Has GSA made ‘the damn websites work?’ Robin Carnahan explains

Soon after Robin Carnahan was appointed and confirmed as administrator of the General Services Administration, she made it one of her top priorities to “make the damn websites work.” By that, she meant it was GSA’s role as the federal government’s digital center of excellence to ensure that agencies were following through on the imperative to deliver moden digital services and experiences to the American public. Carnahan’s time as GSA administrator will soon come to an end with the shiting to another Trump administration come January. And with that, it begs the question: Are the damn websites any better? The Daily Scoop recently caught up with Administrator Carnahan at ACT-IAC’s Imagine Nation ELC conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania to ask her that, how GSA plans to sustain progress ahead of an administration change, what the biggest obstacles are impeding digital transformation, and much more. As Washington prepares for a new administration — and a potentially dramatic reduction of the federal workforce — a new survey shows that the public is more satisfied now with U.S. government services than it’s been in years. The American Customer Satisfaction Index study found that citizen satisfaction with federal government services ticked up 2.2% in 2024 to a score of 69. Over the last year, the Defense Department has reduced its civilian cyber vacancy rate to 16 percent, a decrease of 4.8 percent from last year, according to an official.Those efforts are part of the execution of the DOD’s cyber workforce strategy and implementation plan. In a global fight to attract and keep cyber professionals, the Pentagon was facing a shortfall of 24 percent, and it’s been looking to take bold action to change the tide. Officials have said the efforts undertaken since the strategy was unveiled in March 2023 and the implementation plan was released in August 2023, have been working, but more effort is needed. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.