Methodology

Public interest technology (PIT) is a cross-sector approach that demands technology be designed, deployed, and regulated in a responsible and equitable way—in other words, in service of the public interest. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, several organizations working in PIT created new programs, projects, websites, coalitions, and working groups to support the public systems that were overwhelmed in providing information and relief. Finding new innovative and flexible ways of administering public services became imperative. In many cases, mayors, governors, civil servants, public health professionals, and public interest lawyers found creative workarounds to maximize access to support and resources.

This report builds on the findings of several programs, thought leaders, events, and reports operating around and through these shifting dynamics.

In 2020, DIGI at New America hosted an online event, Digital Benefits Coalition Launches to Identify Solutions to the Unemployment Insurance Crisis, that included several recommendations on reworking public benefits programs to use digital public infrastructure to facilitate faster, smarter, and more secure service and delivery. DIGI also published Building and Reusing Open Source Tools for Government: Software for Public Benefit Should be Open Source by Default with the Public Interest Tech team at New America because: “Many parts of government—from those that administer benefits to those managing public health—are broken. Governments are failing to sufficiently support individuals and communities. But there is a movement afoot to leverage the power of open source software (OSS) solutions to help improve government services while also improving public transparency, responsiveness, and accountability.”

Our findings identified procurement as one key way to shift to open source solutions. Building on this work, in 2021, a group of nonprofits and foundations, including a number of tech-facing programs at New America, participated in a roundtable on twenty-first century safety net access. The convening covered the vast ecosystem of safety net access, discussing the intersection of technology, user-centered design, and policy to drive the dialogue. Improving procurement was, again, identified as a core challenge and opportunity.

Compiling learnings from research, interviews, convenings, and first-person testimonials from technology and procurement professionals in the field, this report outlines five core priority areas for reconceptualizing procurement to improve the delivery of safety net benefits. All of these priority areas follow a PIT framing, understanding technical barriers through a people-centered lens. Each core priority area is accompanied by actionable recommendations for improving the state information technology (IT) and digital solutions procurement process to deliver better outcomes for families and individuals. While many of the actionable recommendations fall squarely in the lane of the government—public administration, state budget priorities, and codifying procurement reforms—there are several significant complementary efforts that tech companies and technologists, philanthropies, academia, nonprofits, and civil society can support. In addition, while some recommendations may fall under multiple priority areas, they are organized by best fit. While the findings of this report are extensive, they do not constitute an exhaustive list of recommendations. Instead, the findings highlight key areas of challenge and opportunity to help guide procurement transformation with actionable recommendations to get there.

Many of these recommendations come in the form of first-person testimonials from experts in the field and are excerpted and matched with one of the key core action areas for transforming the space. View the essay collection.