United States DOGE Service

United States DOGE Service
Agency overview
Formed	August 11, 2014
Headquarters	736 Jackson Place, Washington, D.C., U.S.; 38°53′59″N 77°02′17″W / 38.899614°N 77.038026°W
Parent department	Executive Office of the President of the United States
Website	www.usds.gov

The United States DOGE Service (USDS), formerly the United States Digital Service,^[1] ^{[better source needed]} is a technology unit^[2]^[3] 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.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Activities

The USDS has created:

A Digital Services Playbook, for improving digital government^[8]
Draft Web Design Standards, "to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites"^[9]
TechFAR Handbook, on federal contracting and procurement^[10]^[11]
Discovery Sprint Guide^[12]

The USDS sends a report to Congress each year detailing its projects and accomplishments.^[13] 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

As U.S. Digital Service

For years, people both inside and outside of government were working on ways to make government more effective, using technology and design. This included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Code for America, Government Digital Service in the U.K., and other U.S. government entities. The idea took more concrete shape when Jen Pahlka, having visited the United Kingdom's Government Digital Service,^[14] joined the Chief Technology Office of the United States and her ideas and converged with what was already underway in the United States Government. The healthcare.gov technology crisis accelerated the idea, and served as the United States Digital Service's first project.

The first head of the USDS was Mikey Dickerson, a former Google engineer who was involved in the 2013–14 rescue of the HealthCare.gov website.^[15] He was succeeded by Matt Cutts, who maintained the position until April 2021.^[16]

The third administrator of the USDS was Mina Hsiang.^[17]^[18]^[19] During the Biden administration, Hsiang led the USDS in deploying a new website about COVID-19 vaccines.^[20]

In 2021, the USDS employed 215 people and was looking to expand further.^[21]

Other Digital Services were created and modeled after the United States Digital Service:

Florida Digital Service, created in 2020^[22]
Colorado Digital Service, 2019^[23]

As U.S. DOGE Service

On January 20, 2025, the United States Digital Service was renamed as the United States DOGE Service, in reference to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In the executive order renaming USDS, President Donald Trump ordered every agency to create a DOGE team of at least four employees in consultation with USDS to implement the president's DOGE agenda.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Establishing and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency"". Whitehouse.gov. January 20, 2025.
^ Zakrzewski, Cat (5 December 2018). "The government's tech unit is trying to reduce wait times for asylum seekers". The Washington Post.
^ Lapowsky, Issie (2019-03-14). "Kamala Harris Wants to Give States Millions to Overhaul Tech". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
^ "FACT SHEET: Improving and Simplifying Digital Service". The White House. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
^ 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.
^ Howard, Alex (August 13, 2014). "New US Digital Service Looks to Avoid IT Catastrophes". TechPresident. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014.
^ Shear, Michael D (August 11, 2014). "White House Picks Engineer From Google to Fix Sites". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
^ "Digital Services Playbook". U.S. Chief Information Officers Council.
^ "Draft Web Design Standards". United States Web Design System.
^ 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.
^ Rockwell, Mark (March 13, 2015). "OFPP launches podcast series to talk TechFAR, playbook". FCW Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
^ "Discovery Sprint Guide". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ "United States Digital Service". United States Digital Service. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
^ Levy, Steven (January 18, 2017). "The Final Days of Obama's Tech Surge". Wired Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
^ Brill, Stephen (February 17, 2014). "Obama's Trauma Team". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015. (subscription required)
^ Cutts, Matt (April 14, 2021). "The Next Chapter for USDS". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
^ "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.
^ "Mina Hsiang appointed USDS administrator". FedScoop. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
^ "Introducing the Administrator of the U.S. Digital Service: Mina Hsiang". U.S. Digital Service. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
^ "Exclusive: New boss for government's tech "SWAT team"". September 2, 2021.
^ "Great Resignation boosts White House's tech talent hunt". January 18, 2022.
^ Wood, Colin (2020-08-13). "Florida State Rep. James Grant to become state's new CIO". StateScoop. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
^ "Colorado Digital Service, First Five Years | Office of Information Technology". oit.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-22.

External links

This United States government–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[renamed-1] "Establishing and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency"". Whitehouse.gov. January 20, 2025.

[2] Zakrzewski, Cat (5 December 2018). "The government's tech unit is trying to reduce wait times for asylum seekers". The Washington Post.

[3] Lapowsky, Issie (2019-03-14). "Kamala Harris Wants to Give States Millions to Overhaul Tech". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-03-14.

[4] "FACT SHEET: Improving and Simplifying Digital Service". The White House. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2015-04-19.

[5] 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.

[techpresident20140813-6] Howard, Alex (August 13, 2014). "New US Digital Service Looks to Avoid IT Catastrophes". TechPresident. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014.

[nyt20140811-7] Shear, Michael D (August 11, 2014). "White House Picks Engineer From Google to Fix Sites". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

[8] "Digital Services Playbook". U.S. Chief Information Officers Council.

[9] "Draft Web Design Standards". United States Web Design System.

[10] 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.

[11] Rockwell, Mark (March 13, 2015). "OFPP launches podcast series to talk TechFAR, playbook". FCW Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

[12] "Discovery Sprint Guide". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

[13] "United States Digital Service". United States Digital Service. Retrieved April 18, 2018.

[14] Levy, Steven (January 18, 2017). "The Final Days of Obama's Tech Surge". Wired Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2018.

[15] Brill, Stephen (February 17, 2014). "Obama's Trauma Team". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2015. (subscription required)

[16] Cutts, Matt (April 14, 2021). "The Next Chapter for USDS". U.S. Digital Service. Retrieved August 20, 2021.

[17] "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.

[18] "Mina Hsiang appointed USDS administrator". FedScoop. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

[19] "Introducing the Administrator of the U.S. Digital Service: Mina Hsiang". U.S. Digital Service. September 2, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

[20] "Exclusive: New boss for government's tech "SWAT team"". September 2, 2021.

[21] "Great Resignation boosts White House's tech talent hunt". January 18, 2022.

[22] Wood, Colin (2020-08-13). "Florida State Rep. James Grant to become state's new CIO". StateScoop. Retrieved 2024-05-08.

[23] "Colorado Digital Service, First Five Years | Office of Information Technology". oit.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-22.

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