2. Alpha.ca.gov

Location: Sacramento, California

Website: https://alpha.ca.gov/

Creating websites that are regularly updated with new features based on user input is a growing trend in government — Georgia is piloting the idea and handful of major cities are dabbling, too. But California’s redesign of its primary digital presence is not “business as usual,” according to project lead Angie Quirarte, assistant secretary for digital engagement at the California Government Operations Agency. Announced in October as a five-month project in which officials would ramp up citizen engagement, the website presents a spartan facade that today hosts just a handful of services, including a guide to hire a home-improvement contractor and tools to find food banks or look up the minimum wage in various cities. If the early clutter-free design, snappy interface and recent hires at GOA mean anything, California is on a trajectory to set a new standard for user design and make good on its promise of “making it easier to find and use government services and information.”

We’re re-imagining https://t.co/OwqlFf2zaG. Starting by asking the radical question how can our state government better serve the needs of Californians? Join us in this journey. https://t.co/cgMO31UqNu

— CA.gov (Alpha in progress) (@CAdotGov) October 31, 2019