How will this Administration ensure that environmental agencies can leverage the necessary technology to fulfill existing programs and new initiatives consistently and effectively?
Through a Digital Service for the Planet. To successfully pursue the Biden Administration’s ambitious environmental agenda, the federal government needs to significantly rethink how to build, manage, and partner with the technology that supports environmental conservation. EPIC is championing the Digital Service for the Planet initiative that would help build the partnerships and savvy teams within government necessary to accelerate progress on climate and environmental goals.
Environmental agencies need more modern approaches to data and technology - a Digital Service for the Planet can help.
New tools and technologies supporting environmental and conservation goals abound, but getting the best out of these potential innovations is not as straightforward as it may seem, especially in the federal government. Despite spending upwards of $100 billion on IT every year, 80% of that will go towards maintaining legacy systems that struggle to deliver all the benefits of modern systems. Federal environmental agencies experience this acutely. For one, water data remains severely fragmented across over 20 federal agencies. Secondly, many programs that monitor the environment or issue permits to improve it are not yet benefiting from automated systems and technologies that can provide actionable information and a better picture of environmental and conservation outcomes.
What’s more is that only about 13% of major government software projects succeed (according to a report from The Standish Group) due to many collaboration, budgeting, procurement, and capacity issues. The U.S. Digital Service (USDS) was created to tackle these issues by providing federal agencies with on-demand access to the technical expertise they need to design, procure, and deploy technology for the public good. However despite the USDS’s many successes throughout its 8-year tenure, programmatic staff within environmental agencies often remain unaware of their services and continue to lag behind technological progress made in other sectors.
Learn more about our recommendations for building a Digital Service for the Planet.
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The USDS hires employees on short-term contracts, with each contract term lasting between six months and four years. This contract-based model enables USDS to attract high-level technologists, product designers, and programmers who are interested in public service, but not necessarily committed to careers in government. USDS’s staffing model also ensures that the Service does not take over core agency capacities, but rather is deployed to design and procure tech solutions that agencies will ultimately operate in-house (i.e., without USDS involvement). USDS’s position within the EOP makes USDS an attractive place for top-level talent to work, gives staff access to high-level government officials, and enables the Service to work flexibly across agencies
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Working on data and technology issues within environmental contexts requires specialized skill sets and experience. For example, geospatial data and analysis are fundamental to environmental protection and conservation, but this has not been a focal point of USDS hiring. In addition, a DSP staff fluent in the vast and specific terminologies used in environmental fields (such as water management) will be better able to communicate with the many subject-matter experts and data stewards working in environmental agencies.
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Most USDS projects focus on a single federal agency, but environmental initiatives—and the data and tech needs they present—almost always involve multiple agencies. Major national challenges, including flood-risk management, harmful algal blooms, and environmental justice, all demand an integrated approach to realize cross-agency benefits. For example, EPA-funded green stormwater infrastructure could reduce flood risk for housing units subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. DSP should be explicitly tasked with devising approaches for tackling complex data and technology issues that cut across agencies. Fulfilling this mandate may require DSP to bring on additional expertise in core competencies such as data sharing and integration.
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Despite USDS’s eight-year existence, many staff members at agencies involved in environmental initiatives know little about the Service and what it can do for them. To avoid underutilization due to lack of awareness, the DSP’s launch should include an outreach campaign targeted at key agencies, including but not limited to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
