Information Everywhere but No Clear Place to Start - A Guide to Partnering with Agencies
From remote monitoring of federal lands to speeding up the manual processes around environmental permitting - technology providers play a critical role in enabling data-driven environmental projects. However, in dozens of interviews with technology providers, we’ve heard time and again it’s currently way too hard to navigate the process of working with the environmental agencies that could benefit from their technology.
We created a guide for technology providers agency technology strategies, partnership offices and funding opportunities to make it easier to partner with environmental agencies.
Why is this so hard to begin with?
While many agencies provide points of contact and other resources for technology providers, this information can be fragmented and, at times, challenging to access as a result of poor website design. In our search, the overall user experience of some agency websites was counterintuitive. For example, the Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) website has many resources for external partners. However, a provider using this site must navigate through several pages to find links to a list of Small Business Specialists and their contact information. Further, when navigating from the main page, there is no clear indication to users of where they can access this list or what purpose this list serves.
Several websites did not include names of liaisons, nor any type of contact information specifically for technology providers. Instead, we often found general email forms with unknown receivers, and links back to government-wide search systems, such as the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Additionally, the lack of consistent liaison titles across agencies could lead to some confusion for technology providers. These communication pathways only broaden the scope of research that technology providers have to do, creating greater distance between them and agencies. Outside of specific opportunities, some agencies had opportunities to submit unsolicited proposals, which could in theory help a technology provider with an innovative idea that does not fit any standard grant or contracting opportunity. However, in practice, these were difficult to find and provided little clarity about the process after submission.
What can we do about it?
This is a solvable problem - we aren’t creating new technology, but rather thinking about how to organize all the information in an easy-to-access place, marketing specialists have extensive expertise on this! Some low-hanging fruit would be:
Centralized landing pages and interactive walkthroughs
Streamline the user experience by consolidating several webpages
Create a decision-tree or set of questions that could lead users more easily to their destination.
NOAA’s Acquisitions and Grants Office and their Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) are among the best examples of how to do this well by consolidating clear and concise information onto their respective websites. The first covers how to develop a strategic partnership with NOAA for technologies that are ready to deploy. The second explains the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer programs, which are aimed at supporting the development of technologies. The TPO site provides users with step-by-step processes and resources for technology partnerships, and effectively assists users in determining their appropriate agreement type (figure).
Chart for small businesses and technology providers to determine agreement types when establishing partnerships (NOAA)
However, the best example is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s Pathfinder website, developed to “demystify selling to and innovating with the Department of Veterans Affairs by giving [users] the tools [users] need to understand and navigate the process.”
Pathfinder provides a simplified process in which users progressively refine information by answering questions on the type of partnership they seek, type of organization they are (i.e. academic, government agency, industry, individual, etc.), and their partnership goals. Users are then directed to the exact resources needed based on their answers. This streamlined approach removes the burden from the user to find and differentiate resources based on their individual needs.
It’s time environmental agencies follow suit - and bonus for collaboration among agencies since there are often complementary and overlapping technology needs! Improving the user experience and increasing transparency and access to resources can foster stronger relationships between agencies and technology providers. Now more than ever government agencies need the ability to adopt innovations that speed progress towards its environmental goals. Better monitoring of ecosystem health, more effective conservation and restoration strategies, improved climate resilience for rural and urban communities, and more equitable funding for water infrastructure are all within reach if we can simplify the process of working across organizational boundaries.
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EPIC’s technology team works to bring the public and private sectors together to accelerate the development and use of technology for environmental stewardship. If any of these concepts resonate with you and you would like to collaborate on solutions, please reach out to Reed Van Beveren at reed@policyinnovation.org.