Andre Francisco

If the federal government can simply seize privately held patents then that is the end of the U.S. patent system, the legal basis for American innovation.

🚨Help us get to the SXSW stage! 🚨

Our proposed panel will explore what it will take to build a more integrated, modernized system that actually works for the people it’s meant to serve.

Cast your vote and help bring this conversation to Austin!

From "Newsrooms Need to Get Tougher on All That Lying" by Richard Tofel. dicktofel.substack.com/p/newsrooms-...

The @beeckcenter.bsky.social‬ has launched the Digital Benefits Ecosystem Directory + Map, a dynamic, open-source guide designed to connect organizations working toward a shared mission of improved digital benefits access and delivery. Explore!
digitalgovernmenthub.org/ecosystem/

Total # of views for former DNC Chair Jamie Harrison's Hunter Biden interview: 3.7k

Total # of views for Channel 5's Hunter Biden interview total views: 1.3 million

Revisiting the Origins of Civic Tech In era of DOGE, what can we learn from a different approach to tech and government

DOGE took over the US Digital Service; what lessons can we learned from the civic tech movement that it eviscerated?
@emilytav.bsky.social & Kathy Pham compiled a history of the the creation of USDS, and describe an alternative vision of govt tech.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/revisiting...

FEMA response to deadly Texas floods delayed & deficient with Noem in charge Staffers sound the alarm.

"Despite Trump officially activating FEMA on Sunday, FEMA has just 86 total staff deployed at this point [to Texas], according to figures shared with staff Monday evening...In the past it would normally be in the several hundreds at this point in the disaster recovery process."

My latest:

A top staffer to Sen. Tina Smith emailed Sen. Mike Lee’s top staffers on Monday about “how much additional pain you’ve caused on an unspeakably horrific weekend”

Full emails below

@thejuliadale.bsky.social on building AI systems that incorporate principles of human centered design:

"It should always be humans first and machine second...It's more important now than ever is that equity must remain a non-negotiable."

Full event: go.tcf.org/aievent

Careers On a mission to build a world-changing workplace. Join a diverse and talented team at Civilla working across research, design, leadership, and operations.

We're hiring! At Civilla, we're working to help 1 billion people through better, more compassionate institutions. We’re looking for talented research designers for our Detroit studio.
Apply here ➡️ civilla.org/careers

San Francisco wants to use AI to save itself from bureaucracy City Attorney David Chiu is working with Stanford to identify and delete old, redundant municipal code sections.

2 stories of AI in gov

SF understood the problem, tested its prompts, talked to knowledgeable people.

DOGE gave the AI limited info, didn't understand the system or problem, and was callous about accuracy www.propublica.org/article/trum...

AI is a tool. You have to use it well for it to work.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been returned to the United States to face criminal charges | CNN Politics Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, has been returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.

"The chief of Justice Department’s criminal division in Nashville resigned over the decision to charge Abrego Garcia, people briefed on the matter said."

www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/p...

US Digital Service Origins An oral history documenting how the United States Digital Service came to exist, and the initial days of building its foundation.

1/ 📚 Today we're sharing something we've been working on since 2019: an oral history of how the U.S. Digital Service came to be.

Nearly 50 conversations with the people who were there from 2009-2015, telling their stories in their own words. 🧵

Perfect use of this gif

Direct File is 'beloved by its users,' internal IRS report says The IRS is reportedly ending the Direct File, but a report obtained via the Freedom of Information Act says that 94% of users rated their experience as “excellent” or “above average.”

Got my hands on an internal IRS report on how Direct File went this season. TLDR: pretty well. 94% of users said their experience was excellent or above average.

That said, the IRS is reportedly killing the free tax filing service.

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Great article on the current state of DOGE that also taught me a lot about Guardian style for acronyms. “Doge” and “USAid” are new to me.

It was wonderful to see so many colleagues and friends at #cfasummit. Felt like everyone needed a shot of connection and optimism. I’m hoping this is a kickoff to big ideas coming to life all over the country. Thank you @codeforamerica.org for creating such a great gathering for our community

There never was a goodbye party budget. There is no budget for coffee or water coolers. Turns out most of government takes spending taxpayer dollars very seriously, especially on the small stuff.

“The technologies we build reflect the priorities we have.

Technology is not neutral. . . “

Great words from Merici Vinton on the @codeforamerica.org
Main Stage.

#civictech #CfASummit

GREAT energy from the @codeforamerica.org Main Stage and the importance of building trust with our services. #CFASummit off to a powerful start!

18F files legal challenge A statement about 18F’s appeal filed with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

We have some news to share with you. 🥄

Today we took legal action to challenge our termination, filing an appeal with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. We did this because we believe the elimination of 18F violated safeguards that exist to protect a nonpartisan civil service.

Excited to be headed to @codeforamerica.org Summit this week. If you will be there and want to chat, let me know!

Like curb cuts and closed captions, equitable access helps everybody. Equitable access is better access.

NEW: The Labor Department is terminating grant funding it gave to states to modernize their unemployment systems after the jobless aid system struggled to respond to the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.

Why Institutions Designing human-centered institutions. We help institutions examine their complexities and embrace their strengths to function as forces for good.

When systems aren't working, many say, "tear it down and start over." We see it differently. We believe in rolling up our sleeves and fixing what we have. Public institutions touch all our lives and are worth improving, not abandoning. See how we're making change: civilla.org/why-insituti...

Reimagining institutions and public services for all Civilla is a non-profit dedicated to changing the way our public-serving institutions work through human-centered design.

Hello Bluesky! 👋 We're Civilla, a nonprofit reimagining public-serving institutions through human-centered design. Nice to meet you!

Visit us at civilla.org

Sometimes it’s difficult to find the right balance in government between service delivery and fraud prevention. Sometimes it can be really obvious when you’ve got the balance way wrong.

NEW: The Interior Department is expected to lay off thousands of employees in coming days, including 1,500 at the National Park Service alone, where a natural resource stewardship and science directorate is one office expected to take a hit.

Universal Antivenom May Grow Out of Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him 200 Times Scientists identified antibodies that neutralized the poison in whole or in part from the bites of cobras, mambas and other deadly species.

Just amazing "Wisconsin Man" content right here. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...

I wasn’t happy with the lofi ones, often seemed so lofi that they’d put me to sleep, so I made my own. Almost all instrumental. More up beat. open.spotify.com/playlist/6VY...