Introducing Pollinator: a space to share things that work
by Emily Wright-Moore
In trying to use technology to work smarter and serve people better, we tend to belabor the systems and tools we are using. We can get caught up in how they don’t work like they should: don’t give us the information we need, take forever, and are from too long ago. We talk about and zoom in on when upgrades or improvements are planned to happen. As a designer, technologist, former public servant and now civic tech consultant, I’m often part of conversations around this.
Yet, the focus on big systems and tools alone can sometimes distract us from the insights in between them that need to be examined to truly serve users better. We discuss the old systems and often miss that the system itself was built in isolation, solving a problem we also had in the early 2000’s. Meanwhile, our users are sent darting through these websites and programs trying to navigate the pieces we’ve built to fit together to form the latest solution. At the end of the day our goal is to help make it easier for our users, for people, to get disability benefits, health insurance, or a driver’s license.
Once as part of my work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), I remember digging into “digitizing” a form and wrapping my brain around what it was really for. I finally realized it was essentially a checkbox for a Veteran to release their information from one VA service to be used to apply for an additional VA service. Basically, a Veteran needed to use data they’d already given the VA to access more benefits. As a user of the systems, this is something that was likely difficult for them to find, understand, and submit, and also an added step that delayed the process. However, since we had already launched an online platform for services that connected a Veteran’s services with their accounts and data — this form did not need to be “digitized.” That was not the solution that would really help the user. Instead, the essence of the form was something that could be supported with the connections we’d already built in between and across veteran-facing services.
This is why when I start a new project with an organization or government agency looking to deliver better services using technology, I tell my team and my clients that we need to start by looking at the places “in between” systems. This for me is the interesting part, the part that can make all the difference. By honing in and addressing those user-driven spaces between systems, our users might just find it works as they expected, or better. And internally, claims processing work might actually take the amount of time it feels like it should.
This is why I love technology. At its best, it has the power to make our lives easier and serve as a natural connector.
And we, as technologists, are wired to see the world this way. That’s why we’re launching Pollinator. A pollinator is a creature that — in going from plant to plant, is able to spread and grow good things (ideally) between them. We want to be a connector that shares what we are learning about solving problems, however small or complex, through work with our partners — governments, organizations, nonprofits, and communities. We want to create a space at the intersections of data, design, tech and MacGyver-esque problem solving that sticks close to our end-users, or those we seek to serve.
As things rise to the surface for us as patterns, or pieces that can be used modularly, we will share our lessons, so that we can all build off of one another. We hope this space offers that. As we get going, we would love to hear from you — with comments, and your own lessons and notes from the field that should be shared. We can all be pollinators.
Emily Wright-Moore is a user experience designer and researcher. She’s worked in civic technology with Code for America, the United States Digital Service, and is currently a principal at Bloom Works.
Pollinator is an open space for sharing lessons learned and insights curated by Bloom Works. Have practical wisdom to share with other changemakers in this space? We’d love to learn more. Drop us a line at — pollinator@bloomworks.digital
