“The Department of Government Improvement: Civic Tech and Why It Matters” with Donald Moynihan, University of Michigan

Event time: 
Monday, June 9, 2025 - 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Location: 
Online () See map
Event description: 

ISPS WEBINAR EVENT

Join us for a timely conversation on the state of civic technology in the U.S. government. Civic tech initiatives like 18F and the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) brought agile, user-centered design and technical expertise into federal agencies. But today, these efforts are under threat.

In this webinar, ISPS Director Alan Gerber will chat with Donald Moynihan, public policy professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Business and director of the Better Government Lab. Moynihan will discuss examples that illustrate the value of embedding skilled technologists in government and how recent political shifts have affected these programs, with consequences for the security, efficiency, and integrity of government services.

REGISTER ON ZOOM at https://yale.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x8Jth-MqTfe35-J8Ptl5Gg#/registr…

Donald Moynihan is the Ford School’s J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy. Previously he served as Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy Chair of Public Policy and the director of the La Follette School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Moynihan’s research seeks to improve how government works by studying the administrative burdens people encounter in their interactions with the government. He co-directs the Better Government Lab, which looks for technology and other types of interventions to help government improve access to the social safety net.

Moynihan has presented his research to policymakers at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, OECD, the Government Accountability Office, as well as governments around the world. His writing and research have been cited in President Obama’s and President Biden’s budget proposals, OMB policy guidance under President Biden, and media such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and other publications.

This event is open to the Yale community and the general public.