notifications-admin/docs/notify-pilot-info.md

The Public Benefits Studio

The Public Benefits Studio is a team inside of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), home to innovative programs like 18F and Login.gov. We collaborate with benefits programs to develop shared technology tools and best practices that reduce the burden of navigating government programs for low income individuals and families.

We’re a cross-functional team of technologists with specialized experience working across public benefits programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and unemployment insurance.

WHAT WE’RE CURRENTLY EXPLORING

SMS & multichannel notifications Helping individuals and families stay better informed of actions they need to take related to benefits, such as reminders for upcoming appointments and enrolling in or recertifying their benefits.

According to Pew Research, 97% of US adults with an income of less than $30,000 have a cellphone, and there have already been successful pilots to supplement traditional notification channels with SMS that both decreased re-enrollment churn and saved the administering agency money.

OUR FIRST BET: Notify.gov

Create custom content No technical knowledge needed to create direct, actionable messages. Send bulk messages Upload a .csv file with necessary information and Notify.gov sends messages customized to each recipient See how messages perform Track how many messages you’ve sent and monitor successful delivery rates

Notify.gov will be a federally-run shared service allowing staff to send thousands of customized-to-the-user text messages per year at little-to-no-cost. The easy interface requires no technical expertise to use and the setup process takes only ten minutes.

WHERE WE’RE AT

We’re in the early stages of assessing this product’s market fit and targeting to pilot this shared service with at least 3 partners in 2023. Following our first pilot, we intend to scale by adding additional features based on partner needs.

Pilot Launch Features	Priority Future Features	Possible Future Features
Bulk, individually customizable SMS sending via web UI	SMS sending via API integration	Email sending via UI and API
Organization permissions settings for various team members to edit/send	Self-service initial account creation	Two-way messaging
Reusable message templates	Application status page	Multilingual interface and content library
Message send/failure analytics	Improved scheduled send options	Recurring scheduled send options
7-day records deletion

OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED

To get involved, email us at tts-benefits-studio@gsa.gov with the following in the subject line!

1. Request a Studio introduction and/or a Notify.gov demo: Request an introductory call to
   talk about our product, near term goals, and ways to get involved.

2. Provide feedback about Notify.gov: If you're a potential product user, set up an individual feedback session to help us fortify our tool and talk through potential set-up considerations from your vantage point.

3. Sign up to pilot Notify.gov: Already think this might be the tool for you? We’re looking for benefit-administering partners to co-design a pilot program to test Notify.gov for specific use cases. Early adopters will have wrap-around set-up support from the Studio and an opportunity to shape the future of this product.

Notify.gov Demo

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/6556888/208711970-eb70e618-fd13-4e38-bb61-3ddbf6e21a6d.mp4