Better Government Movement: Code for America Summit Presentation
1. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Changing Culture
from the Inside Out
Amy J. Wilson
Presidential Innovation Fellow
Founder, Innovation.gov + The
Better Government Movement
General Services Administration
The Better Government Movement
Code for America Summit | May 31
Julia Begley
Senior Advisor,
Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection
Brooke Dine
Public Affairs Specialist,
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services
4. 4
1 Weak innovation incentives 6 Hard to prototype and scale innovation
2 Siloed thinking and working 7 Difficult/changing political climate
3 No holistic look at ecosystem
and the pathways to innovate
8 Infrastructure doesn’t support proven
innovative/technology approaches
4 Lack of definitive resources
(e.g. time, budget, policy)
9 Burdensome/outdated requirements
5 Lack of understanding
of/access to users
10 Competitive and conflicting policy
standards within/across agencies
The Better Government Movement
Barriers to Innovation
8. 2009
Strategy for
American
Innovation
2010-2011
Challenge.gov
Veterans Affairs Center
for Innovation
Innovation Advisory
Board
2012
The Lab @ OPM
Presidential Innovation
Fellows (PIF) program
2013
Open Opportunities
HHS IDEA Lab
2014
USAID Global
Development Lab
18F
U.S. Digital Service
2015
2015 Strategy for
American Innovation
updated with focus on
increasing innovation
capacity in government
2016
18F Discovery Sprint for
“Innovation Toolkit”
Administration calls for:
● Network of innovation labs
across federal agencies with
HCD focus
● Acquisition Innovation Labs
in Federal agencies
2017
Office of American
Innovation
Better Government
Movement
Innovation in Government
The Better Government Movement
8
9. A growing number of Federal employees are
using new approaches to solve problems,
improve the core processes of government,
and foster innovation.
The problem: Adoption of these approaches is still
low relative to their potential. Many Federal
employees do not know that these approaches exist
or lack the support needed to use them effectively.
9
The Better Government Movement
11. How might we effectively serve the
many talented Federal employees
who have the motivation and
potential to cause change?
11
The Better Government Movement
13. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
We are a grassroots movement comprised of public and
private sector partners working to create a 21st century
government.
We create an inclusive space where public servants can grow
their creative capacity and learn new tools to jumpstart
innovation to solve government-wide problems.
We practice what we preach and preach what we practice.
The Better Government Movement
13
15. Increase use of 21st century methods and approaches
Increase institutional support of innovative practices
Incentivize and reward innovative thinking
Improve enterprise-level policies and structure
1
2
3
4
The Better Government Movement
Our Theory of Change
15
17. The Better Government Movement
2017: New Starts and Co-Creation
● Launched Innovation.gov Alpha
● Founded Better Government Movement
● Convened more than 1,000 people from 89 agencies through 15
co-creation workshops and two design-a-thons
● Built the movement: 125 active participants
● Co-created six plays/principles and 15 reports in four verticals
● Created a Community of Practice to learn, share, and build
● Built a network of mentors, coaches, facilitators to catalyze change
17
18. The Better Government Movement
Co-Creating a
Movement
The Better Government Movement 2
19. The Better Government Movement
1. Create a Shared Purpose
2. Define the Language
3. Outline Audience and Roles
4. Understand Motivations
5. Pave a Pathway to Engagement
19
21. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
We connect and build creative
confidence in curious public servants so
that they can affect positive change
within their organizations and better
serve the American public.
Our “WHY”
21
22. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
We catalyze government
culture change to discover
and understand the right
problem before jumping to
solutions, and solve the
problems right, unlocking
barriers to innovation
Grassroots movement
Serve as a movement, not a mandate that is
for the people, by the people
Practice what we preach
Be a microcosm of the change we want to
see in the government
Solve government problems
Create impact by putting innovation theory
into practice
Inclusivity
Create a space for belonging for all
innovators
Our Shared Purpose
22
24. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Public sector innovation is a new product, program, service,
or process that creates value and changes the status quo
of government services. To be impactful, innovations must
also be scalable, not merely one-off novelties.
Federal government innovation means delivering a better
government for and WITH the People.
Definition of Innovation
24
25. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Build a 21st Century Culture
and Workforce
Improve Government Services
Delivery
Solve Complex Problems
Collaborate with Innovators
Better Government Toolkit Better Government Playbook
1. Everyone has a role in
building a better government
2. Keep your user at the center
of your design
3. Embrace change and
experiment
4. Collaborate with partners
5. Let data inform your decision
making
6. Innovation is not a
one-size-fits-all approach
25
26. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
DoerDreamer
Leading Innovation Supporting Innovation
GatekeeperChampion
Public Sector Innovators
26
28. *
* = target audience for this movement--the tipping point.
The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Innovation Adoption Curve
28
29. Early Majority: The Pragmatists
The goal of pragmatists is to make a percentage improvement--
incremental, measurable, predictable progress. If they are installing a new
product, they want to know how other people have fared with it.
The word risk is a negative one in their vocabulary--it does not connote
opportunity or excitement but rather the chance to waste money and time.
They will undertake risks when required, but they first will put in place
safety nets and manage the risks very closely.
Pragmatists tend to be “vertically” oriented, meaning that they
communicate more with others like themselves within their own industry
than do technology enthusiasts and early adopters, who are more likely to
communicate “horizontally” across industry boundaries in search of
kindred spirits.
- Geoffrey A. Moore, Crossing the Chasm
The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
29
30. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Target Audiences
Curious
Interested in learning more about innovation, wants to share ideas, but
doesn’t know how, and doesn’t feel like his voice is heard on the job.
Dabbler
May have some formal training in innovative processes, but wants to
learn and do more.
Professional Innovator
Typically has experience in both the private & public sector. Wants to
share her wisdom and inspire others but her time is sensitive.
30
32. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
32
33. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Ten Traits of a Government INTRApreneur
1. Internally motivated, externally focused
2. Empathy
3. Positivity
4. Comfort with ambiguity
5. Tenacity/persistence
6. Curiosity
7. Problem-focused not solution-focused
8. Wearing multiple hats
9. Reflection and self-awareness
10. Continuous improvement
Source: GSA Blog, Amy Wilson, May 15, 2018
33
37. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Four Pillars of the Movement
User Experience
(UX) Research
Toolkit +
Storytelling
Community of
Practice
Ambassadors
Looking inward towards
innovators in the government to
determine their behaviors +
needs and design products and
programs for them.
Creates a framework and
journey for the BG Archetypes:
● Dreamer
● Doer
● Champion
● Gatekeeper
Capturing codified knowledge
and stories of public sector
innovation, for inclusion on
I.gov. In four verticals:
● Create a 21st century
culture and workforce
● Improve government
service delivery
● Solve complex
problems
● Collaborate with
innovators
The “people” side of
innovation. How to learn, share,
and build a better government.
Led by change agents, for
peer-to-peer learning and
sharing.
Anyone can join and
participate.
Network of change makers,
working to amplify and
evangelize innovation within
government.
Provided by individuals
within the government and in
partnership with others
outside of government.
37
38. 38
Tacit
Intuitive knowledge and know-how, which is:
● Rooted in context, experience, practice, values
● Hard to communicate--resides in mind of practitioner
● Best source of long-term innovation
● Transferred through socialization, mentoring, coaching
Explicit
Codified knowledge found in
documents, databases, toolkits,
that is easily identified, stored
and retrieved
Two
KindsofKnowledge
The Better Government Movement
39. The Better Government Movement
The Better Government Movement
Better Government Design Challenge
Goal:
Create a repeatable “innovation-in-a-box” mechanism to
spread across government
Objectives:
● To create momentum and small successes to propel
learning from Innovation.gov into practice
● To identify and validate what the federal
government needs when innovating
● To catalyze beacons of change to amplify and
evangelize innovation in government
A free three-month-long facilitated team-based experience for impact, fueled by the
principles of Human-Centered Design, Lean and Agile ways of working. Each cohort
becomes Better Government Ambassadors and change culture from the inside.
39
40. The Better Government Movement
1. Create a Shared Purpose
2. Define the Language
3. Outline Audience and Roles
4. Understand Motivations
5. Pave a Pathway to Engagement
40
42. 2. Highlight stories of
success and failure
Innovators have access to a scaled network of integrated resources and
people
● People: Better Government Ambassadors solved government-wide problems
and is recognized as program
● Process: Thriving Community of Practice and ongoing User Experience
Research
● Technology: Innovation.gov is a government-wide platform and resource
3. Partner to sustain the
movement
1. Institutionalize the Better
Government Design Challenge
2018 Priorities
The Better Government Movement
42
2018 Goals + Priorities
43. JANMAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Innovation.gov Data +
Visualization
Storytelling Virtual Collaboration
To prepare and post the
“Where is Innovation
Happening?” dataset and
data visualization online on
Innovation.gov.
To design and create the
storytelling component of
Innovation.gov. To tell stories
of success and failure.
To develop a virtual
collaboration space for
members of the Better
Government community.
BGM Working Groups
The Better Government Movement
43
44. The Better Government Movement
Be the change you
want to see in the
government world.
Join our mailing list on Innovation.gov
Email us: better-gov@gsa.gov
