U.S. General Services Administration
10x: A home for federal innovators
Post filed in: Technology Transformation Services
Are you the go-to person for ideas on your team? Are you the one who finds creative ways to solve problems? Do you see opportunities where others see challenges?
Here’s the good news: GSA’s 10x program–where skilled technologists explore, research, and test great ideas from people like you–is accepting submissions through November 30. Better news: the project proposal you submit to 10x is less than three sentences long.
For the past seven years, GSA’s 10x program has invested in technology ideas from federal employees that became new products and services that help government deliver better. The name “10x” came from the idea that funded projects would return 10 times the value of the initial investment, making government tech 10 times better.
You’ve probably come across technology that was made possible with 10x funding before.
10x Record of Success
Born from simple ideas submitted by feds, here are a few of the platforms and innovative products that all got their start as 10x investments:
- Benefits Eligibility Awareness Recognition Service - a locator tool helping people find the benefits they might be eligible for following the death of a loved one, such as survivor payments, military funerals, and housing help.
- Bias Toolkit - a suite of digital tools helping civil servants identify, understand, and remove sources of bias in datasets and algorithms in order to deliver more equitably for people.
- Login.gov - a secure digital account used by millions of Americans to sign in to participating government agency platforms.
- PlainLanguage.gov - a good-for-government website promoting the use of plain language for all federal government communications and supports the efforts of the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN).
- The US Web Design System - an ever-growing library of reusable, modern web components that federal web managers across government use to deliver elegant digital experiences to the public.
What 10x is looking for
10x funds ideas on a wide range of topics related to government technology. But this year, 10x is looking particularly interested in funding ideas that align with two themes, Digital Foundations and Equity in Delivery. Here’s what that means:
Digital Foundations
10x wants ideas on how the government can build an innovative digital infrastructure to ‘pave the way’ for innovative physical infrastructure improvements.
Sample topics that meet the spirit of this theme include:
- making infrastructure investments transparent,
- promoting an equitable distribution of infrastructure funding,
- finding new ways of involving communities in designing infrastructure projects, and
- re-imagining how the government can roll out new smart building technologies.
Ask yourself: How can digital technology improve how the government thinks about and implements infrastructure projects?
Equity in Delivery
10x wants ideas for projects to improve how the government serves those most in need of help.
Sample topics that meet the spirit of this theme include:
- raising civil rights awareness,
- preserving privacy,
- making it easier to understand government services and programs,
- delivering environmental justice, and
- strengthening social safety net innovations.
Ask yourself: What government-provided services could use technology to better serve the people typically left out or frequently overlooked?
Final Call
Join the government’s movement to invest in our greatest resource: the dedicated, creative, civil servants who deliver services to the public. Submit your ideas through the 10x website today!
Check out the 10x website to learn about what happens after you submit your idea. The 10x team expects to announce and begin new projects early in 2023. The deadline to submit is 11:59pm EST on November 30.
Stay Connected and Involved
Share this opportunity to your federal networks–all federal employees can submit ideas to 10x. Follow @GSA_TTS to learn which projects we’ll fund.