18F works to improve the user experience of government. Over the past year, 18F has helped amazing partner agencies launch new software products to better serve their users. Each successful launch depends on solid user research, careful product thinking, and strong team-building.

Here are six launches that 18F has supported this year.

🚀 IRS Direct File Pilot launch with the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Digital Service

What

Taxpayers in 12 states used the Direct File pilot to file their taxes quickly, easily, and for free directly with the IRS.

When

Public testing began in February 2024. The website opened for eligible taxpayers in pilot states in March 2024.

Impact

Over the course of the pilot, more than 3.3 million taxpayers started the Eligibility Checker to see if they could use Direct File.

423,450 taxpayers logged into Direct File, and 140,803 taxpayers submitted accepted returns.

Direct File issued more than $90 million in tax refunds and collected $35 million in tax balances due.

More than 15,000 Direct File users participated in a Touchpoints survey, which found that:

  • 90% of respondents ranked their experience as Excellent or Above Average.
  • When asked what they particularly liked, respondents most commonly cited Direct File’s ease of use, trustworthiness, and that it was free.
  • 86% of respondents said that their experience with Direct File increased their trust in the IRS.

🚀 get.gov launch with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

What

.Gov domains help the public identify official, trusted information.

Government organizations at all levels in the United States are eligible for .gov domains — this includes cities, towns, counties, election offices, states, tribal governments, courts, federal agencies, and more. Overall, more than 11,000 government organizations use .gov domains.

CISA worked with 18F to launch a new website for requesting .gov domains.

When

The new get.gov website launched in January 2024.

Impact

The old domain request process required a signature, typically from a senior elected or high-ranking official. For many organizations, these requirements led to unnecessary bureaucracy that caused delays.

The new request process is fully digital, doesn’t require a physical signature, and can usually be approved by someone with significant executive responsibility in the organization, reducing delays.

The new process has also empowered CISA to adjudicate more new domains than .gov has ever done in a single year — and the year isn't finished yet.

🚀 ClimateCorps.gov launch with AmeriCorps and the U.S. Digital Service

What

AmeriCorps, 18F, and the U.S. Digital Service partnered to build a new website for the American Climate Corps.

The website’s goal is to make it easy for any American to find work tackling the climate crisis, while gaining the skills necessary for the clean energy and climate resilience workforce of the future.

When

ClimateCorps.gov launched on Earth Day, April 22, 2024.

Impact

The public can use ClimateCorps.gov to find jobs advancing clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience.

ClimateCorps.gov organized information on nearly 2,000 Climate Corps positions located across 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These positions are hosted by hundreds of organizations advancing clean energy, conservation and climate resilience.

🚀 National Accuracy Clearinghouse launch with U.S. Department of Agriculture

What

The National Accuracy Clearinghouse (NAC) is a data matching system designed to ensure individuals are not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in more than one state at the same time.

The National Accuracy Clearinghouse was established as a result of the 2018 Farm Bill.

The goals of the NAC are to:

  • enhance SNAP program integrity
  • reduce improper payments
  • improve the customer experience for participants who move from one state to another by ensuring timely, fair, and accurate benefit decisions

When

The National Accuracy Clearinghouse launched with its first two participating states in February 2024.

Impact

The NAC is improving program access and customer experience by facilitating state-to-state communication to help state agencies promptly and accurately process SNAP recipient moves from one state to another.

Since February, a total of five states have implemented the NAC, with all SNAP state agencies working toward nationwide implementation.

🚀 Notify.gov launch with GSA Public Benefits Studio

What

Notify.gov is a new text messaging service from GSA’s Public Benefits Studio. Notify.gov helps government agencies meet people where they are, by lowering barriers to texting and enabling agencies to easily send customized, bulk text messages to the people they serve. 18F worked with the Public Benefits Studio on the development of Notify.gov by providing research, design, and engineering support.

When

In the summer of 2023, Notify.gov launched its first pilot partnerships with state and local agencies administering SNAP and Medicaid.

In November 2023, the first messages were sent to the public with Notify.gov by the Department of Human Services in Norfolk, Virginia.

Impact

Texting is a proven way to improve the public’s experience of government, deliver better program outcomes, and reduce administrative costs — and Notify.gov is a trustworthy and easy-to-use onramp to help government agencies get started texting.

To date, state, local, and federal pilot partners have sent over 60,000 messages using Notify.gov. These messages have helped people:

  • keep their health care coverage, by informing Medicaid recipients that they need to renew their coverage
  • protect their benefits, by alerting them that their EBT may have been compromised
  • avoid passport processing delays, by informing applicants that they need to submit a new photo.

Notify.gov is growing rapidly, and has received interest from more than 100 programs in at least 30 states, 10 counties, 12 cities, and 18 federal agencies. To learn more and get started with Notify.gov, contact the team at [email protected].

🚀 Federal Audit Clearinghouse launch with the Office of Regulatory and Oversight Systems, Presidential Innovation Fellows, and 10x

What

All entities that spend $750,000 or more in federal grant funds in a fiscal year must submit an audit to the federal government. The Office of Regulatory and Oversight Systems (OROS) within the General Services Administration created a new Federal Audit Clearinghouse for grantees, with the goals of:

  • delivering a maintainable new system
  • seamlessly transitioning users from the old system to the new one
  • making audit data more transparent

Who

The new site was built and launched by the Office of Regulatory and Oversight Systems with support from many parts of government, including Presidential Innovation Fellows, 10x, and 18F.

When

The new Federal Audit Clearinghouse site launched in October 2023.

Impact

The modernized Federal Audit Clearinghouse serves hundreds of thousands of users who interact with hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grant funding each year.

Launching the new site allowed Census to successfully retire its legacy system. Customer satisfaction with the new website helpdesk is trending over 95%.

Work with us

Work in government? Want to see your agency launch software products like these? Reach out at [email protected].

IRS Direct File

get.gov

ClimateCorps.gov

National Accuracy Clearinghouse

Notify.gov

Federal Audit Clearinghouse