Federal agencies last week released another series of equity action plans – featuring several notable technology-driven nuggets – that aim to continue advancing principles of the Biden-Harris administration’s equity agenda.
In 2022, 90 agencies across the Federal government created and released Equity Action Plans, a first-of-their-kind roadmaps to address the barriers and discrimination that underserved communities face.
The second series of equity plans also comes as President Biden’s second Executive Order on equity comes to its one-year anniversary.
“Advancing equity is not a one-year project. It’s a generational commitment [and] these plans are an important step forward,” President Biden said in a prerecorded statement.
Here are some of the technology angles Federal agencies plan to take to advance equity through the Federal government.
GSA Plans to Deliver Equitable Digital Government
The General Services Administration (GSA) plans to deliver equitable, accessible, and inclusive digital government to the American public.
According to the agency, although technology continues to rapidly evolve, persistent inequities in technology design and delivery disproportionately negatively impact those from historically and socially marginalized communities.
“Digital services very often fail to prioritize human-centered design and usability beyond compliance. This means that Americans who likely have a critical need to connect with government information and services through digital platforms also are likely to have the hardest time doing so,” GSA’s plan reads.
To address these barriers GSA will:
- Strengthen relationships with underserved user communities and build capacity for research operations.
- Complete the equity study on Remote Identity-Proofing and publish findings.
- Advance equity through civic tech shared services and large-scale modernization investments.
- Expand digital accessibility, language access, public participation, and equitable user research practices.
- Modernize GSA’s high-impact service providers to improve digital accessibility and language access.
SBA Leveraging Technology for Improved Federal Contracting
To improve access to Federal government procurement and contracting opportunities for small businesses the Small Business Administration (SBA) plans to leverage technology to modernize the application process.
According to SBA, the federal contracting process can be an initial barrier for small businesses owners – including small business owners from underserved communities – to properly obtain and utilize the certification programs without significant application education and assistance.
The SBA plans to use technology to modernize the application process and modernize and harmonize the process firms use through automation and digitization.
SBA also plans to use data and targeted intervention to work with Federal agencies to identify small business contract opportunities.
NASA to Promote Participation in STEM by Disadvantaged Communities
One of the five focus areas in NASA’s 2023 equity plan is to enhance grants and agreements to advance opportunities, access, and representation for underserved communities.
Under this effort the space agency will award Bridge Program Seed Funding to encourage disadvantaged communities to participate in NASA’s workforce and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
The awards will fund partnership development projects with NASA centers.
The Bridge Program’s primary goal is to promote participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in NASA’s workforce and STEM disciplines through investment in science and engineering research.
DHS To Promote Equitable Use of AI
The second focus area in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2023 equity plan is on making the use of artificial intelligence (AI) equitable throughout the entire department.
According to DHS, given the increased reliance on AI within DHS’s homeland security missions, the agency wants to promote equitable use of AI technology through the development and application of new guidance and intra-agency coordination.
Some actions DHS plans to take include:
- The continued implementation of a DHS-wide Policy Statement regarding the use and implementation of AI technology, which includes explicit privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, and equity guidelines (including nondiscrimination provisions).
- Issue application-specific policy on facial recognition and facial detection technologies, requiring and enabling the minimization of risk of improper bias in operational use and safeguarding of individuals against risk of disproportionate or disparate impacts.
- Leverage the ongoing work of the DHS AI Task Force and the DHS AI Policy Working Group by establishing a DHS-specific AI risk management framework which includes a focus on trustworthy and responsible AI that protects privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties and advances equity.
