“PIT Crew” model aims to accelerate digital services

New York City is deploying multidisciplinary teams of technologists directly into city agencies to rapidly design and deliver digital public services, with the first project focused on enforcing the city’s “Click to Cancel” consumer protection law.

Called the Public Interest Technology (PIT) Crew, the initiative will embed product managers, designers, engineers, user researchers and data experts alongside agencies to develop in-house digital solutions to public service challenges.

The city will establish five PIT Crews. The first will work with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to build an online portal allowing residents to report companies that make subscriptions difficult to cancel, supporting implementation of the administration’s “Click to Cancel” protections. Three additional teams will advance the mayor’s affordability and public excellence agenda, while a fifth will be created with support from The Rockefeller Foundation through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

Each team will work alongside agencies and residents to design, build and launch digital services on accelerated timelines, enabling departments to move from concept to implementation in months rather than years, according to the city.

“In the twenty-first century, every government service is, in some way, a digital service,” said Lisa Gelobter, Chief Technology Officer and Commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation.  “New Yorkers shouldn’t have to understand how government is organised to get the services they need.”

The city said the initiative is intended to make public services easier to access while strengthening its in-house digital delivery capability, reducing the time needed to develop and deploy new technology solutions across government. Experienced product managers, software engineers, designers, user researchers, service designers and other technologists have been invited to apply to join the new teams.

“Our job is to make government work better for people,” added Gelobter. “The PIT Crew gives us a new way to do that – partnering with agencies to understand problems, rapidly test ideas, launch solutions, learn from real users and prove what works. By demonstrating better ways of solving public problems, we can help agencies move faster and give New Yorkers the government they deserve.”

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