis. That idea is paramount in the New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, where Sophia Tareen and Sourabh Chakraborty are leveraging technology to innovate new ways of sharing data across agencies, allowing residents to see their eligibility for a host of services through a single application. Sophia has long understood the value of small changes. Raised by medical professionals who discussed health as a product of social circumstances, Sophia views civic tech as a means to improve people’s lives in tangible ways. Sourabh brings that outlook to life on the back end, creating open-source code to power the City’s benefits platform and help establish best practices across jurisdictions 💯🗺️. Their work is a key part of New York City’s dedication to improving the lives of its residents—one application at a time 🔧. Read their profile and hear more from them at #FormFest2024 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e72mZmhS #DigitalTransformation #TechForGood #CivicTech #GovernmentInnovation #UXDesign #GovTech #Innovation #NYC

Thrilled to spotlight an ongoing partnership between Gregory Clapp and Joshua Gregor, the civic-minded duo behind the charge to revitalize the way City of Portland, Oregon, residents find information, report issues, and access services. Their work spans the gamut, from the creation of a city-wide 311 customer service system to an overhauled, user-centric website that helps community members request help and report problems without having to navigate an organizational flowchart. Josh came to Portland with the specific goal of launching a public service career, but Greg came to government work by chance, after a fruitful career in the private sector where the work was similar but the impacts on people’s lives were less clear. But they have the same passion for improving user experience. Together, Josh’s customer-service experience and Greg’s project management and programming skills have effected real change in Portland, from improving the City’s ADA compliance to applying for air conditioners that help make Portland a more resilient city. Their collaborative approach and creativity shows the potential for technological transformation at the municipal level. 🏛️🪄 Read their profile and hear more from them at #FormFest2024 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e72mZmhS #DigitalTransformation #TechForGood #CivicTech #GovernmentInnovation #UXDesign #GovTech #Innovation #Portland

Have you seen the full agenda for #FormFest2024 yet? 👀🚀 Featuring insightful keynotes and 20 exciting breakout sessions from 60+ digital service leaders from across the globe and at all levels of government, this is one event you won't want to miss! Register for FormFest now to save your seat to hear about best practices and tools shaping the future of government form design! 🌟 Register now and join us on December 4 for FormFest! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eB3Jdc9M Co-hosted by the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and Code for America

The Beeck Center is accepting proposals for Media Relations + PR Services. Scope of work includes: ☑️ Collaborating closely with the Beeck Center's Communications Director to develop and implement a PR strategy ☑️ Position the Beeck Center as an authoritative voice in public interest technology through compelling storytelling and targeted narratives. ☑️ Identify and pitch targeted story angles to position Beeck Center experts as go-to sources for commentary on relevant issues in public interest technology, policy, and social impact. ☑️ Set clear KPIs for media placements, engagement levels, brand sentiment, and audience reach Submit your proposal by December 6 ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e3D_HfyD

Government teams face complex challenges as they work to digitally deliver public services, programs, and benefits. Such challenges include outdated technologies, a workforce with a wide range of technical expertise, competing policy and programmatic priorities, resistance to new ways of working, and more. We've had many people ask for tools and strategies that can help: 📋 Assess gaps in their current approaches to and capacity for useful, intuitive, interoperable, and secure digital delivery from conception to deployment and maintenance  🤝 Collaboratively develop and advocate for recommendations their organizations can implement to begin closing those gaps. In response to this need, the Digital Service Network team developed two new resources: 💬 Digital Delivery Assessment Interview Template: This interview template includes questions designed to help teams conduct exploratory, semi-structured interviews with government stakeholders involved in program delivery to gather information that can help them evaluate the status quo of digital delivery in their organization. 🎯 Digital Delivery Problem Identification & Definition Workshop Guide: This workshop guide offers teams an opportunity to jointly work toward understanding core problems impacting digital delivery in their organization. The guide is structured in two parts: (1) a Miro template and (2) a Facilitation Guide. 🔎 Explore the new templates and tools ➡️ https://lnkd.in/esdpwEpP

Yesterday we kicked off our Civic Tech Live event series. We were honored  to welcome former Ambassador Susan Rice to join us for a fireside conversation with Beeck Center’s Executive Director Lynn Overmann. Ambassador Rice provided insights from her journey in public service, including the importance of digital delivery skills in senior government positions and strategies for fostering impactful change through public service. Prior to the panel, Ambassador Rice also took a few moments to engage with current and former Beeck Center student analysts. We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Rice for her time, and  to everyone who helped make this event a success including the Erica Pincus Arabesque Foundation and the Knight Foundation for their generous support, and our stellar student analyst, Jaida Forbes, for delivering opening remarks and setting the stage. Our gratitude to the events team at Georgetown University Law Center that helped ensure the event and reception went smoothly. We’d also like to thank all of the Georgetown University students, faculty, and partners that attended the event and who continue to support our work. We couldn’t have done this event without you.