Projects

We've empowered governments, non-profits, and organizations to grow their teams, develop new skills, and enact positive change

A street in front of Boston city hall. Forms and digital applications

Boston forms and digital applications

In 2024, SDC partnered with the Boston Digital Service to assess over 150 public-facing digital forms and applications across more than 20 platforms. Together, we developed a strategy to streamline city operations while maintaining human-centered, online public services.
A large pile of US $1 bills Budget reform

Support for the Commission on Programming, Planning, Budgeting & Execution

In 2022, Congress established a commission to update how the Department of Defense develops its annual budget, one of the most complex processes in the world. We contributed directly to the commission’s final report with recommendations to improve the use of technology and make military planning more efficient.
Detail of a woman's hands holding a pen and a blank sticky note. More sticky notes are visible in the background. Workforce development

CMS discovery sprint workshop series

As part of their larger training goals, the workforce resilience team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wanted to introduce their staff to human-centered design. Over the course of a year, we developed and facilitated a series of customized workshops on design and discovery.
Photograph of several rows of documents piled high in an office. Security

Risk management framework and the technical security process

The federal government secures public data using a slow and expensive compliance process that has fallen far behind industry standards. We worked with senior security experts inside and outside of government to explain why this well-intentioned program was failing and how the government could fix it.
Five people in a meeting. A woman in the center of the group is leading the discussion. Research

Modern federal leadership

We interviewed federal leaders, technical teams, and training institutions to understand why certain approaches are more successful than others. We learned how today’s government leaders approach service delivery, how they define success, and how they use technology to make government services better for everyone.
A mother cradling a newborn baby in their arms. Social safety net

Barriers to WIC enrollment

Our team conducted a landscape analysis of all 89 WIC states, territories, and tribal organizations. We focused on how people can find out if they are eligible for the program and how easy it is to understand the information providers have on their websites.