Could 18f Work on Meaningful Problems?
When I left working full-time at the Sunlight Foundation (I'm officially in Day One of my retirement) I wasn't sure whether I would write much -- and still am not sure whether how much I will contribute to this blog. But I find that even as I begin to settle into this next phase of my life, I want to muse from time to time.
Tonight I ran across this article (from my good friends at Tech President) about the redesign of Recreation.gov, the author suggesting that the design project is a perfect fit for the innovative and creative new in-house government tech team (populated by many former Sunlighters) at 18f, part of the GSA. The goal: to develop a new government portal outdoor trip planning.
Think. About. That. For. A. Nanosecond.
Why in God's name would the talented people at 18f spend their time to help people -- or travel businesses or nonprofit organizations -- improve their use of government data for travel planning? I bet that in 10 seconds you could name 10 other important data sets that should be made accessible for third party applications that could, do something really useful such as, improve the health of people working around dangerous chemicals, the cleanliness of our restaurants, the safety of miners, etc.
If 18f spends its time working on issues like this one -- even if they build the coolest app ever -- it will be a total waste. When there are so many problems facing this country, maybe 18f should focus on one or two -- or three of four -- that might create some meaningful change or accountability?
