2024 Impact Report

A note from our Administrator

Since the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) was founded in 2014, we have jumped in to help tackle the most challenging technology implementation problems across the government, bringing top-notch technical talent into government and partnering with federal agencies to get things done right for the public.

Our work has spanned 31 agencies and over one hundred programs, with profound impacts—including helping working families, Veterans, refugees, students, children, small businesses and retirees. We have helped make their lives easier and the departments that serve them more efficient and effective. Along the way, we have opened doors for agencies to think differently about what is possible by encouraging them to ask questions like:

• How can technology simplify rather than complicate their work and services?
• How can they increase efficiency while decreasing IT spending?
• How can they use technology tools to make their services more accessible to their customers and build trust with the public?

I have been here for six of the nearly ten transformational years and have seen the changes. Some things have stayed the same—we still jump in and roll up our sleeves to tackle tech challenges from the ground up, debugging networks, running scrums, using technologies better, and testing tools with real users. But over that time, we have also demonstrated the ability to catalyze broader transformational change. Through consistent on-the-ground execution and agency commitment to building a stronger technology organization, we have helped enable agencies like the VA and CMS by building in-house digital services teams who’ve improved service delivery and increased trust with the American public. Other agencies have taken note and are working with USDS to scope an internal digital service capacity.

The most important thing we have done, and continue to do, is to bring top-notch tech talent into the federal government and retain it. Over the last decade, we have recruited over 700 Digital Service Experts into federal service. They understand the transformational impact they can have by bringing their expertise to the federal government to work on services that change lives.

Yet even at our current size – the largest in our history – we now get far more requests for USDS’s help and engagement than we can meet. This is a sign of shifting expectations and ambitions, but also reflects a vast need for more technical talent across the government.

This report demonstrates the tremendous impact that USDS has had and serves as a call to action for all of us to find a way to do even more. In the pages that follow, you’ll see how building the right teams can catalyze a 53% increase in customer satisfaction at Social Security Administration (SSA), can reliably deliver 750 million COVID-19 tests across the country, and change how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects data to make us ready for the next pandemic.

The return on investment for technical talent in government is huge. USDS is the proof of concept and leader at the highest level, bringing technical expertise and driving enormous improvements across the government. We are excited to share these stories of impact and even more excited about the impact yet to come.

Sincerely,

Mina Hsiang

Administrator, The U.S. Digital Service