{
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    "title" : "Collaborate with the TTS Public Benefits Studio |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Collaborate with the TTS Public Benefits Studio",
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    {"title" :"Collaborate with the TTS Public Benefits Studio","summary" : "The Benefits Studio is seeking feedback and collaboration as it explores texting as a tool to improve the public experience of benefits programs.","date" : "2023-02-07T12:52:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"amy-ashida" : "Amy Ashida","emily-herrick" : "Emily Herrick","alex-pandel" : "Alex Pandel"},"topics" : {
        
            "customer-experience" : "Customer experience",
            "mobile" : "Mobile"
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  "Screenshot of the U.S. Notify template-drafting page, where a user has drafted a template text message for a one-week appointment reminder for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. It includes variable fields to automatically customize the message to include each recipient’s name, and the specific address, date, and time of their upcoming appointment. For demonstration purposes only.", "width" :
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      "filename" :"2023-02-07-collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2023/02/2023-02-07-collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2023/02/2023-02-07-collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2023/02/2023-02-07-collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio.md","slug" : "collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/02/07/collaborate-with-the-tts-public-benefits-studio/","weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAmy Ashida is the Studio Lead, Alex Pandel is the Deputy Lead, and Emily Herrick is a Service Designer on the Public Benefits Studio team at the General Services Administration (GSA).\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a person experiencing challenging life circumstances, a confusing or overly complicated government experience can prevent access to vitally important services like healthcare, food assistance, and unemployment insurance. To directly address this challenge, the federal government has made a huge push over the past year to improve the public\u0026rsquo;s experience of critical government services, as outlined in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.performance.gov/pma/vision/#section-8\"\u003ePresident\u0026rsquo;s Management Agenda\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/13/executive-order-on-transforming-federal-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-to-rebuild-trust-in-government/\"\u003eCustomer Experience Executive Order\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver many years of work in this space, the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) at GSA has historically partnered with individual government benefits agencies to address one program at a time. However, since most people interacting with one benefits program are also interacting with many others, \u003cstrong\u003eTTS recently created a new Public Benefits Studio to focus on fostering a more cohesive, coordinated experience for the public, \u003cem\u003eacross\u003c/em\u003e programs.\u003c/strong\u003e To do this, our team is seeking to collaborate with benefits agencies to develop shared technology tools and best practices that can be used by multiple benefits programs simultaneously.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo ensure we are contributing to the ecosystem of solutions in the most effective way possible from our central position in the federal government, \u003cstrong\u003ewe need your help!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAre you part of a government agency, non-profit, or vendor team working to improve access to and delivery of programs that serve low-income families and underserved communities? If so, we would love to help unblock and learn from your work. Here\u0026rsquo;s where we\u0026rsquo;re at currently and how to get involved.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"our-first-bet-text-and-multi-channel-notifications\"\u003eOur first bet: text and multi-channel notifications\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are many reasons why \u003cstrong\u003eit\u0026rsquo;s advantageous for benefits agencies to offer multiple modes of communication to reach participants with critical program information\u003c/strong\u003e like application deadlines, interview reminders, etc. For example:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImproving the quality and successful delivery of notifications to program participants \u003ca href=\"http://ladepthealth.blogspot.com/2020/03/cell-phones-as-safety-net-lifeline-what.html\"\u003egreatly reduces the incidence of “churn”\u003c/a\u003e (people being unenrolled and then re-enrolling to programs within a few months), and \u003ca href=\"https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/specialinitiatives/local-law/LL60-benefits-access-report-final.pdf\"\u003ecan help increase cross-program eligibility awareness and enrollment (PDF, 468 KB, 37 pages)\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGiven that 97% of U.S. adults with an income of less than $30,000 have a cellphone \u003csup\u003e\u003ca aria-describedby=\"footnote-label\" href=\"#fn1\" id=\"footnotes-ref1\"\u003e[1]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/mac-learning-collaboratives/ensrng-contnty-cvrg-prvntng-inprprte-trmntns-part-2.pdf\"\u003elikelihood of successful delivery and follow-through (PDF, 382 KB, 22 pages)\u003c/a\u003e greatly increases by offering text and email options in addition to postal mail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMulti-channel notifications are named specifically as an opportunity to minimize burden on the public in \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/M-22-10.pdf\"\u003eOMB Memo M-22-10, Improving Access to Public Benefits Programs Through the Paperwork Reduction Act (PDF, 616 KB, 18 pages)\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDespite this, email and text notifications are currently underused by public benefits agencies.\u003c/strong\u003e Barriers to adoption often include the high operational cost of procurement and limited in-house technical capacity necessary to use existing tools, as well as ambiguity around what constitutes legal consent to text or email participants. Even among agencies that are using text or email notifications, there\u0026rsquo;s inconsistency in the clarity and quality of the messages.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs our first bet, \u003cstrong\u003ethe Studio is exploring opportunities to close this gap in adoption of plain-language, multi-channel notifications. We\u0026rsquo;re starting by piloting a digital notifications service, which we are currently calling Notify.gov\u003c/strong\u003e (formally known as U.S. Notify), designed to allow benefits program staff to start sending customized text messages to program participants at minimal cost. \u003ca href=\"https://notify.gov/\"\u003eNotify.gov\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rsquo;s easy, web-based interface requires no technical expertise to use and can be set up in as little as 10 minutes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n        src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/notify-gov-dashboard.png\"alt=\"Screenshot of the Notify.gov dashboard page that displays the number of text messages sent over a period of time.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://notify.gov/\"\u003eNotify.gov\u003c/a\u003e builds upon the success of open-source tools and service models from other government agencies (see: the United Kingdom\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/\"\u003eGOV.UK Notify\u003c/a\u003e, Canada\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"https://notification.canada.ca/\"\u003eGC Notify\u003c/a\u003e, and the U.S. Veterans Affairs\u0026rsquo; \u003ca href=\"https://va.org/the-department-of-veterans-affairs-launches-vanotify-expected-to-streamline-official-communication/\"\u003eVANotify\u003c/a\u003e) and past government pilots from organizations like the Benefits Data Trust \u003csup\u003e\u003ca aria-describedby=\"footnote-label\" href=\"#fn2\" id=\"footnotes-ref2\"\u003e[2]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and Code for America \u003csup\u003e\u003ca aria-describedby=\"footnote-label\" href=\"#fn3\" id=\"footnotes-ref3\"\u003e[3]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e that demonstrate meaningful outcomes across benefit programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"whats-next\"\u003eWhat\u0026rsquo;s next?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;re also exploring opportunities to collaborate with benefits agencies to clarify policies around consent and text use, gather and publish best practices around content strategy, and measure impact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotifications are just the start. The Studio plans to explore other opportunity areas in the future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAre there certain opportunity areas that especially resonate with you or are pressing to you that we should have on our radar? Email us at \u003ca href=\"mailto:tts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov\"\u003etts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov\u003c/a\u003e to let us know.\u003c/strong\u003e Your input and experience will play a huge role in focusing and shaping our future work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-studio-would-love-to-collaborate\"\u003eThe Studio would love to collaborate!\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you\u0026rsquo;d like to learn more or have feedback to share, we\u0026rsquo;re eager to hear from and collaborate with you! Here are a few ways to get involved:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRequest a Studio introduction and/or a Notify.gov demo\u003c/strong\u003e: Email us to request an introductory call to talk about our product, near-term goals, and ways to get involved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvide feedback about Notify.gov\u003c/strong\u003e: If you\u0026rsquo;re a potential Notify.gov user, email us to set up an individual session to provide feedback on design of the tool and talk through potential setup considerations from your vantage point.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePilot Notify.gov\u003c/strong\u003e: We\u0026rsquo;re looking for benefits agency partners to join the next pilot program and try out \u003ca href=\"https://notify.gov/\"\u003eNotify.gov\u003c/a\u003e. Email us at \u003ca href=\"mailto:tts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov\"\u003etts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov\u003c/a\u003e and let us know if you think this might be the tool for you.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAttend a collaborative working session\u003c/strong\u003e: Alongside the above activities, we are also convening cross-functional stakeholders in a series of workshops to connect people across contexts to learn from each other and provide input on what support the Studio could provide to government agencies interested in using notifications. Email us for more information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003carticle\n  class=\"dg-note \"\n\u003e\n  \u003ch4 class=\"dg-note__heading\"\u003e\n    \u003csvg\n      class=\"dg-note__icon usa-icon dg-icon dg-icon--large\"\n      aria-hidden=\"true\"\n      focusable=\"false\"\n    \u003e\n      \u003cuse xlink:href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/uswds/img/sprite.svg#notifications\"\u003e\u003c/use\u003e\n    \u003c/svg\u003e\n    \n      Note\n    \n  \u003c/h4\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"mailto:tts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov?subject=Learn%20more%20about%20Notify.gov\"\u003eEmail us\u003c/a\u003e to request an introductory call, set up an individual feedback session, pilot the tool, or receive more information.\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLinks to non-government sources are for informational purposes only. They do not represent an endorsement of the organizations cited.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"about-the-tts-public-benefits-studio\"\u003eAbout the TTS Public Benefits Studio\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe TTS Public Benefits Studio is a newly-established, cross-functional team of technologists within GSA\u0026rsquo;s Technology Transformation Services with specialized experience supporting public benefits programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and unemployment insurance that serve low-income families and underserved communities. The Benefits Studio is focused on collaborating with benefits agencies to develop shared technology tools and best practices that support a more coordinated public experience \u003cem\u003eacross\u003c/em\u003e programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStay tuned for more opportunities to participate in research and influence scope and features as we build out additional shared resources and services. We look forward to collaborating!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dg-footnote\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"dg-footnote__heading\" id=\"footnote-label\"\u003eFootnotes\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003col class=\"dg-footnote__list\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"dg-footnote__list-item\" id=\"fn1\"\u003ePew Research Center. 2021, April 7. Mobile Fact Sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/. \u003ca href=\"#footnotes-ref1\" aria-label=\"Back to content\"\u003e↩\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli id=\"fn2\"\u003eBenefits Data Trust. 2019, May 9. Nudging benefits access in the right direction. https://bdtrust.org/nudging-benefits-access-in-the-right-direction/. \u003ca href=\"#footnotes-ref2\" aria-label=\"Back to content\"\u003e↩\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli id=\"fn3\"\u003eCode for America. 2019. LA'MESSAGE. https://www.codeforamerica.org/features/louisiana-demo/. \u003ca href=\"#footnotes-ref3\" aria-label=\"Back to content\"\u003e↩\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n"}
  ]
}