Emerging Citizen Technology

GSA’s Emerging Citizen Technology Office (ECTO) works with a network of partners from more than 300 federal, state, and local government entities – including all Cabinet-level departments, all branches of the armed services, and more than a dozen states – to help evaluate, test and implement IT modernization initiatives with emerging technologies.

While individual technology focuses will change with time, current efforts include:

• Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation
• Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies
• Social and Collaborative Technologies
• Virtual and Augmented Reality

ECTO works with experts on all aspects of practical and compliant use of emerging technologies and helps build roadmaps for government adoption, including over 2,100 participants across agencies, startups, industry leaders, civic organizations and research institutions. Here’s how it works:

• First, consultation with individual agencies and businesses to gain an understanding of potential use cases and trends.
• Next, building collaborative networks across government silos based on proven needs that reduce duplication of effort and better identify opportunities and barriers, including our new interagency Venture Capital Advisory Group.
• Ultimately, activation of interagency teams to support the development of shared resources and services that empower federal agencies to achieve more effective and efficient IT modernization.

ECTO hosts the U.S. Emerging Citizen Technology Atlas, an open source and crowdsourced repository to capture ongoing efforts, provide stakeholders with resources, and foster better collaboration between public services and U.S. businesses. Government employees are encouraged to join our interagency programs, and anyone can sign up for our public listservs to receive the latest information and opportunities to participate.