GSA’s 10x Will Test 22 Innovative Ideas Suggested by Federal Employees

An internal government program that takes federal employees’ good ideas and turns them into reality just greenlit 22 such ideas to build and test over the next year.

The General Services Administration’s 10x program—officially launched in 2018 but with roots going back to 2015—was established to tap into the creative thinking of federal employees who have to work through bad processes, deal with clunky technology and often have innovative ideas about how to improve both. The 10x program solicits ideas from employees, then tests them out through a four-phase process that asks, in order: Is this a bad idea? Is this a good idea? Will anyone use this? Will everyone use this?

10x is credited with launching the ideas behind successful governmentwide programs such as Login.gov and the U.S. Web Design System.

“Using this simple method, governmentwide platforms with millions of users have been developed and launched successfully,” said Dave Zvenyach, director of Technology Transformation Services, under which 10x is housed. “With technology at the forefront of today’s priorities, these ideas provide an incredible opportunity to drive innovation forward.”

Over the last 12 months, 10x received some 250 submissions from 34 different agencies and picked 22 of those to examine further. Projects will enter Phase I—which usually lasts between two to three weeks—“on a rolling basis over the next few months,” according to 10x program managers.

For the 2021 cohort, 10x officials were looking for projects that met one of three priorities: public trust and civic life; public lands and environment; and equity in delivery.

The team selected the following projects to enter Phase I this year:

• Know Your Civil Rights
• Reimagining Access to Government Services
• Resources for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
• Equity in Environmental Information
• Broadband for Underserved Populations
• Helping Small Disadvantaged Businesses Navigate Federal Procurement
• Improving Government Services en Español
• Futures Toolkit
• Visualizing the Federal Carbon Footprint
• Untangling Climate Resources
• Improving Response and Tracking of Sewer Spills
• National Conversation Lands Map
• Open Science Field Guide
• Government Technology Hiring Toolkit
• U.S. Federal Election Dates and Deadlines
• Plain Language for Data Tables
• Quantifying the Social Value of Data
• Reducing Duplicative Content on Agency Websites
• Data Passport
• Inclusion for Rulemaking in Early Stages
• Finding Grant-Funded Results and Products
• Software Development Vendor Management Guide

Additional details on each project are posted on the 10x website.