The administrator of US Digital Services is recruiting from the private sector to help form Digital Service teams that will be embedded in agencies to help tackle some of the government’s more intractable problems.
Digital Services formed out of the private sector rescue attempt of HealthCare.gov and includes transplants from Google, Amazon and Twitter. Its administrator, Mickey Dickerson noted that currently Digital Services has technology experts working on the veterans’ disability claim backlog, Freedom of Information Act, climate change action plan, Ebola, as well as other pressing issues.
Next on the list are challenges such as delivering earned benefits to veterans, connecting holders of student loan debt with repayment options that don’t cripple them financially, simplifying the management of Social Security benefits, helping the Small Business Administration support startups, and streamlining visa applications and passport renewals.
One recent Digital Services collaboration resulted in the launch of the VA’s Veteran’s Employment Center, delivered a year early while eliminating about $14 million in planned procurements and contracts, Dickerson noted.
