Healthcare.gov, The Government Health Insurance Marketplace Website, Launched in October 2013 only to buckle under the weight of just 2,000 simultaneous users. As Millions of Americans Stared at Error Messages and Frozen Screens, A Political Crisis Unfolded, but so did a new era of government technology.
The result was 18f, an in-House Digital Services Consulting Agency that BROUGHT SILICON VALLEY Expertise to Government to Government, Challenging Decades of Outdated Procurement Practices and Introducal NEW APPROCH To building digital public services.
Founded on March 19, 2014, by Presidential Innovation Fellows, 18F was Houseed Within The Technology Transformation Services Departments of the General Services Administration, OR GSA. The name 18f was derived from the address of GSA Headquarters: 1800 F Street. On March 1, 2025, Just a less weeks shy of 18f’s 11th anniversary, the trump administration eliminated the agency and laid off its staff.
As a researcher who studies public administration and technology, I have observed the transformational role 18F played in Government Digital Services. The unit’s elimination raises the question of what the future of that services will look like.
Impact of 18f
18F Served a Unique Role as an in-House Digital Consultancy for the US Government, Drawing on Innovative Strategies to Improve Public Service Through Technology. Within 18F, Teams Consisting of Designers, Software Engineers, Strategists, and Product Managers Worked TogeTher with Federal, State, STATE, And Local AGENCIES to Not only Fix Technical ProbeleM Build, Buy, and Share Technology That Helped To Modernize and Improve the Public’s Experience with Government Services.
Over Nearly 11 years, 18F Built an impressive Portfolio of Successful digital projects that transformed how people interactive with the US government. Even if the average person is unfamiliar with 18f, the odds are quite high that they have at least encounters one of its many products or services.
For example, 18F supported the internal review service in Creating IRS Direct File, A Free Online Tax Filing Tool that Provides Taxpayers with a Simplified Filing Processes. As of today, IRS Direct File is available in 25 states and is expected to serve 30 million Eligible Taxpayers during the 2025 tax filing season.
