Reconceptualizing Public Procurement to Strengthen State Benefits Delivery and Improve Outcomes

Transforming the public procurement process is an essential step in strengthening the way governments buy and build technology to ensure that public programs and benefits are available to those who need them most. The federal government allocates billions of dollars—largely administered by states—for safety net benefits, and how states procure the digital systems or maintenance plans to administer these programs can have a direct impact on millions of people and their access to benefits and services for which they are eligible. Yet, government reliance on cumbersome, inefficient legacy systems often fails to effectively and equitably meet the needs of both users and administrators. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified these challenges, highlighting the need for transformative change in the way governments procure and manage digital solutions. 

Drawing on interviews and convenings with experts and practitioners from the field of public interest technology, this report contains recommendations across five core priority action areas for cross-sector innovation and collaboration to improve state benefits systems through procurement practices: 

1. Prioritize people at the foundation of digital solutions with public procurement. 
2. Remodel public procurement to be open, accessible, and competitive.
3. Enable technology innovation and digital solution development.
4. Support state technical and administrative capabilities and capacity.
5. Maximize opportunities to scale, iterate, collaborate, and share knowledge. 

Together, these recommendations are essential to reconceptualize the field of public procurement and make public benefits more efficient, accessible, and timely.

This essay collection to supplement the report features full-length first-person testimonials from experts and practitioners on how to strengthen state benefits delivery through improving public procurement of digital solutions.