A reflection from public interest technology organizations on the chaotic first year and what lies ahead
One year into the current federal administration, the civic tech landscape has been fundamentally reshaped by radical shifts in policy, massive personnel changes, and a re-evaluation of how technology serves—or surveils—the public. While the initial shocks of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have settled into a new, often grueling reality, the community remains committed to building a government that is effective, transparent, and human-centered.
The year one reality
Since January 2025, nearly 325,000 federal employees departed government service—the lowest workforce levels in a decade. Alongside major agencies being decimated, civic tech took an especially hard hit across the federal government at large and ranging from those just starting their careers to those who have decades of experience from all technical disciplines. These were people who built tools to:
- Help veterans to more easily refill prescriptions
- Create opportunities for people to file their taxes for free
- Streamline disaster relief applications, and so much more.
For many who remain, the culture also shifted–cruel, burdensome, and ongoing justifications about performance to create fear or anxiety, requests for unethical project work, to name a few. Technologists still working inside federal government are exhausted, burnt out, and facing retaliation.
As one former federal employee described: "Delivering good technology outcomes is really hard—it's hard in every single administration. But this year has been different."
For those entering or considering federal service
We've noticed community members joining or being recruited through CyberCorps, United States DOGE Service, National Design Studio, TechForce, and individual outreach efforts for roles in the General Services Administration and Department of Education.
Some are joining out of necessity to pay their bills. Others are joining because they think it's a place for them to serve their communities. While opinions vary on whether to join right now, we want to support those who do.
What you can expect:
- You may face ethical dilemmas, particularly when it comes to data extraction, consolidation, and privacy. Projects may be co-opted for surveillance.
- Tremendous amounts of institutional knowledge and work has disappeared meaning less opportunities to learn from and with seasoned leaders.
- The environment may be hostile to civic tech values as we’ve seen decimation of the ideologies behind best practice around user experience, specifically accessibility, language access, and well-researched design systems.
- And, lack of trust from other parts of government and the American people when trying to implement your projects.
How to keep yourself supported:
- Build external support networks—don't rely solely on internal resources
- Document everything—institutional knowledge matters for rebuilding and for protecting yourself
- Know your ethical boundaries—be clear about what you will and won't build
- Find non-partisan projects —find modernization work that serves everyone, such as maintaining and upgrading infrastructure
- Stick with good people—you'll need allies with shared values. Reach out to any of our organizations if you need help finding your people
Opportunities to Serve Beyond the Being a Federal Worker
The opportunity to serve remains vast. Real, human-centered work is happening across states, localities, nonprofits, think tanks, academia, community organizations, and mission-driven companies.
Many state and local governments are actively hiring and investing in human-centered technology. The vendor community remains engaged—contracting is a viable long-term way of doing public service too. It's not a detour from the real work.
New models are emerging: community organizations filling gaps, mutual aid networks supporting displaced workers, academics documenting lessons, and nonprofits expanding tech capacity. There are a lot of ways to make an impact.
Three Critical Priorities for 2026 and Beyond
1. Invest in the People Behind This Work
The community needs financial, emotional, and professional support, plus safe networks and job opportunities across the ecosystem: state and local governments, nonprofits, think tanks, academia, mission-driven companies, and community organizations.
We need infrastructure for human-centered services that doesn't depend on federal support. We need to keep thinking: How do we continue pushing for seamless, people-centered service delivery across government at all levels?
2. Fight the Unethical Uses of Technology
Say no to harmful tech and help others say no. Speak out against data harvesting, surveillance systems, discriminatory AI, and violations of human rights and democratic principles. You can do this by:
- Sharing your story; our organizations can help.
- Reaching out to your local, state, and Congressional representatives.
- Connecting with advisory groups and local organizations that are providing oversight. If you are concerned about anonymity, you’re not alone. There are guides that can help you.
Technology must serve people, not surveil them. Extracting data from federal government for private surveillance is an ethical line that should not be crossed.
3. Prepare to Rebuild
History shows that crises often precede the building of stronger institutions. As one technologist noted, "Take the Federal Reserve: it took the Great Depression to build an institution that could withstand similar crises. I'm not saying this is a silver lining, because so many people are going to be harmed, but it can't be for nothing."
Now is the time to imagine a more resilient civic tech infrastructure with better protection from political interference and deeper embedding in government operations. So many of us have had ideas on how to do this for years; let’s put those ideas together and get started now.
Looking Ahead: Technology for Whom?
The fundamental question facing civic tech in 2026 isn't technical—it's political and moral: Who should technology serve?
For decades, the civic tech movement operated on the premise that government technology should serve all people, especially those historically excluded or underserved. That it should make government more transparent, accountable, and responsive.
This administration has offered a different vision: technology that excludes rather than includes, that surveils rather than supports.
As one technologist put it, "Technology is being used as a tool to progress only one economic idea, which is capitalism. I just wonder what the world would be like if we use technology to make real the ideas, practices, products, and processes that actually tangibly improve the lives of individuals in society first, before putting money in the hands of businesses."
This work didn't end with this administration's first year. In many ways, it's just beginning. And we're not going anywhere.
This reflection was developed collaboratively by Alliance of Civic Technologists, Technologists for the Public Good, and We The Builders