This document discusses designing government institutions for the 21st century. It explores how government services and civic participation have moved online, and challenges with early government websites only being about the government rather than serving citizens. The document presents examples of both successful and unsuccessful early government technology projects. It argues that public institutions need to be designed to be simple, beautiful, easy to use, respect people's time and dignity, and fully invite participation. The document advocates for institutions and designers that honor humanity, break barriers to access, and trust and support citizens.

1. Designing (for)
21st-Century Institutions
Photo by Flickr user Ken Lund under CC-BY-SA

2. Somewhere in America, sometime in the
19th century

3. Madison, WI, 2011
Photo by Flickr user Peter Gorman under CC-SA

4. Online, sometime in the 21st century

5. Photo by Todd Ross Nienkirk, That Other Paper (CC-SA)

6. Online, sometime in the 21st century

8. 3,144 counties
19,354 cities & towns

9. What do we ask from government?
➔ Public safety
➔ Infrastructure
➔ Regulations
➔ Record-keeping
➔ Dispute resolution
➔ Assistance

10. Government websites are usually
about the government.
They need to be the government,
doing the people’s business online.

11. Where are the boundaries of government?

12. What about the civic sphere?

13. How hard is it to participate?
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/

14. 2013: Healthcare.gov

15. This used to happen fairly often
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/23/business/toys-r-us-falls-behind-on-shipping.html

16. It wasn’t a design problem, exactly
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/18/obamacare-train-wreck_n_4118041.html

17. 2014: USDS & 18F

18. Digital Service

19. I work at 18F.
I’m here in my
personal capacity
today.

20. The shiny story, Golden Gate Park, 2011
Photo by Flickr user Michael Fraley

21. 2009: H1N1
(the un-shiny story)

22. Templates for health departments (before)
http://boltpeters.com/blog/designing-the-google-sites-h1n1-emergency-templates/

23. Templates for health departments (after)
http://boltpeters.com/blog/designing-the-google-sites-h1n1-emergency-templates/

24. Assistance is deep

25. Institutions are deeper

26. Seattle Public Library, Northeast Branch
ca. 1983

27. It’s ok to be a smart girl in the world

28. Yale University Sterling Library
Fall 1990

29. 言語学

31. 2000: Butterfly Ballot

32. Palm Beach County, FL

33. 2012: Field Guides

34. Dana Chisnell & the Center for Civic Design

35. What voters need to know

36. What voters need to know

37. 2011:

38. “I’m here because I believe government can be
simple, beautiful, and easy to use.”
-- Scott Silverman to Jennifer Pahlka, January 2011

39. 2007: #opendata

40. Open Data moved fast - and slow
➔ July 2008 - Apps for DC - first hackathon with open public
data
➔ January 2009 - President Obama signs US Open Data
Policy
➔ 2009 - Memphis, Portland, and San Francisco create local
open data policies

41. 2009: #gov20

42. 2011: CityCamp

45. 2011: GDS

46. The institution, online

47. 2012: CFPB

48. Mortgage Disclosures (Before)

49. Mortgage Disclosures (After)

50. 2013: Coding for
America

51. VP of Research
UX Evangelist

52. Asheville, NC, 2014

53. The CUT Group, Chicago, 2014

54. 2014: SNAP/CalFresh

55. SNAP

58. 2016: 18F

59. VP of Research
UX Evangelist
Director of Product
Lead Innovation Specialist

60. I work for President Trump
I work in the Trump administration
I work for the federal government
I work for the American public

61. IANAL

62. * has not reviewed or endorsed this talk.
*

63. FASPBS TTS
ITC

64. FAS
ITC Office of Integrated Technology Category
Federal Acquisition Service

65. Schedules

66. MOU > IAA
ITC +

67. $ = CO W

68. FAS
ITC
EOP
OMB OPM

69. “Public servants are designers.”
-- Dana Chisnell, Civic Design Camp NYC, November 2014

70. Design Principles for
Public Institutions

71. GDS, 2012

72. Simple, beautiful,
& easy to use

73. Respect for people’s
time, dignity, and
abilities.

74. Inviting, not just
allowing, full
participation.

75. Government &
citizens are on the
same side - design
for unity.

76. Institutions that...
➔ Honor people’s humanity
➔ Break barriers to access
➔ Trust and support the people they are made of

77. Designers who...
➔ Work in long timeframes
➔ Follow principles over process
➔ Make all the friends they can

78. Questions?

79. Thank you so much for coming!
@cydharrell any time you want
to talk about this