18F was an office of federal employees within the General Services Administration (GSA) that collaborated with other agencies to improve the user experience of government services by helping them build and buy technology. The group worked with government organizations to define a strategy and work towards a solution for their modernization efforts. 18F used agile and lean methodologies, open-source code, and user centered design approaches. 18F was co-founded on March 19, 2014 by former Presidential Innovation Fellows Greg Godbout, Aaron Snow, and Hillary Hartley.[2]
18F's practices and methodologies influenced the creation of digital service teams across numerous state and local governments, including California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York State, and major cities like New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. These teams often adopted 18F's approaches to agile development, user-centered design, and open-source practices.
In 2024, 18F consisted of approximately 91 distributed employees working remotely across the United States. The organization previously peaked at over 250 employees in 2018. While staff numbers decreased, 18F's influence grew through alumni who continued working in government technology, with 85% of departing staff in 2023 moving to other government technology positions.
Its name referred to its office location in northwest Washington, D.C., on 18th and F Streets. 18F was within Technology Transformation Services, part of the Federal Acquisition Service.
Projects and impact
18F has developed several notable initiatives that have since become independent programs within the federal government. The United States Web Design System (USWDS), created in 2015 through collaboration between 18F and the U.S. Digital Service, provides a design system for federal websites. The USWDS was developed with input from multiple agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, Department of Education, Internal Revenue Service, and GSA. It is now maintained by GSA's Technology Transformation Services' Office of Solutions.[3]
Three other major platforms initially developed by 18F have become independent programs within GSA's Technology Transformation Services:
Cloud.gov, which emerged from 18F's early need to solve cloud operations bottlenecks, offers cloud hosting services for federal agencies. Initially prototyped by 18F, it has evolved into an independent service that helps government agencies deliver digital services efficiently while meeting security and compliance requirements.[4]
Login.gov, which launched in 2017 as a shared service, provides secure access to participating government websites. Originally incubated as an 18F project in 2016, it was developed in partnership with the United States Digital Service and now operates independently within TTS.[5]
Launching get.gov with CISA, allowing government organizations at all levels in the United States request .gov domains. Overall, more than 11,000 government organizations use .gov domains.[9][10]
Supporting a new case management system for the U.S. Tax Court which makes it easier for many taxpayers to submit online petitions.[8]
Creating a De-risking Guide to help both federal and state agencies avoid pitfalls in delivering successful custom technology projects.[8][11]
Building ClimateCorps.gov to make it easier for any American to find work tackling the climate crisis, alongside AmeriCorps and USDS.[8]
Launched Notify.gov, a text messaging service that helps government agencies communicate with people.[12][13]
Working on COVIDtests.gov, which enabled Americans to order free COVID tests from the government.[14]
Legacy and influence
18F's impact on government technology extends beyond its direct projects. By 2024, its practices and methodologies had influenced the creation of digital service teams across numerous state and local governments, including California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York State, and major cities like New York City, Boston, and San Francisco.[15] The organization has helped transform how government approaches technology procurement and development.
Along with the United States Digital Service, 18F has been part of a broader movement to modernize government technology and improve the public's experience with federal services.[16] Key aspects of this transformation include:
Promoting open source development in government
Introducing user-centered design practices
Establishing agile development methodologies
Creating models for bringing technology talent into government service
18F's influence continues through its alumni network, with 85% of departing staff in 2023 moving to other government technology positions, spreading modern technology practices throughout government.[17]
History
In March 2014, a group of Presidential Innovation Fellows started 18F to extend their efforts to improve and modernize government technology.
The United Kingdom had created a similar agency in April 2011, Government Digital Service, following their own healthcare IT issues,[18] which saves an estimated $20 million a year over previous methods. 18F runs on a cost recovery model where client agencies reimburse the digital agency for its work. 18F's creation was announced by GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini on March 19, 2014 with a mission to simplify the government's digital services. The agency started with 15 employees, including 11 former Presidential Innovation Fellows from both the private and public sectors.
Over its first decade, 18F has worked on several hundred partner projects including enhancing access to national forests, publishing critical data about waterways, improving federal website accessibility, streamlining federal election contributions browsing, creating new case management systems for the judicial branch, and simplifying Medicare fund applications for states.[19] Major initiatives have included analytics.usa.gov, launched in March 2015,[20] the United States Web Design System which standardizes federal website design, and cloud.gov which simplifies cloud adoption for government agencies. All of 18F's projects are open source, meaning anyone can review and suggest updates to the code.[21]
Mass firings and elimination
At the end of January 2025, members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took over the GSA, which manages federal real estate and technology. Wired magazine reported "an effort to use IT credentials from the Executive Office of the President to access GSA laptops and internal GSA infrastructure".[22]
In an all-hands meeting with the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) in early February, Thomas Shedd, the new TTS director and an associate of Elon Musk and DOGE, told 18F and TTS staff that "you all are one of the most respected technology groups in the federal government," saying the staff "are so key and critical to this next phase" of building federal software.[23] But around the same time, Musk tweeted that 18F "has been deleted".[24]
On March 1, Shedd sent an email to all 18F staff, describing them as "non-essential" and "non-critical", and eliminated the office "under direction from the White House".[25] The email with the news indicated that more TTS programs will be impacted.[26] The former employees of 18F said in an official statement that they had been abruptly locked out of their computers and email at midnight ET, with "no chance to assist in an orderly transition in our work."[27][28]
Dan Tangherlini, who had previously overseen 18F when he was the GSA administrator, commented on the decision, saying "These were smart, technical, caring, dedicated, and patriotic public servants. Their dismissal with a late-night email demonstrates that this administration either doesn’t know how to effectively enhance government efficiency, or really doesn’t care."[29]
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