United States Digital Service
Agency overview
FormedAugust 11, 2014 (2014-08-11)
Headquarters736 Jackson Place, Washington, D.C., U.S.
38°53′59″N 77°02′17″W / 38.899614°N 77.038026°W / 38.899614; -77.038026
Agency executive
Parent departmentExecutive Office of the President of the United States
Websitewww.usds.gov

The United States Digital Service is a technology unit[1][2] housed within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It provides consultation services to federal agencies on information technology. It seeks to improve and simplify digital service, and to improve federal websites. It was launched on August 11, 2014.[3][4][5][6]

Activities

The U.S. Digital Service has created:

  • A Digital Services Playbook, for improving digital government[7]
  • Draft Web Design Standards, "to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites"[8]
  • TechFAR Handbook, on federal contracting and procurement[9][10]
  • Discovery Sprint Guide[11]

The United States Digital Service sends a report to Congress each year detailing its projects and accomplishments.[12] Its federal agency work spans across the Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and Health and Human Services.

History

The United States Digital Service was the idea of Jennifer Pahlka, Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Pahlka's goal was to create an elite government technology unit at the White House that would be equivalent to the United Kingdom's Government Digital Service.[13]

The first head of the United States Digital Digital Service was Mikey Dickerson, a former Google engineer who was involved in the 2013–14 rescue of the HealthCare.gov website.[14] He was succeeded by Matt Cutts, who was in that position until April 2021.[15]

The third administrator of the United States Digital Service was Mina Hsiang.[16][17][18] During the Biden administration, Hsiang led the United States Digital Digital Service in deploying a new website about COVID-19 vaccines, Vaccines.gov.[19]

In 2021, United States Digital Service employed 215 people and was looking to expand further.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zakrzewski, Cat (5 December 2018). "The government's tech unit is trying to reduce wait times for asylum seekers". The Washington Post.
  2. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie (2019-03-14). "Kamala Harris Wants to Give States Millions to Overhaul Tech". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  3. ↑ "FACT SHEET: Improving and Simplifying Digital Service". The White House. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  4. ↑ Scola, Nancy (2014-08-11). "White House launches 'U.S. Digital Service,' with HealthCare.gov fixer at the helm". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  5. ↑ Howard, Alex (August 13, 2014). "New US Digital Service Looks to Avoid IT Catastrophes". TechPresident. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ Shear, Michael D (August 11, 2014). "White House Picks Engineer From Google to Fix Sites". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Digital Services Playbook". U.S. Chief Information Officers Council.
  8. ↑ "Draft Web Design Standards". United States Web Design System.
  9. ↑ Scola, Nancy (August 25, 2014). "How the U.S. Digital Service could upset D.C.'s 'IT vendor ecosystem'". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Rockwell, Mark (March 13, 2015). "OFPP launches podcast series to talk TechFAR, playbook". FCW Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Discovery Sprint Guide". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ "United States Digital Service". United States Digital Service. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ Levy, Steven (January 18, 2017). "The Final Days of Obama's Tech Surge". Wired Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  14. ↑ Brill, Stephen (February 17, 2014). "Obama's Trauma Team". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ Cutts, Matt (April 14, 2021). "The Next Chapter for USDS". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Office of Management and Budget Announces Mina Hsiang As New Administrator of the United States Digital Service". The White House. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mina Hsiang appointed USDS administrator". FedScoop. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Introducing the Administrator of the U.S. Digital Service: Mina Hsiang". U.S. Digital Service. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Exclusive: New boss for government's tech "SWAT team"". September 2, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Great Resignation boosts White House's tech talent hunt". January 18, 2022.
  21. ↑ "U.S. Digital Corps". U.S. Government Services Administration. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
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