By crafting a simple widget, the California Office of Data and Innovation, part of the California Government Operations Agency, has boosted the number of residents who use state services for which they’re eligible. The tool, called a Benefits Recommender, is among the state IT projects highlighted in the California Department of Technology’s annual report, Realizing the Success of Vision 2023, published Feb. 1.
The Benefits Recommender “uses simple, existing technology in an innovative way, meeting people where they are on a benefits journey and connecting them into a web of care that breaks stereotypical government silos,” the report says. For example, if someone applies online for benefits through the Employment Development Department, they’ll get a reminder that based on their information, they may also be eligible for other state benefits — food assistance through CalFresh, for example.
The Recommender “requires a one-time integration for placement partners, with no maintenance overhead or tech debt to deal with,” says an award nomination that was submitted to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). “The widget is responsive and integrates smoothly into any given website’s design by inheriting fonts and styles. The pilot phase resulted in widget placements on three Employment Development Department (EDD) benefits pages, referring users to six additional benefit opportunities outside of EDD.”
The results were significant, the nomination paper says: “Compared to advertising, the Recommender widget is low-to-no cost and the audience reached is more targeted, without compromising user privacy. Data from the pilot phase show that the Recommender received 2.1 million views and had a click-through rate of 8.5%, resulting in over 4,300 new benefits applications.”
The NASCIO nomination adds: “Although the context of this project is benefits, the Recommender concept translates to myriad opportunities across sectors of state and federal government. Program awareness is a universal challenge in the public sector. Technology solutions such as the Recommender can drive awareness as part of a user-centered framework for digital services, thus addressing one of the State CIO Top 10 Priorities, Digital Government/Digital Services. Offering people a benefit — and making it easy for them to get that benefit — results in a positive experience with government.”
ODI is led by Director Jeffery Marino, who was promoted to his role last month. He joined ODI in May 2020 as a program manager, then served as deputy director for service innovation and chief strategist before being named to his current role. Marino was a panelist last fall at the California Government Innovation Summit in Sacramento, speaking on human-centered design.
