On January 18, 2022, the Biden Administration launched COVIDTest.gov, the at-home test ordering service. The site was a single webpage with sparse hyperlinks to the CDC’s website for information regarding COVID-19, and a single “Order” link routed users to the USPS website to place their test kit order. The site was simple yet effective, and soft-launched one day early. The simplistic nature and the soft launching of the website led to the success of COVIDTEST.gov, but it is imperative to review both the failures and successes of the federal government’s attempt to reorient its digital operations.
Healthcare.gov – What does the federal government know about launching a website?
On October 1, 2013, the federal government launched Healthcare.gov, which was the online federal healthcare marketplace affiliated with the landmark 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The site immediately buckled under pressure, slowing down and crashing for many users. A number of the new state healthcare exchanges, which launched on the same day, also sputtered. Healthcare.gov and the other state-based exchanges were technology projects overseen by the federal government and built by a team of technological contractors. Although officials initially downplayed the reports and cited a high level of interest in the marketplaces as a positive sign, it soon became clear that the sites had severe structural issues. A 2015 report by the Government Accountability Office found many gaps in the managerial, oversight, and review processes of the Office of Management and Budget, Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
In the moment of the crisis and its aftermath, several problems were identified: years of outsourcing technological needs had left the federal government unable to avert or resolve a crisis, and without the expertise to engage technological innovation proactively. As a result, the Healthcare.gov crisis marked a major turning point in the relationship between technology and government. Technological capacity could no longer be outsourced and technology could no longer be a mere accessory to achieving policy objectives; both would now be essential components of the federal government.
Responding to crisis – Jumpstarting technological innovation in government
The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) was created in 2012 to attract top innovators to the government before the Healthcare.gov crisis and later extended after the crisis through the 2017 TALENT Act, which solidified the federal government’s commitment to developing a tech-forward government.
PIF’s model is a 12-month long program in which fellows are placed within a federal agency to tackle challenges the agency faces. Previous PIF projects include working with the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to implement “smart government” tech to increase government efficiency, responsiveness, and economic development success in partner countries, establishing advanced data analytics to help the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) meet their strategic goals, and upgrading technology in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve service delivery and veteran experience. By 2020, PIF had 62 fellows working at 25 federal agency partners. PIF represents an important turn in creating technological innovation within government rather than merely contracting technical expertise for individual projects and hoping that innovation will occur.
The 2013 Healthcare.gov crisis created visibility into the state of digital services and urgency to replicate the approach used in fixing Healthcare.gov to other critical government services. Two new teams were started:18F and the United States Digital Service (USDS)—similar in their expertise and approach, but different in their structure and operations. A group of PIFs worked with GSA officials to start 18F in March of 2014. 18F is the equivalent of an internal tech consultancy for the federal government that contracts with agencies and departments to fix technical problems, build products, and improve how the government serves the public through technology. 18F has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to digitize its permitting process for public activities and worked with the U.S. Department of Treasury to develop data standards that would be used in the implementation of the new Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA). In addition, 18F fulfills a key function in the government’s tech-to-government pipeline by leveraging its technical expertise and position in the GSA to assist government entities with acquisition processes.
USDS was officially launched on August 11, 2014 with some founding personnel who had first worked behind the scenes to turn around the Healthcare.gov project, and others who began working to improve technological capabilities in the Obama Administration before Healthcare.gov. USDS describes itself as a diverse group of technologists working across the federal government to transform critical services. USDS operates on a tour of service model similar to other programs, and employees choose to serve for one or two years tours. Unlike PIF and 18F, USDS receives Congressional appropriations rather than relying on revenue from interagency service agreements – this allows USDS to start projects quickly and adapt to changing specifications on the fly. One of USDS’ first projects was a collaboration with 18F and several federal departments to create the College Scorecard, which allowed potential college students to compare colleges across several metrics, including student population, graduation rate, and post-graduation student outcomes. Some of their greatest and lasting accomplishments can be seen at HHS, the VA, and DoD. The achievements of PIF, 18F, and USDS have forever transformed the government’s technological abilities and operation – from multifaceted projects like Healthcare.gov to projects like COVIDTest.gov and the College Scorecard which helps students find the right college or university.
Assessing the promise – Tech-Forward Government in 2022 and Beyond
PIF, 18F, and USDS have significantly advanced the U.S. government’s technological ability and workforce. In 2016, Technology Transformation Services (TTS) under the General Services Administration (GSA) was created as a new home for 18F, PIF, and the Office of Products and Programs (OPP). Rather than rest on that progress, the Trump and Biden administrations have pushed for further tech-forward approaches. For instance, in August 2021, the Biden administration launched the U.S. Digital Corps, a new program under TTS. Rather than attracting mid or late-career technologists, the U.S. Digital Corps aims to offer early-career technologists a 2-year fellowship working in government with the hope of attracting more early-career technologists to public service.
Each successive effort to push the government in a tech-forward direction has propelled the federal government towards the success of COVIDTest.gov, where government technology can ensure that a core government function is fulfilled. The seed of tech-forward change was laid with PIF, and the Healthcare.gov crisis provided additional momentum to expand that effort. New agencies like 18F and USDS were spun up to ensure deep and lasting change in the federal government’s tech expertise and project execution. Further efforts, like the U.S. Digital Corps, have sought to attract younger technologists to government. The U.S. government has made significant progress in 10 years, but there is more progress needed to fill skill gaps as they arise, build long-term capabilities in new areas such as data science and AI, and ensure that new initiatives and programs form into a cohesive government-wide effort and not siloes of expertise.
