Thanks for your interest in speaking to our guild! Here is some background information about TTS, 18F, and the guild itself.
18F is an office within the Technology Transformation Service (TTS) of the General Services Administration (GSA). 18F functions as an intragovernmental consultancy; that is, we partner with other federal agencies to collaboratively improve the user experience of government. We do this by employing modern practices like agile development and user-centered design.
In addition to helping design better government services, 18F coaches the agencies we collaborate with so that they become better at buying technology tools and managing cross-functional technology teams. At the end of our engagements, we sometimes help agencies hire their own researchers to ensure the longterm success of their user-centered design efforts.
TTS has a number of guilds that function as communities of practice here at the GSA. The Research Guild has a diverse membership that includes professional researchers with private-sector experience (mainly 18F staff) and career public servants who are research curious (mainly from other parts of GSA).
Our guild normally meets Tuesdays from 2-2:30 EST, and the format is largely unstructured. Sometimes we'll discuss a few of the big questions that researchers tend to wrestle with (“how can we invite a more diverse group of people to participate in our research?”); at other times, one or two members will share how they’ve conducted research on their last/current project. Most meetings are recorded.
The research guild occasionally welcomes outside speakers to help inform the perspective of our agency's researchers. We’re specifically looking for people that can help us better understand innovative research practices happening outside of government. If that sounds like you, and you're interested in joining us, here are some things you should know:
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We cannot offer you payment or any other form of compensation for speaking to us. (If you’re in DC, you're welcome to join us over at 1800 F Street NW. Our space is nice, and you can chat with local 18F staff.) We will ask you to sign a Gratuitous Service Agreement (indicating your agreement to waive compensation) and a Model Release (indicating your agreement to be recorded).
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Recorded sessions are shared internally and, when possible, publicly. If there is anything you do not wish to be recorded or shared, please let us know. You can expect ten to twenty people to attend the session and more to watch any videos after
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Guild speaker sessions are normally conducted via Zoom. Members also generally have access to Google Apps and Mural.ly (a digital whiteboarding tool). Guild leadership is happy to help facilitate if you’d like to do some kind of break-out activity
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We will ask you to join us the day before for a brief tech check
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Most TTS staff are term-limited, meaning we can serve up to four years in our roles. While some of us are newer to government service, others have deep government experience. We run the gamut.
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We foster a diverse and inclusive workplace and use inclusive language, so you won’t hear us broadly use gendered phrases like “guys”. We suggest alternatives such as “team”, “friends”, “folks”, “y’all”, and similar
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We can offer a curious, thoughtful audience and feedback, if desired, on your materials and presentation
If you're interested in joining us, please reach out to [email protected]. Please include a brief description of what you'd like to talk about, a two-to-three sentence bio (including your preferred pronouns), and anything else you feel it would be helpful for us to know in preparation for hosting your session.