Abstract
A Landmark Moment for Government Design
On August 21, the Administration issued a new Executive Order on Improving Our Nation Through Better Design. The directive establishes a Chief Design Officer reporting directly to the White House Chief of Staff and launches a National Design Studio to strengthen how people experience government services.
The order names Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, as the first Chief Design Officer to lead this effort. His appointment signals the Administration’s commitment to pairing design expertise with public service to drive measurable improvements in trust and accessibility.
To explore what this means for agencies, High Impact Service Providers (HISPs), and the public, the ACT-IAC Customer Experience Community of Interest (CX COI) hosted a fireside chat featuring two leaders at the forefront of federal customer experience:
- Matt Lira, Executive Director of Invest America and former White House Special Assistant on Innovation Policy
- Amira Choueiki Boland, Chief of Staff at New Practice Lab and the first Federal Customer Experience Lead (2018–2024)
🎥 Watch the full fireside chat recap here: https://youtu.be/nza2dQv8GiQ
Building on a Decade of CX Progress
Speakers reflected on how today’s progress builds on more than a decade of lessons learned in federal customer experience. This Executive Order does not emerge in isolation. It builds on a decade of work, from the launch of the U.S. Digital Service and codification of Presidential Innovation Fellows, to the creation of High Impact Service Providers and the U.S. Web Design System.
As Boland recalled, Lira made a lasting point in the early days of publishing operational data:
“We're not revealing anything by sharing this publicly. It's inherently publicly known. A person knows how long they waited for, they know whether or not they had a good experience. We're just showing that we know it too.” – Lira
This mindset reflects the shift from viewing customer experience as optional to recognizing it as central to trust and accountability.
Why This Matters
Design in government is not about aesthetics. It is about trust, consistency, and accessibility.
Boland emphasized how one simple framework guided their approach:
“Someone at OMB had a Venn diagram on their wall that was policy, capacity, and leadership. It was basically like you needed those three things for anything to be successful, and we were kind of missing all three of those for a while.” – Boland
Policy, capacity, and leadership together create the conditions for lasting change. Without all three, progress stalls. International examples highlight this point: the UK strengthened trust by unifying design across its services, while Australia improved the in-person experience of government offices as a starting point for system-wide reform.
The Promise of the National Design Studio
A highlight of the Executive Order is the creation of the National Design Studio. Unlike project-specific innovation teams, the studio is envisioned as a catalytic hub for innovation. It can convene agency leaders, set standards, and provide toolkits that make accessibility and quality the default across services.
Led by Gebbia, the studio has the potential to transform service delivery from isolated pilots to system-wide improvements, ensuring Medicare, Recreation.gov, farm loan programs, and other HISPs benefit from shared design frameworks.
ACT-IAC’s Role in the Conversation
The fireside chat reinforced ACT-IAC’s unique role as a neutral convener of government and industry. By creating space for open dialogue, ACT-IAC helps connect policy leaders, practitioners, and innovators to explore what comes next for service delivery.
As agencies and partners prepare to implement this Executive Order, ACT-IAC will continue to bring together voices across sectors to share lessons, surface challenges, and advance solutions that improve trust in government.
About the CX Community of Interest
The ACT-IAC Customer Experience Community of Interest (CX COI) brings together government and industry members to advance human-centric values in public service.
- Mission: Foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and human-centered practices that improve service delivery and strengthen trust with the American public.
- Membership: Open to both government and industry participants.
- Activities: Monthly meetings on timely CX topics, plus active working groups.
- Workforce Optimization Working Group: Explores best practices to ensure federal service delivery is modern, responsive, and future-ready.
👉 Visit https://www.actiac.org/groups/customer-experience-community-interest to learn more and join the CX COI.
Disclaimer: The views expressed during the fireside chat belong to the speakers and do not represent official positions of ACT-IAC, the Administration, or any federal agency.
