Last month, my nonprofit the Institute for Education — which focuses on bipartisanship and the power of soft diplomacy — hosted an event celebrating the “Civic Tech Revolution.” The event honored Justice Stephen Breyer for his years of service and commitment to understanding technology and our changing world throughout his decades on the Supreme Court. Our program included a panel of leaders in the tech-in-government space including U.S. chief data scientist Denise Ross, leaders of the U.S. Digital Corps, Presidential Innovation Fellows, and other leaders of the often overlooked effort to deliver modernized government to the American people.
Listening to these civic tech movement leaders a decade into their herculean efforts — I’ve been stuck on one key takeaway from the event. President Biden has not continued the important bipartisan practice of naming a chief technology officer of the United States. Symbolically, this sends a message that the current administration does value the civic technology movement to make government more accessible and efficient. Practically, this leaves hundreds of government employees without the proper leadership to accomplish their work.