Digital Services

As experts discussed during the 2023 Digital.gov Government UX Summit, the work of designing accessible digital products is an iterative process that requires planning, user research and improvements.

One of the nation’s largest libraries has nearly doubled its collection spending in the last five years in an attempt to keep up with patrons’ digital demands. But the push has introduced new headaches.

The state published the 2023-2024 Budget Act earlier this week and, if approved by lawmakers, it will fund IT projects at the Department of Social Services, the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state entities.

The California State Parks system recently unveiled a new virtual and augmented reality app for visitors to dive into the lives of new cultures while exploring California’s natural landscapes.

The New Mexico Department of Information Technology will see leadership changes as state CIO Peter Mantos shifts to a new role focused on governor-led initiatives and special projects.

The state has offered access to digital ID for Apple smartphone users for almost two years. Now, those with Android devices will be able to use their state-issued IDs digitally as well.

The Detroit Parks Coalition, along with the city and Connect 313, announced that they will be installing Wi-Fi at five parks as part of a $265,000 program aimed at closing the digital divide.

A recent audit of six IT projects within the past two years found many were over budget or delayed. The state’s CIO, Shawn Nailor, acknowledged the findings, tempering them with the progress his relatively young agency has made in recent years.

According to political leaders and broadband officials at a summit this week, New Mexico will get between $100 million and $700 million in federal funding to expand broadband capacity for underserved communities.

Officials with the city of Dallas have not definitively outlined the full scope of the May 3 cyber attack that disrupted its systems. They have also not released whether the perpetrators demanded any sort of ransom.

The New York county government has converted its website and email addresses to .gov domains. The addresses require stricter security control and are only available to U.S.-based government agencies.

Georgia joins only eight states to offer digitized state IDs that residents can use through Apple Wallet and Apple Watch to verify their identity at select airport TSA checkpoints.

Edwardsville, Ill., police and fire officials voiced their support to the City Council for a new digital database that would help to track state legislation affecting their departments.

The company, whose tools help agencies automate workflows, will work with ServiceNow to get such technology into the hands of more public agencies. City Innovate has also raised a Series A funding round.

Officials have been unable to access important data for a week because their server host has been unable to connect with its server farm. Several other counties across the Midwest are also experiencing outages.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Sovereign Sportsman Solutions focuses on digital permitting and licensing for outdoor recreation. PayIt, among the fastest growing companies in gov tech, has raised almost $200 million.

The city of Chattanooga, Tenn., has announced the start of a holistic digital transformation initiative to create a “digital city hall,” with the ultimate goal of improving the digital service experience for constituents.

One option would provide an affordable monthly broadband plan through a local nonprofit, while the second option would come through a proposed agreement with SiFi Networks to build fiber-optic lines across the city.