"Our council sees the world as because they work with the community as it should be. Staff often sees the world as it is because we're working with resources. We work with the limits every day. We work with contracts. We work with the city attorney. And if we're doing our job really well, that gap is really small. The world as it should be, all those complaints, the world as it is, all the things we do, there's not much gap. Everything works. But where there's a big gap, people get voted out of office. There's lots of complaints. People say the city or county doesn't work. And lots of things break down. But when that gap is small, there's lots of support. The community is talking with each other. We're solving problems. And the community is in sync."
~ Rob Lloyd, CTO, City of Seattle
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INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE:
🎬 [New Episode #192] CTOs and CIOs from Seattle, Washington State, and Santa Barbara share how they're transforming government services through customer-first design, data-driven strategy, and innovative procurement - cutting application times by 50% and driving measurable community impact.
📣 Culture Before Code: Leading Digital Government, Ted Ross, Chief Information Officer, City of Los Angeles
Join us at our 2025 live events where we're partnering with leading conferences to bring public sector technology leaders together. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities and our new Better Together Series, email joe@techtables.com
#192: From Forms to Freedom: Building Digital Services That Citizens Actually Want
Featuring:
Soumam Debgupta, CTO, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Rob Lloyd, CTO, City of Seattle
Chris Chirgwin, CIO, County of Santa Barbara
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Washington State DSHS reduced benefit application times from 50 minutes to 25 minutes by reimagining service delivery through a customer-first lens
Why setting an ambitious 85% customer satisfaction goal is driving cultural transformation and transparency in government services
The impact of challenge-based procurement in Seattle, where defining problems instead of solutions is attracting innovative technology partnerships
How Santa Barbara County achieved over 400 strategic goals in one year by implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)
Why tracking metrics like cost-to-serve and benefit penetration rates helps Washington State DSHS maximize the reach and efficiency of social services
Timestamps
Links Mentioned:
🎬 Welcome to the 🔒 member-exclusive edition 🔒 of the TechTables Collaboratory!
Each month, we deliver fresh, innovative insights to inspire connection, spark bold ideas, and transform the way you tackle public sector challenges—straight from our Monthly Forum call on the 1st Thursday of every month.
Last year we featured Ted Ross, Chief Information Officer, City of Los Angeles.
The conversation was incredible. We covered:
The evolving challenges of digital transformation in government as they navigate smart city initiatives, vendor relationships, and the critical shift from technical expert to transformation leader.
Discover how these executives are aligning technology with community priorities—from LA's 2028 Olympic preparations to citizen-centric digital services—while optimizing costs, managing stakeholder relationships, and building future-proof infrastructure.
What is the TechTables Collaboratory?
It's the Exclusive Peer Network for Senior Technology Leaders in Public Sector, nationwide. The Collaboratory: A 100% Public Sector, Vendor-Free Private Community.
Membership Benefits Include:
📅 Monthly Group Calls – 90-minute virtual sessions where public sector leaders dive deep into challenges and share actionable insights.
🤝 Collaboratory Roundtable Meetups – Exclusive in-person gatherings to foster collaboration and connection.
🏨 Hotel Accommodations on Us – Your stay is covered during TechTables events, so you can focus on what matters most—building relationships and driving innovation.
Bonus:
🗂️ Episode-Specific Leader Guides – Actionable takeaways and insights from each session, designed to help you empower your team and implement new ideas immediately.
🎙️ Related Episode:
🤝 How to work with TechTables
Join us at our 2025 live events where we're partnering with leading conferences to bring public sector technology leaders together. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities and our new Better Together Series, email joe@techtables.com
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