User-Centered Policy: Organization Assessment
The role of technology in delivering public services has grown significantly over the past decade, and the creation of organizations like 18F and the United States Digital Service has shown that technologists are eager and willing to roll up their sleeves and join the government.
Traditionally, these teams have focused on implementing policy, or fixing broken systems when they have gone off the rails. And, as we outline here, the same methods can be used upstream of implementation as government teams define problems, set goals and actually develop and draft policy solutions to address their mission.
This assessment document helps government organizations begin to take a user-centered approach to their policy making process and is a useful tool as any team plans to launch a new policy effort.